String bets and betting etiquette

If you have never played poker in a casino card room, you may find your first trip intimidating. Every card room has its own rules and some of the things you might do in a game at a friends place may not be allowed. It is a good idea to try to familiarize yourself with the rules beforehand to avoid costly mistakes. Most card rooms have their rules posted somewhere, but you will be able to pick up most of them just through careful observation.

When you sit at a table, you will usually be given the option to "post" - that is no matter your position, you can put in the amount of the big blind and you will be dealt in right away. I recommend not posting but waiting until the big blind comes to you - this gives you the opportunity to just observe as few hands.

Many rules revolve around the way you handle your chips. Most (but not all) poker tables have a betting line and any chips you push over that line are committed. If you grab a handful of $5 chips, reach over that line and drop a couple on the felt, you might be told that the rest of the chips in your hand are also committed to the pot. Similarly, you can not put three $5 chips over the line, then go back and grab another three $5 chips and put them in as well. The only time you would be allowed to bet in this manner would be if you announced your total bet before you started moving your chips.

The reason these rules exist is to try to eliminate "string betting". A string bet is a way some players try to get a read on an opponents strength. They might move a whole bunch of chips of over the line and then, seeing a look of glee on an opponents face, pull some back. Or they might see a look of disappointment in their opponent and so go back for more chips. Some players still try something like this by grabbing a big stack of chips and pretending they are going to bet them, just to see your reaction. Just remember that in most places the bet isn't made until the chips cross the line, so don't give your hand away!

Some tables don't have betting lines, and you need to be very careful about how you place your bet. I played at one such place where the rule that was any chips you took out from your stack where automatically committed to the pot, so be very careful! I find you can avoid trouble if you get in the habit of verbally announcing the size of your bet - once you do that then you are committed to that bet, and you are usually free to move your chips anyway you like.

Here is a scenario I have seen dozens of times: Someone in early position raises and a player acting after them who wasn't paying attention bets less than the raise. Oops. Sorry pal, but either you kiss those chips goodbye or you make up the difference (and this is one instance where a player is allowed to move chips in two motions). This happens frequently and the offending player often blames the dealer for not announcing the raise loudly enough, but of course its his own fault.

If you bet or call out of turn, those chips are also committed.

Any cards that cross the betting line are considered dead. Some casinos will consider your hand dead if the cards are even touching the betting line, unless they have a card protector (a chip, a lucky charm, whatever...) sitting on them. It is a good idea to use a card protector to prevent the dealer from accidentally mucking your cards. If another player carelessly throws away his hand and his cards mix with yours, your hand will also be dead if you don't have a card protector.

There are a lot of other rules of course and each place is different, so take the time to familiarize yourself with the local customs.

Bad Beats and Lucky Draws

Book Review:
Bad Beats and Lucky Draws
By Phil Hellmuth Jr.
2004, HarperCollins

You should be suspicious of any poker book published in 2004 - the year of pokermania. Chris Moneymaker, an accountant from Nashville, had won the World Series of Poker main even the previous year. Moneymaker was very much an average guy and his victory opened the floodgates for millions of everyday folks to get into the game. Interest in poker had never been higher and a lot of poker books suddenly appeared on bookstore shelves to cash in on the craze.

This book, a collection of stories by poker personality Phil Hellmuth, is pretty typical of the books rushed into print that year - fairly fluffy stuff designed to excite the reader with tales of amazing hands, bold bluffs, fantastic folds and the most unlikely scenarios you can imagine. In other words it is a book designed to feed the hype. I admit I found it entertaining, but I think if anyone tried to base their style of play from the stories they read in this book, the result would be disastrous. It has been said that to the untrained eye, poker at its highest level looks a lot like poker at its lowest levels and books like this make it look simpler than it is. All the complex nuances, all the hours of observation required to make an informed decision in poker are excluded when a hand is distilled down to a page of description. Still, anyone just interested in a “highlight reel” kind of poker book will find a few hours of entertainment here.

When not to go all-in

...well there are probably a great many times when you shouldn't go all-in, but let me tell you about a hand I played yesterday when I pushed all my chips in at the wrong moment and it cost me. I was playing $1-$2 no-limit hold 'em at a pretty loose table - one where the standard pre-flop raise was $15. I was on the button with As 3s when the guy under the gun limped and four guys called ahead of me. I decide to call, the small blind completes and the big blind just checks, so seven players get to see the flop.


The board after the flop: Ad Kc Ac


Okay. So, I have three aces - but am I ahead? Probably. I'm thinking anyone with a strong ace would have raised it preflop, right? The five guys ahead of me all check. I think that maybe there is a stronger ace out there, but nothing higher than A 10 at the most. If I am right, then there is a possibility that another high card on the board will make the kickers irrelevant. What to do? With only $14 in the pot, a bet of $10 felt right to me here, so that's what I did. Acting after so many players checked, it might look like a steal and I might get a call from someone on the club draw, or someone with a king. The Chinese lady in the big blind raised it to $25 and everyone else folds. Now what? I'm about 6o% sure I'm ahead, so I call.


