Good players are good because they know how to use their minds. That is what makes them different from the poor player – who plays without using the noggin. But not all thoughts are helpful. Some actually hurt your poker game.
“He’s probably bluffing”.
Players always want to play. They even look for excuses not to fold.
In limit poker, this isn’t a problem. The instinct that propels you to call on the river is usually a decent one, since the pot is usually many times the size of the limited bet.
“I can’t fold now”.
You are playing $1/2 no limit. You are in the 8 seat. You are dealt Ace/9. Everyone folds to you. It is not really a raising hand, but from late position it is worth a shot. You make it $10.The small blind folds but the big blind makes it $20, raising you $10. Your better judgment tells you to fold – there are too many hands that can have you dominated: Any pair 9s or higher, or any Ace with a kicker larger than 9. But then your ego creeps in and this thought comes,
“I can’t fold now”.
The problem is that you let this thought overwhelm your good sense.
“I must bet”.
There are surely situations that call for aggression. Yet sometimes, otherwise good players bet automatically, just because they feel that they are expected to do so. Suppose that you have a pair of threes in middle position. You call in a very loose and passive game. You are in luck and nobody raises. Five players see the flop. It is a bunch of low cards. The three players in front of you check. You do not have anything. Even so, you have a rep as an aggressive player. You do not want to look weak. The button – a pretty loose player, calls you. The turn is an Ace. You think that you must bet so your opponent doesn’t think that you are weak and try to run you off the hand. You bet again. Your loose opponent calls again. And on the river, hitting nothing, you figure you need to show strength in order to win and so you go all in – only to get called by an opponent with a weak Ace.
“What’s another few bucks – I’m already stuck a lot”.
A few bucks is the same amount of money no matter how much you are ahead or behind. If it is wrong to call or bet with it when you’re dead, even then it’s wrong to do so if you are behind.
“I’ll just stay until I’m back to even”.
This is the most dangerous thought – and the one that is certainly responsible for the most ill effects on our stacks.
