Sharks can smell blood in the water from miles away. How hard is it for a shark at your table to sense you are hurting and come in for the kill?
You know the answer: IT’S EASY. It doesn’t even take a shark to know when things are going bad for you. A guppy would come over for a bite, if you opened a wound.
What AM I talking about? I’m talking about acting like a victim at the poker table.
If you start losing, and begin to whine in frustration, even a novice poker player knows to jump on you when you are down.
To get the man-eaters to go devour someone else, you must learn to hide the fact that you’ve taken a severe beat. Don’t turn your cards over and whine, “You only had two outs, how could you call me?” This stamps ‘LOSER’ on your forehead, and you can bet your next raise will be called by half the table.
I had a hand recently in a No-Limit Hold’em game that is an example of how to avoid being victimized at a poker table.
I had pocket Aces under the gun and came in for six times the big blind. I was hoping, of course, that someone would reraise me. But instead, I got three callers behind me. The flop came A Q 7 rainbow (three different suits). This was a wonderful flop for my hand, giving me the ‘nuts’ with top set. I checked and it was checked around to the big blind who bet. I smooth called. Everyone else folded.
The turn came a Jack. The big blind bet, I called. The river came a 10, the only card that could beat me. He bet, I folded. I knew what the big blind had, …