Table Talk

There has been a lot of buzz generated by Jamie Gold's success at the WSOP Main Event on the subjects of getting lucky and talking at the table. Well, I can't help you with the first one, but the second one is something that I have some knowledge of, so I thought I'd spend some time this month on the subject of table talk.

Talking at the poker table is nothing new. Remember, poker started out as a social game played by people thrust together with very little to do. Be they on riverboats, in saloons, on military bases, in frat houses, or in each other garages, poker grew as a game played by friends -- or at least people who knew each other - rather than strangers. The idea that you can say what you want to the jackass in Seat Nine because you'll never see him again is relatively new to poker, and don't get me started on that little chat window at the bottom of the screen.

But like most things in poker, there are some people who are just "good" at the table talk game, and there are some people who are lousy at it. Is it important that you be good at this aspect of the game in order to be a good poker player? Absolutely not. You can play a world-class game and be as quiet as a pin cushion. Just ask Allen Cunningham. Or John Juanda. Or Phil Ivey. Do these guys talk your ear off at the table? Does it hurt their game? No, and neither will keeping your own mouth shut, if that's the way that you prefer to play.

But if you are naturally gabby, then you are probably going to talk. And if you are going to talk at the poker table, then you should make sure that it is going to help you, or at least make sure that it doesn't hurt you. So here are a couple of Do's and Don'ts concerning table talk.

Do Ask Questions. One of the main reasons to talk is to gain information. And one of the best ways to gain information is the obvious one. Just ask. You can ask open-ended questions, such as: "Are you on a draw?" Or, you can ask leading questions, such as: "You missed your flush, didn't you?" With leading questions, you might get a reaction from your opponent, especially when you have him pegged. But in all cases, you might just get an answer, especially from a player who himself loves to talk. A player who answers is more likely to have a hand, but not always. If you get an answer from a player, make a note of whether he answered truthfully. He will likely answer the same way again.

Do Show Your Experience. Whenever I play in a tournament, especially a low-priced or home tournament with a lot of amateurs, there is always a period of time while waiting for the tournament to start where everybody is nervously sizing up the other players at their table, trying to tell who is a real player, and who is relatively new at the game. I make sure that everyone knows that I know what I'm doing. I'll mention in passing how many tournaments I've played, or ask the person next to me (loudly enough so the whole table can hear it) if he was at my table at the $500 buyin event at the local casino.

Some people overdo it, explaining the rules to new players in minute detail, or talking about how they should have played their hands. I'm not talking about giving a tableside poker lesson. I'm talking about casually mentioning one or two things that shows people that I've done this before. Hopefully, that will convince them that it is better to find someone else to play pots with, and they will be more likely to fold to my raises early in the tournament.

Do Reward Predictable Play. If your opponent folds to your bluff, or bets strong when he hits his hand, compliment him. Give him a "nice laydown," or a "good bet" while you are scooping up chips or tossing in your cards. Some players will take your compliments as an affront, but the vast majority of them will keep doing what they're doing, which is helping you beat them. You are encouraging them to continue to play predictable, ABC poker - betting and raising with The Goods, checking and folding without them. The more they do that, the easier your decisions will be against them, and the fewer mistakes you will make.

Do Create a False Image. If you are a relatively quiet player, certain phrases will be remembered by others at the table, and can contribute to your table image. If you are making a difficult call, why not say, "well, I came here to gamble." People will remember that, and will be less likely to bluff at you in the future. Likewise, if you toss in your cards after some thought (real or otherwise), and say, "I should call you with this, but I've decided to play tight today," you'll get plenty of action for the rest of the session.

This doesn't work if you are a chatterbox, since much of what you say will be "tuned out" by the other players. It also won't work if you show cards that conflict with your statement. If you re-raise all-in and say, "I'm in the mood to take chances," and then turn over pocket kings, you won't really be seen as Mr. Action by the rest of your table. But if you do the same thing with a pair of eights, then it is a different story.

Don't Make Enemies. This might seem a bit controversial, because it appears that people do it all the time, but I never like to make enemies at the poker table. I'll do some needling from time to time, but never to the point where I think I'm pissing someone off, and never to put someone on tilt.

