College Poker Scene:
EGO

One of my favorite places to play poker is at the frat house. It's not because of the free drinks, or the nice surroundings. It's not because of the free food or the large amounts of money being tossed around - although, all of these things are nice. The reason I love playing at frat houses is because of the egos. Let me explain.

When two guys fight, it's usually pretty hard to get one to back down. In a frat house, it seems that most of the guys apply this mentality to whatever they're doing, whether it's in a game of pool, "power hour" (competitive drinking for those of you who don't know this phrase), or a friendly game of poker.

One of the most important rules of poker my dad has ever taught me is to know when to fold and when to walk away from the game. This is a rule that many guys have not learned and will never learn.

I played a one-on-one game a while ago with a random guy at a fraternity house. One of the guys dealt the cards and I was dealt K,5 - Not the best hand but I called the blind and he checked. The next three cards out were K,3,5. My so-so hand had just turned into two pair. I put in four dollars and he called me. The next card out was a 5. I had just turned my almost-folded hand into a full house!

At this point I realized something. I wasn't playing against an experienced player. In fact, I was playing against a guy who had a huge ego - the type of guy who never says no to a dare and always follows through with a bet. With this knowledge, I bet $10.00. This was more than doubling my last bet. Just about any idiot could figure out that I was holding something good. My opponent called my bet quickly. I wondered to myself if he actually had good cards or was just calling because it was in his nature to call everything.

The next card out was an Ace. I once again made an extremely bold bed of $15.00, wondering how much I could milk this pot for. He called! Unless he had an Ace and a 5, I had beaten him.

We turned over our cards. I revealed my full house and he revealed a 7 and a 3. He had lost $30.00 on a pair of 3s. He was pissed off. I asked him why he bothered calling so much money when all he had was a pair of 3s.

"I didn't want to fold, I wanted to stay in the game. Plus, I had a pair of threes! It's not like I was playing with nothing!" � well just about nothing, buddy.

His ego motivation was clear. He put his pair of threes up on a pedestal, making them out to be much better cards than they actually were - much like some guys do with, well, themselves. If he had stopped to read me, or think about the bets I was making, he probably would have folded his pair of threes, realizing there was a King and a 5 on the board - both of which I could have paired and made a better hand than he. Instead, however, he had let his pair of threes lead him to blindly call without thinking about anything other than his own hand.

There are certain character traits that are good to bring to the poker table. Confidence has it's place and so does caution, at least in moderation. But an inflated ego, however, is something that should be left far away from the poker table. Ego will ruin your game and empty your wallet. But at least there's one positive aspect of an inflated ego in poker. Good players will always welcome you to their game! �

Rebecca Adams is currently a Freshman at the University of South Carolina. She was raised in Boston but moved to South Carolina for school because she wanted to see what Southern hospitality was all about. She's been following in her father's footsteps, playing poker ever since she was a little girl. She's plays in home games, college tournaments, tradition family games as well as online.

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