Big hand bluffing
3 November 2006
By Mark Pilarski
Dear Mark: I happen to be a very tight player
when it comes to playing Texas Hold'em. When I
get a real decent starting hand like Kings or
Aces, I get a little overly excited and bet
heavily, which throws bluffing right out the
window. Any ideas on how I can throw off fellow
players? Chip B.
Hey, Chip, plenty of players, when getting a
two-card starting hand of Kings or Pocket
Rockets, froth at the mouth like a diseased
coyote. Most players, like yourself, tend to
raise, then re-raise with either of these hands.
But once you are identified as a very tight
player, folding most of the hands you're dealt,
and then all of a sudden you pull a Pickett's
Charge, obviously you ain't bluffing nobody.
I would recommend you occasionally "slow play"
your big hand. If you have a pair of Kings or
Aces, just call before the flop. Your fellow
players by now are used to you betting big on
big hands, but by your slow playing, opponents
will now figure you for a weak hand, and you'll
end up winning a bigger pot because of it.
Dear Mark: When playing slots, does it make any
difference which increments of bills that I put
into the machine? For instance, if I put a $10
bill in instead of a $100 bill, does that affect
my chances of wining? Rachel H.
A slot machine does not contradistinguish your
hard-earned cash as it gobbles it up, no matter
what denomination, nor will it increase or
decrease your odds of winning, except in the
rare case of slot indigestion.
Dear Mark: What would happen if two players both
made the progressive side bet in Caribbean Stud,
and both get a Royal Flush? Is the pot split
down the middle? I asked a dealer this question
and he said he's never seen it happen , nor was
he sure exactly how the jackpot would be split.
The dealer then called over the pit boss and she
said it's never happened in their casino nor has
she ever heard of two royals in one hand. She
too wasn't quite sure on how the progressive
would be split, but she didn't think it would be
down the middle. What are your thoughts on how
the pot would be split? Chuck D.
The reason, Chuck, that both the dealer and pit
boss have never eye-witnessed two royals in one
hand is because the odds of that happening are
over 20 billion to one. To be exact, it's one in
20,103,110,301.Very few have ever played that
many hands, and anyway, after the ten billionth,
one's memory begins to fade.
I'm frowning deeply here, and if wrong I'm sure
I'll hear about it, but I believe the player on
the right gets the progressive jackpot and the
other player wins a measly $10,000. Reason
being, with Caribbean Stud, players get paid
right to left, so the player on the right gets
paid first, which would be the progressive
jackpot, then the meter is reset to $10,000, and
then the gone berserko second player would then
get paid.
Settling this squabble could get ugly, but
luckily, and I'm guessing here again, it'll
never happen in our lifetimes.
Gambling Wisdom of the Week: "Industry
executives and analysts often mistakenly talk
about strategy as if it were some kind of chess
match. But in chess, you have just two
opponents, each with identical resources, and
with luck playing a minimal role. The real world
is much more like a poker game, with multiple
players trying to make the best of whatever hand
fortune has dealt them. In our industry, Bill
Gates owns the poker table until someone proves
otherwise." -- David Moschel
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