The board after the turn: Ad Kc Ac Kd

Oh, wow. I have aces full of kings. She might have that too. I check and she bets $55. I don't know what to think. To be honest with aces-full I'm too excited to think clearly. I look at how many chips she has left and guess it to be around $250, and I have more than that left. And this is where I make my big mistake - I go all-in. Why did I do this? Why not just call her bet and see if I can get more out of her on the river? Was I afraid of a king coming on the river and losing to quad kings? No. I really thought it was going to be a split pot - that each of us had an ace, so my all-in move here was a big mistake. Of course she folded her king, and while I scooped up a $119 pot I probably could have gotten another $55 out of her on the river.

This hand is a perfect example of what they call "leaving money on the table". I won a big pot, but I should have won more. Rookies make mistakes like this all the time, and maybe I'm still a rookie. It is difficult to learn not to leave money on the table. When you win a hand you feel good, and you don't always realize that you've made a costly mistake. The money you should win but don't negatively effects your bottom-line as much as the money you lose.

The WSOP: 1998-2000

The international appeal of poker began to be reflected in the Worlds Series of Poker champions when Vietnamese born Thuan (Scotty) Nguyen took down pokers top honour in 1998, followed by Irishman Noel Furlong in 1999.

The 2000 WSOP of poker main event saw a then record 512 competitors vie for the $1.5 million first place would bring. Among the players fighting it out that year was Jim McManus, who had been sent by Harpers Magazine to report on the tournament. Not satisfied to simply watch, McManus took the advance Harper's had given him and won a satellite, giving him a ticket to play in the big game himself. A lifelong amateur player, McManus went on a terrific run and made it all the way to the final table, finishing fifth and collecting $248,000. He then wrote a book about it; Positively Fifth Street. On a personal note, I read Positively Fifth Street and was captivated by it. It was this book that got me interested in poker and I'm sure it had a similar effect on hundreds, maybe thousands, of others.



The final two players that year were T. J. Cloutier and Chris "Jesus" Ferguson. The contrast between the two men made this final showdown particularly dramatic. Cloutier was an almost perfect example of the old type of Texas road gambler; a sixty-one year old Texan who had honed his skills over decades of playing in the illegal backroom games in the American south west. A professional football player in his younger days, T.J. was physically intimidating as well. The "old school" of poker players could not have a better representative.



Chris Ferguson was everything Cloutier was not: A slim young Californian who had just completed his Ph.D in computer science. With his beard and long brown hair, he bore a striking resemblance to the popular image of Christ, hence his nickname. Ferguson had none of the swagger and intimidation of the "old school", but he had a deep understanding of the mathematics and game theory. In the end, Cloutier outplayed Ferguson. Ferguson later said he knew that he couldn't beat T.J. "straight-up" and that to win he would have to get lucky - and that's exactly what happened. With Ferguson holding a slight chip lead, he got into a showdown holding A9 against Cloutiers' AQ, but a miracle 9 came on the river and Chris Ferguson won. This victory seemed to spark new interest among average people. If an egghead (albiet an egghead that looks like Jesus) can beat a tough old Texan, then it seemed like any reasonably intellegent person might be able to do allright at this game.

Busting Mr.Tight

One of the hardest things to do in a ring game is to bust a tight player. Tight players are always looking for a reason to fold and only bet when the are pretty certain they are ahead. I like to think I'm a tight player but I've seen some guys and gals fold forty or more hands in a row, patiently waiting for something really strong to play.

At the casino I most frequently go to, I've played at the same table a few times with a guy who I just call "Mr. Tight". Mr. Tight is a rock. He plays only premium hands. When he bets (which he might do once every hour) - you get out of his way. He tends to only make money from players who don't know how tight he is - people who have just joined the table, or have been drinking, or are just plain stupid. A few weeks ago I saw something I didn't think I would ever see: I saw Mr. Tight lose all his chips in a single hand. I would like to relate the hand because I think it is an excellent illustration of a good way to play against super-tight players.

Pre-Flop. When the following hand occurred, Mr. Tight had about $250 in chips. He was the first to act (Under the Gun) and raised the $2 big blind to $15. Now unless you are unconscious, you knew that Mr. Tight had a hand - AA, KK, QQ, AK, AQ, or maybe JJ. That's how tight this guy is. One good thing about playing against super-tight dudes is that it is pretty easy to guess what they have. Everyone folds except one guy, a really good player named Tom. Tom calls and the two of them see the flop.

The Flop: Ah 6c 6d.
The pot was $32 so Mr. Tights' bet of $20 here was pretty standard. I expected he had an ace pre-flop, and the continuation bet he made me even more certain. I expected Tom to fold, so I was very surprised when Tom immediately raised it to $80. Huh? Immediately I thought Tom was trying to push Mr.Tight out of the pot. Tight players fold easily right? Mr. Tight looked like he had something very sour in his mouth. Finally, after agonizing over his decision for a minute, Mr.Tight said something I will never forget: "If I can't call this, then I have no business being at this table," and he pushed the balance of $60 in.

