It's Not About the Cards...
Through my brief experience in playing poker, this has to be one of the most misunderstood and misapplied concepts for beginning to average players. Most people seem to take this as an excuse to bluff more often, and play hands when the cards are running cold. What most fail to realize, is that this concept reflects both ends of the spectrum, where it could be correct on occassion to fold AK, KK (or even AA), or to push with 72o. What this statement means, is that there are so many other situational factors that need to go into consideration before you even consider what cards you have. We know what they all are...
-Size of blinds
-Position before and after flop
-How many players in the hand
-Stack sizes of players involved
-Types of players involved
-Size of the pot
-Your stack size
-Texture of the board
-Your table image
-What happened the last few hands
-Time of Day (your alertness level, and that of your opponenets)
-Did you wipe your ass correctly the last time you went to the bathroom...
etc, etc, etc, (the list is longer than you think)
Knowing that this game is not really about the cards, is not an excuse to attempt to steal or buy pots that you had no business playing in the first place. It is realizing that EVERY SINGLE situation is unique, and you will never, ever be in the same position again, no matter how many hands you play. Your skill level will always change, along with the opponents you play against, and even if a monster hand is dealt exactly the same as you've seen before, it's impossible for every other factor to be similar.
So many times at a table we find ourselves in a situation where it doesn't matter what you're holding, your decision to raise, call, or fold is based soley on what your opposition is going to do. "If they both call that bet, then I'm coming over the top for a large re-raise..." or "If everyone else folds, I'm not even playing these cards, it's not worth it." It is also important to realize that each hand is like a story that unfolds, a story that can take drastic changes in an instant, and your decisions should never be set in stone. A rookie mistake I used to commonly make was running cold for a while, then telling myself, "No matter what I get next, I'm playing it like aces.", then never changing that attitude no matter what happens on the later rounds. I'm sure you know the consequences of that mindset...
Consider this situation. You're on the bubble of an SNG, 4 players left, you are in the big blind and look down to find pocket aces. You instantly get that warm fuzzy feeling throughout your body, the Star Spangled Banner is going of in your head. (like they say on WPT) You're second in chips, the chip leader is in the small blind, and both of the other players are short stacked. First short stack player goes all-in, so does the second one, and then the chip leader calls them both! And here you are, sitting on the best possible starting hand, with all these chips on the table. Can you really ignore that mental and physical buzz you're feeling and make the correct decision? Folding is clearly the best choice in this situation, being that one or maybe even two players will likely get knocked out putting you in the money, and that the chances of your aces holding up against three other hands aren't very good.
It's not about the cards, it's not about your opponents cards, it's not about the fact that you haven't won a decent pot in 45 minutes, it's about reading the story that is unfolding in front of you, and making the best possible decision based on all of the information that you can process and analyze. Slow down, and take the time to digest it all... Reading is Fundamental.
