Poker: Using His Prejudice against Him
Poker is a game of forming impressions. Since everyone gets roughly the same number of good and bad hands over the long run, the way poker players get an edge is by learning to figure out when their hands are beaten and when they are strong. One way to do this is by forming impressions of their opponents. Some of these impressions are formed as soon as their opponents sit down at the table. While these prejudices may make some sense, they can also be turned against an unwary opponent.
Common Prejudices in Poker
A good cash game poker player wants to start forming an impression of all players right out of the gate. The sooner a player establishes an idea of who the opponents are, the sooner this information can be used to gain an advantage. For this reason, poker players may look for external cues, or clues about a player based on their appearance. They may assume that a player who is dressed very conservatively with a prominentwedding ring will play tight and be easier to bluff. They may expect a physically large player to be very aggressive. Often these impressions are correct. However, a good player uses an impression only as a baseline and immediately begins searching for evidence to disprove or confirm his hypothesis.
Taking Advantage of Prejudices in Poker
If you have a very clear image and encounter players who are not so quick to reevaluate their impressions, you have a great opportunity. Let's say you are very soft-spoken, speaking infrequently and quietly so that opponents barely notice you. Other players may assume you are tight-weak and easily bullied. Of course this will not necessarily be the case. Among the many extremely strong players who are or appear quiet and soft-spoken are Allen Cunningham, Dan Harrington and Phil Ivey.
Still, if you are an aggressive player, you can use this image to your advantage. The last thing you should do is try to convince opponents that you are not as weak as you appear. Instead, play on this image. Work more than your share of bluffs into your game and do not show them. In fact, as you drag the pots you may remark that you cannot believe how lucky you are getting. With the right opponents, it may take a whole session before they catch on, by which time you will hopefully have a mountain of chips. Even if you are not normally soft-spoken you may wish to cultivate this image if you are an aggressive player who doesn't look aggressive.
Falling Victim to Prejudices in Poker
It can be great to take advantage of the prejudices of others but you don't want the same thing happening to you. To avoid this, simply keep an open mind throughout your game. It is okay and even desirable to form first impressions, as long as you constantly revise those impressions based on the evidence that is presented to you during the game.
- Date posted Aug 14, 2008
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Clark Jensen
Strategy
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