The Turn: 9c.
Mr. Tight checked. Tom reached for his chips "If you can call $80," he said "Then you should be able to call $160". This $160 just covered the rest of Mr. Tights' chips - a call would put him all-in. In my head I was sure Tom was bluffing. I knew Mr.Tight had an ace, but could he call all-in with just a pair, even a pair of aces? After all, Tom could easily have a six. Mr. Tight, looked like he was going to throw-up, but after a minute he said, "I call." By making this call, Mr. Tight was all-in. As there could be no more wagering, the two players showed their hands; Mr. Tight showed he had A K and Tom showed 8 6. I don't think a single person at the table really thought Tom had the 6. Why bet so much after the flop, against such a tight player if you didn't want him to fold? I couldn't make sense of it, but there it was. Only another ace on the river would save Mr. Tight now.

The River: I don't remember, but it wasn't an ace.
Mr. Tight, to his credit, didn't whine or complain or get angry. He gathered up his things and left quietly.

"Seat open!" yelled the dealer.

I turned to Tom, who was stacking his chips to my right, and said "When you made that big bet after the flop I was sure you trying to get him to fold."

Without looking up at all, Tom replied "I was trying to get him to fold." Words which really puzzle me. Did he really want to win the pot right there? Maybe. The comment seems weird to me.

So what exactly happened here? I don't know what went through Tom's mind, but my guess is something like this: When Mr. Tight raised pre-flop, Tom wasn't afraid to call him knowing that he stood a good chance of bluffing him off on a later street. When the flop came, Tom knew he was ahead of everything but AA. So why the big bet? Tom bet so much that it looked to everybody like an obvious steal attempt. This is, in my opinion, an absolutely brilliant move! Disguising a strong hand as a bluff in an obvious bluffing situation is not a move I have witnessed often, and it requires having a very good read on your opponent to pull off. Tom was actually betting that Mr. Tight would find the guts to make a tough call on the flop and an even tougher call on the turn. Mr. Tight was betting on Tom being a bully. Tom won a massive pot because he read his opponent correctly, and Mr. Tight lost because he read his opponent incorrectly. Poker is about people.

The WSOP: 1992-1997

From 1991 to 1999, first prize in the main event at the World Series of poker was set at an even million dollars. The number of players entering the tournament grew steadily from 194 at the start of the decade to 393 at the end - steady growth, but nothing spectacular.

For the first half of the decade, the main event was won by names most people today would not recognize. Dan Harrington changed that with his 1995 win. Rather than slipping back into the shadows, Harrington leveraged his new profile and wrote a number of very good books on poker.

The following year a kid from California named Huckleberry Seed (Do you think his parents were hippies?) won the title, which created ripples of interest outside of the poker world.

Then in 1997 Stu Ungar shocked the poker world when he won the main event for the third time. By 1997 Stu Ungar had been battling drug addiction for over ten years and despite his poker triumphs he was deeply in debt. Few people wanted anything to do with him. Everyone remembered the 1990 WSOP, when Stu did not show up for the third day of play and was found unconscious in his hotel room after too much cocaine. Once unquestionably the best poker player in the world, Stu was now up all night before the tournament trying to convince someone to back him. Billy Baxter, an old friend, finally agreed to pay Ungar's entrance fee (in exchange for a cut of Ungar's winnings) but by the time the tournament began Stu was exhausted and began falling asleep at the table. Miraculously, he made through the first day. From his second day on, Ungar destroyed his competition. Showing up well rested each day, he quickly amassed a huge chip lead and won the tournament easily. He split the million dollars evenly with Baxter.

What could have been -should have been- the turning point in Ungars life may have been his undoing. Ungar blew his winnings in a few months, mostly on drugs and sports betting. Ungar's addiction prevented him from competing in the WSOP the following year. A year and a half after his amazing third main event win, Stuart Errol Ungar was found dead in a seedy Las Vegas hotel room. Despite having won millions at poker in his lifetime, Ungar died without assets. At his funeral a collection was taken up to pay for the service.

Wink: The Ninja Who Wanted to be Noticed

Another example of how reading fine literature will make you a better poker player.

Wink is very excited to have been accepted to the Summer Moon School for Ninjas - he can't wait to show everyone what a great ninja he is! But it becomes apparent Winks' desire for recognition is a problem. Master Zutsu tries to teach Wink with wise sayings such as "The flower that flaunts its colours is the first to be plucked!" But Wink can't help himself - he just has to be the centre of attention. After all, what is the point of being an awesome ninja if nobody notices?

The other day at the poker table there was a guy who had to let everyone know what a poker genius he was. After every hand Wink (as I called him) would say how he knew exactly what somebody had for this or that reason, or why even though he lost he had made a smart move. Predictably, Wink didn't last too long.

The Wink types are the easiest to beat because they beat themselves. They are always trying the fancy moves. They bluff too much. They suspect that others are bluffing when they are not. They are in it for thrills and to win the admiration of others.

Don't be a Wink. Remember the wisdom of Master Zutsu; "The loudest cricket is the first to be caught."