By making an enemy, I am creating a situation where somebody is after me more than the other players. Now, it is not a good situation for them, but nor is it a good situation for me either. Every time I join a pot, there is another player who wants my money, and is willing to risk his own in order to teach me a lesson. Sure, I may be able to outplay a player like that. But I'm going to have to put a great deal of chips at risk in order to do so. And in the very short term, I could lose a lot of chips if he happens to catch a hand on me. So unless you're comfortable with the extra variance, try to make nice with the other players, and keep your enemies at other tables.

Don't Give Away Your Thought Process. One thing that makes me laugh is someone contemplating a call, while at the same time giving a play-by-play of his own brain for the whole table to hear. "When you called my raise on the flop, I put you on a pocket pair, but when those hearts came out, and you just checked and called, I figured that you had to have a flush draw. Now, here you are betting the turn after the board pairs, so I figure. . ." What are you, channeling Vince Van Patten?

What goes through your head at the poker table is your own business. Don't share it with the people who are trying to beat you. You are giving them way too much information about the most exploitable thing in poker, the way that you react to their actions. When you tell them that checking and calling means flush draw, and they want you to think that they're on a flush draw, what are they going to do? If you must talk when you are contemplating a call, you are better off asking questions than talking about yourself.

Don't Narrow Down Your Range. This might also be somewhat controversial, but when my opponent is contemplating a call, I don't like to tell him what I have, even if I am lying. The reason is, by telling him, I am actually narrowing down the range of hands that he could put me on from many to two. Either I have the hand I say I have, or I have nothing. He still doesn't know, but his decision becomes a binary one, and an easier decision to make.

Let's take another example. My opponent has top pair top kicker, but there is a flush possible on the board, and he's not certain if I have it. I've made a big bet, and he's contemplating whether to call it. Then, I say, "If you don't have the flush, you need to fold," meaning, of course that I have a flush, and that his pair is no good. Now, before I said that, he might have put me on the flush, but he was also beaten by two pair or a set. Because of what I said, he could pretty much eliminate those two hands. Either I had the flush I was advertising, or I didn't. It is an easier decision for him, and I don't want him to have easy decisions. I should have kept my mouth shut.

Don't Give Poker Lessons. Earlier in this column, I mentioned that there is a difference between casually mentioning something that shows that you have been around the game, and conducting a poker lesson for your opponents at the table. The first is a good idea; the second a very, very bad one. First of all, if you are giving out good advice, you are making your opponents better. Why would you want to do that? Let them get better the same way that I did, by losing my money to better players until I learned on my own.

But there's a second reason why you don't want to be the guy giving lessons at the table. If someone is talking about say, playing only quality hands, is it likely that he will come into a pot with anything but a premium hand? By giving lessons to a new player, you are also giving lessons to all other players in how to beat you. And yet, I see people do it all the time. I hear people say, "position is everything in big bet poker," then raise on the button 75% of the time. I hear people question how much someone paid on a flush draw, well if they call more than half the pot, I know they're not on a flush draw. The point is, it is hard to be a teacher and an artist at the same time, and if you're going to sit and play No Limit Holdem, you need to have a little bit of artist in you. If you want to show others how to play better, write a column.

Talking at the table is fun, and one of the reasons I love live poker a hundred times more than Internet poker. But while most of us just do it just to have fun, make some friends, and have a generally pleasant time, there is no reason why talking should cost you any money, and every reason why it can make you a couple of bucks too.

Say what you will about Jamie Gold, and much has been said about him, he seemed to be having fun on his way to winning $12 million. There was a lot of smiles from his corner of the table, while the others at the table seemed to be tense, frustrated, and up tight. In addition to catching an unbelievable string of cards, he also managed to talk player after player into calling him with weaker hands, or folding with better ones. So before you discount Mr. Gold as a one-hit wonder, make a note of the 2006 Main Event, and see if there is a lesson there that you can take with you. And maybe someday it will be you on the wall at Binion's.

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