“How could you forget your swimsuit?” said the big-bellied bald guy to his portly wife. The three of us, and a mob of others, were queued up to board Southwest Airlines flight 1691, bound for Las Vegas, Nevada, the true center of the known universe, despite what Neil Degrasse Tyson says. The husband’s question
When Andy stumbled into our little snake pit, we know he had no chance. Not because he was drooping around like someone who had washed down his quaaludes with Jack Daniels, and not because he lacked basic card sense. There was no way to tell if he did or not. That’s because this was his
What if you could think of a range, and then fast-forward to your next naturally occurring hand in that range? Take me to my next pocket pair or ace-king or suited connector. And ZOOP! You’re there. The hands you folded while waiting for your chosen hands would take up zero time because you have
Like all of my stabilizers, this one was born from necessity. My problem at no-limit was big pots. They were too important. Pumped up pots gave me a thumped up heart, which somehow blurred my vision. If I got coolered a couple times and I booked a losing session, I could always blame my poor
The small blind and the button are the only always positions: you are either always first, or always last. As much as you love the button, that’s how much you should hate the small blind. The small blind is the anti-button. The small blind is where money goes to die. A slew of players limp and
I’ve been conducting dangerous scientific experiments since I was a kid. How long does a pop bottle have to sit on a fire before it will explode when I throw cold water on it? How much air do I need to leave in a water balloon so I can throw it at Jennifer without having
Less tanking. More certainty. Less second-guessing. More confidence. Less regretting. More badass. When you know you’ve put your last money into a pot unless you improve, you carry a valuable secret. Knowing the future makes you feel safe. And your sense of security will rattle your tablemates, adding even more fun and profit to your
Squeeze is a great poker word. It’s right up there alongside flop-lag and string-bet and bust-out. Words that depict the meaning, and capture the feeling. Joe bets, Moe calls, and Curly raises. In this story, Moe just got squeezed. He’s caught between two players applying pressure. He’s got a medium-strength hand, good enough to call the initial bet, but
Dear reader: I wrote this in 2003 about an event from 1985. The first time I played poker in a casino, I was scared spitless. It was the same feeling I got the first time I teed off on a real golf course and the same as the first time I drove a
