poker lingo

More lingo heard 'round the table:

German Virgins - a pair of nines ('nein, nein')

Anna Kournikova - an ace with a king; 'looks good, rarely wins'

Dolly Parton - a nine with a 5 (from the movie, '9 to 5');' also the four of diamonds with the two of diamonds ('42 DD')

The language of poker is growing and evolving, thanks to the influx of new players and internet play. I'll include more lingo in a future post.

Fast Company by Bradshaw

Jon Bradshaw's FAST COMPANY is a classic look at six 'master' gamblers and hot they defy the odds.
Puggy Pearon is one of the gamblers profiled. Bradshaw quotes him at length, including this bit that every gambler should read:

"It's a funny thing -- gamblin'. It's like running a grocery store. You buy and you sell. You pay the going rate for cards and you try and sell 'em for more than you paid. A gambler's ace is his ability to think clearly under stress. That's very important, because, you see, fear is the basis of all mankind. In cards, you psych 'em out, you shark 'em, you put the fear of God in 'em. That's life. Everything's mental in life. The butt was made to lug the mind around. The most important thing in gamblin' is knowing the sixty-forty end of the proposition and knowing the human element. Some folks may know one of 'em, but ain't many know 'em both. I believe in logics. Cut and dried. Two plus two ain't nothin' in this world but four. But them suckers always think it's something different. Makes you think, don't it? I play percentages in everything. Now, knowing the percentages perfectly, the kind of numbers you read in them books, is all right, but the hidden percentages are more important. The real thing to know is that folks will stand to lose more than they will to win. That's the most important percentage there is. I mean, if they lose, they're willing to lose everything. If they win, they're usually satisfied to win enough to pay for dinner and a show. The best gamblers know that."

Couldn't have said it better myself, Puggy. You want to play against folks who try to protect their win when they are ahead, even leaving a juicy game to book a win, and who chase their losses on the bad nights, returning time and time again to the ATM.

From FAST COMPANY by Jon Bradshaw, copyright Jon Bradshaw, 1975. Published by High Stakes [London]: 2003, reprinted 2005. Available wherever books are sold.

AA - did I play it right?

In a 10/20 bricks-and-mortar game, I had AA under the gun.
The table was aggressive, so I opted to limp, hoping to limp-raise pre-flop.
The field didn't disappoint, as a weak player bumped it; the big blind called, and I three-bet the pot.
They both called.
The flop was K, K, 3.
The big blind checked, I bet for information, and they both called.
The turn was 5, the big blind checked.
Thinking the pre-flop opener was likely to hold AK, I checked. To my surprise, she checked behind me.
The river was a King, and the big blind checked.
I bet, the late position player called, and the big blind raised. Thinking I could beat a lot of holdings, I called, as did the late position player (she had 77).
The big blind turned over KQ.
Four of a kind beats kings full of aces. Kings full of aces doesn't even qualify for most bad beat jackpots.
I could have bet the turn; I could have checked the river; I could have folded after being check-raised on the river; I could have open-raised with my aces. Poker is filled with 'could haves.' Rather than shut out the field and win the blinds, I tried to trap my opponents; it didn't work out. That doesn't make it a bad play, it makes it a bad result. The goal is to win the most money, not to take down the blinds or win the most pots. And, I love the chance to play in a limit game for three bets when I hold Aces and my opponents hold 77 and KQo!