Poker Knowledge Is Poker Power

There are several reasons why I believe that poker is the ultimate game, and one near the top of my list is that poker has a Darwinian quality to it that is very similar to life in general. Survival of the fittest is occasionally unfair (in the short term) but always just (in the long term). The greatest poker players cannot be thwarted by bad beats and poor players ultimately have nothing else but those bad beat stories to relate.

When you're playing poker it is your responsibility to target players weaker than yourself in order to survive and thrive at your table. It's called finding the fish, and it's common knowledge that if you can't spot any swimming around you then, my friend, you are that fish or rabbit or pigeon. You are it, and you are in for it. Most players know that much and try to focus on players that are weaker than they are. But how does this sound for a novel theory: Acknowledging those players at your table that are stronger than you can be worth as much money (in money saved as opposed to money won) to you as finding the fish.

Avoiding sharks is a lot harder than finding fish in poker because of one simple problem: our irrepressible egos. This is where poker knowledge becomes so crucial to performing well. It's self-knowledge really; the ability to admit that the guy in seat 5 immediately on your left has tricks up his sleeve that you have never seen before. First he made you angry by hitting a card on the river to beat you out of a big pot. Then he saw that he made you angry and spent the next hour re-raising you off a series of marginal hands. Now you not only despise this guy but you're putting up less of a fight than the Italian army. You're beaten, but the key is that you cannot acknowledge it and move on. In poker we take things personally and tend to forget that there are eight other opponents at the table. You only have to be better than three of them to make a lot of money. That, and you need to avoid getting involved with the two or three who are better than you.

I know how hard it is to admit that you are not the single greatest poker player in the world. For all we know you might become that player, and there might be entire sessions where you are clearly the best player at your table (an achievement in itself). But you have to know with clear certainty that there are a lot of poker sessions where you are not the best, and this knowledge will make you a lot of money. It will enable you to steer clear of tough games, and opponents that for whatever reason dominate you. Perhaps you have a tell that they have picked up on - if so good luck to them, but you have to refrain from becoming the fuel for their fire. The beauty of online poker is that you can find soft games all the time. High pre-flop percentages, big average pots, and the notes you hopefully keep on players you've seen in the past - all these factors should be used to find fish. But even so you must remember that sharks will find these games as well, and the composition of the table can change quickly. When you're up against a shark who is hunting you it is time to put your pride away and find someone a step beneath you on the food chain. Either that or find a new table altogether. It's a perfect game, but it's still just a game, and you will survive to play another day.