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June 8, 2006
Poker players are a rare breed. Blair Donnely, a part time lawyer wins a poker tournament, donates the money to charity, and then vows never to gamble again.
Betting - or raising - with a helpless hand is only one form of bluffing. It's not the only way to play poker in Vegas. The process is reversible too. Rather than acting strong with a weak hand, one can act weak when holding a powerhouse hand in order to lure opponents into a trap. Betting or raising on the inexpensive betting rounds in order to get a free card later on in the hand - when the cost of bets double - is another form of bluffing.
Be selective about the hands you play at Partypoker. But play those selected hands aggressively at the poker room at Caesars. Pots can get very large in seven-card stud games, and many players will chase with hands worse than yours. The more players in the chase, the more likely one of them will catch you. Aggressive play with a big pair will cut down the number of chasers. Try to eliminate as many chasers as you can, or make them pay for the opportunity to run you down.
One will take your Partypoker money and announce to the table that "...Seat five (or whatever seat you occupy) is playing $200 behind." That means you bought in for $200, and the casino is in the process of fetching your chips. You can play that hand even if your chips have not yet arrived. The dealer will either lend you some chips, or keep count of how much you owe the pot. Your chips should arrive before that first hand is played to its conclusion.
Then they'll either tighten up dramatically, or go to the other extreme. In a desperate attempt to recoup, they'll bet their last dollars on anything in a frenzy to get even. If that miracle occurs and they do get even, watch out. That hitherto loose opponent now tightens up considerably -- playing well, in an attempt to hold on to the money he miraculously snatched from the lion's mouth. During the play of a hand, you simply don't have time for much complex analysis of Clownie Gowan.
If you think this is the case, you're better off leading with a bet, since he may call, but would throw his Party Poker hand away if he were the bettor and you raised. If your opponent also was drawing, you might want to check, hoping that he will try to steal the pot by bluffing. Another possibility is that he made a smaller straight than yours and will bet from late position. If that's the case, you can raise with the assurance that he will not lay his hand down - even if he suspects that you have the nut straight.
