JV'S KILLER POKER:
SITUATIONS

BY: John Vorhaus

Don't play cards, play situations. Haven't you figured that part out yet? Good cards come up only every now and then, but profitable situations happen all the time. There's always something going on at the table, something you can respond to if you're smart enough and brave enough to play the situation, regardless of the cards you hold.

Cards don't matter. Let me say it again. Let me be the voice in your ear that reminds you: Cards don't matter. Or let's put it another way: Cards alone won't do the job.

Say you're playing mid-limit hold 'em against a solidish lineup. Forgetting for the moment that you should be looking for a weaker game (pal, you should always be looking for a weaker game), you know you're not gonna beat good players with cards alone. You have to outplay them too. You need to exploit situations. So you start to look for them.

You notice, for example, that one of your foes loves little pairs, and pushes them aggressively before the flop. Do you know that in this situation you can call with nothing? Then, if the flop comes with high cards, you can bet out or check-raise and win the pot right there. Does it matter what your cards are? No! You've recognized a situation - your opponent pushes little pairs too far - and exploited it accordingly.

Any burr-brained floptimist can play cards, but it takes a poker player - a Killer Poker player - to play situations. And if you don't think that the best players do this, then you aren't paying attention, which is why they do it to you.

Look for the intersection between cards and situations. Some decisions are no-brainers: You know what you're going to do with A-A in late position - raise; and you know what you're going to do with 7-2 offsuit early - fold. But what will you do with that 9-8 suited in middle position? If the pot is opened in front of you, you're gone. But if no one else has yet jumped in, suddenly you have a situation - one you can turn to your advantage.

You might take that 9-8 and raise with it, representing a big pair or big paint. If the flop comes very big or very little, you can bet out and maybe win right there. But if the flop comes middle - smacks you squarely in the heart of your holding - then you can proceed in all sorts of creative and profitable ways. Why? Because you set up the situation by raising before the flop with an unlikely hand.

First you create the situation, then you exploit it. Is this risky? Sure it's risky. Smart players may get wise to your tactics. After all, they're playing situations too, and one of the situations they look for is mooks like you getting out of line. Then again, some players never look up from their hands. They wouldn't know a situation if it bit them on the butt. They're playing straightforward kosher poker, and they may even be doing well with it. But not as well as they could. For example, they never attack a blind that's there for the taking unless they absolutely have the cards to back it up. To me, that's a squandered opportunity. If I think the blinds will fold, I'll raise with anything. What's the worst that can happen? I might lose a bet or two.

But what's the best that can happen?
I might take control of the game.
And that's the best situation of all.

Because when you start thinking about poker in terms of situations and not just cards, you realize that the entire session - in fact your entire poker career - is just one big situation that you will ultimately exploit either well, poorly or not at all. Those who exploit the Big Situation best are the ones who strive to take over any table they play at, and master it according to their skills and abilities.

You know what I'm talking about. You've seen it happen countless times. You're sitting in some quiet little poker game with not a lot of friskiness on anyone's part. Then, suddenly - boom! - a new player sits down and immediately starts betting and raising out of all proportion to everyone else's style and desire.

He has encountered a situation - in this case, a weak, tight table - and turned it into a different situation: a weak tight table dominated by one strong player. Whose chances do you like best in that situation? Don't even pretend that you don't know the answer because you do.

Remember, I know your secret heart. I know the kind of player you are and the kind of player you want to be. And, further, I know that all your stern resolutions to play conservative, quality poker are just a waste of money and time. You're too tight, too timid! Play this game with a fire in your belly, or don't bother playing it at all. And above all, play situations. That's where the next level of your poker expertise lies.

Play situations. It pays dividends in two ways. First, you may win a pot right there that you otherwise would not have thought yourself entitled to. Second, you're reshaping your game, shifting your emphasis from cards to situations, and if you ever hope to be the Killer Poker player of your wildest dreams, this is a change which must take place.