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STEVE ROSENBLOOM: Don't get greedy, even with aces
Published: 2006-04-28
 You lose more money with pocket aces than you win. Maybe it's true, maybe it's not, but that tends to be the prevailing thought in poker.
Pocket aces are best played heads-up, which requires aggressive play before and after the flop, which can make you pot-committed for your entire stack.
But aces also can be a great trapping hand, which leads to more passive play, which gives more players a chance to hit a big flop.
This is why you can go from being thrilled that you were dealt aces to being thrilled that you live to see another hand in a no-limit hold 'em tournament.
That was the ride that respected pro Kenna James experienced when he drew aces in the big blind at the Five Diamond World Poker Classic at the Bellagio in Las Vegas in 2005.
With blinds at $100-$200, Richard Tatalovich, another top player, made the standard raise of three times the big blind. Action folded to James, who needed to call another $400.
"I had about $18,000 in chips at the time and he had about $35,000," James said. "Most people are going to reraise this pot. I decided to get creative with it. Sometimes it can come back to bite you, sometimes it can help you."
James flat-called the raise. The flop came J-J-9, creating full house and straight possibilities.
James checked. Tatalovich bet $1,800, an overbet of nearly 150% of the size of the pot, which can be read as a player trying to protect an underpair or a big draw. James chose to flat-call again.
The turn came the queen of clubs, which strengthened the chances of making a straight. James checked, and Tatalovich checked behind him, perhaps showing weakness.
The river came the 10 of diamonds, creating all sorts of possibilities for big hands.
"I checked again and he made a very small bet -- $2,000 -- and I thought there might be a slight chance he's trying to pick it up with two 8's or two 7's, so I called the $2,000."
Tatalovich turned over pocket jacks. He had flopped quads.
"If I had reraised before the flop," James said, "we're getting it all in, and I would've been out of the tournament that early."
James' philosophy is not to get greedy, even with aces. "I wanted to mask the strength of my hand at that point. Richard's a tough player. He's raising under the gun, and he knows if I'm reraising from the blind, I've got a strong hand. Most people want to get it all in there. I just had an instinct to see the board develop, and it developed bad for me, so I was able to survive the hand."
Table talk: Flat-call: To just match a bet with a strong hand instead of raising.
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The art of reading your opponents
Published: 2006-04-25
 Daniel Negreanu The Poker Column
You've no doubt heard the myth about needing a poker face to play the game well. I'm going to let you in on a little secret today. Poker isn't about reading facial ticks -- it's about reading people.
What's the difference you say?
Well, when you hear the term reading your opponent, it doesn't necessarily mean that you are looking for body language clues. More often than not, the tells you're looking for come from reading your opponents' betting patterns.
There is a famous poker player out there that claims that he can "see through your soul." No, he can't. Trust me. Some top pros might want you to believe that type of hype so they can garner a psychological edge over you.
The truth is, an elite poker player doesn't focus much on body language. Instead, he tries to understand how you think based on the hands you play and how you play them. He isn't looking for some obscure nostril flare or eye twitch to make a decision, but you can bet he's delving into his memory bank and comparing notes from previous hands.
He's likely asking himself questions such as, "How much did my opponent bet the last time he was bluffing?" Or, "When he flops three of a kind, does he usually check to trap me or does he bet right out to protect his hand?"
So, those physical tells that television commentators like to go on about are for the most part a bunch of hogwash. Watch me on television and you'll see that I make all kinds of strange faces. Good luck trying to figure out what they mean.
Reading tells and reading people are two separate skills that are often lumped together, but they are, in fact, very different.
Reading tells is the ability to recognize the way people look when they are bluffing versus telling the truth. Reading people deals more with the ability to understand how someone thinks based on various clues you can put together.
How to read tells|
The first thing you'll need to do is simply pay attention, not only when you are in a hand, but also when you've folded and are waiting for the next deal. Study your opponents and look for any behavioral patterns you can find.
For example, maybe you see one of your opponents cover his mouth before he pushes in a big bet. After the hand, he shows that he was bluffing. Does he also cover his mouth when he has a strong hand? If not, you may have just picked up a valuable tell.
The more you practice this skill of picking up subtle clues about your opponents, the more pots you'll be picking up.
How to read people|
Now this is really where it's at.
Poker is a game of people, first and foremost, and understanding how an opponent thinks will go a long way toward giving you a significant advantage over him.
To do this, you need to think like a detective by putting clues together and trying to understand what they mean. This could be anything from studying what your opponent is wearing to ascertaining what he does for a living. People unwittingly reveal all kinds of clues about themselves.
Here's a case study.
A man with a hairy chest, wearing an unbuttoned open shirt, revealing tons of gold chains, sits at your table. He smells a little bit off, stacks his chips recklessly and smokes incessantly. His fingernails are dirty and he won't stop shaking his knee.
Right off the bat, you know a good amount about this person, because you've already asked yourself this important question: Is he likely to be patient, scared, and conservative, or is he more likely to be an impatient, fearless and aggressive player?
If you guessed the former, you may want to find a new hobby like checkers or something.
For more clues, now go ahead and ask him some questions. "What do you do for a living?" is always a good one.
If he says he's a lawyer, well, you know who not to trust, right?
If he claims he's a math teacher, chances are you're dealing with a very analytical player.
Or, if he swears he's a Sunday school teacher, you might be dealing with someone who is uncomfortable telling lies, or, in this case, already bluffing.
The bottom line: Reading tells and reading people are both very real skills, and, when used together, make for a deadly combination.
Go to www.fullcontactpoker.com/news to submit your questions and comments to poker champion Daniel Negreanu.
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