Table Talk - Watch Your Mouth

I have always been amazed how much of an expert people try to look like after a hand has been played. I listen to players reflect on what a players pot odds were, the number of outs that they had, why they “had” to call, or how they would have never folded the hand if they were in the same spot because the person playing the hand was pot committed when someone put them all in. Table talk like this is common. Many players like to show others what they know, or think that they know. At the same time, if this is something that you find yourself doing often, it can be the biggest leak in your game. When you broadcast to the whole table what your playing strategy would be, you are in essence giving your opponents free information to beat you.

Let’s face it even if you are a winning player you don’t have a lot of edges in the game of poker. So why would you give one of them away to your opponents on telling them what your playing strategy would be? Often we hear of poker compared to war in some fashion. If we opt to think along those lines then we could compare the information that we give to or gain about our opponents to military intel. If poker were like war why would you want to give the enemy any tactical advantage over you? Any information about the way you or your opponents play can be crucial. If you see two hearts on the flop, and an opponent has mentioned earlier that he’s more opt to raise any bet with the nut flush draw, and you happen to be holding a set at the time, it would be safe to say that you may be in position to get all of your opponents chips in the middle and potentially win a huge pot.

This is just my opinion, but I think the reason why many us (and I’m not excusing myself from this conversation, because I have been guilty of this as well) like to discuss playing strategy is ego driven. We make ourselves feel better and want to look like some form of a poker genius that no one at the table better try to cross. I’ve been one to want to show what I think is my mastery of the game to others with my so-called wisdom and knowledge. From a profitability standpoint this is probably one of the dumbest things that you can do as a poker player. There is really no tactical advantage to giving the opposition hints to your playing strategy.

I am a person who is always looking to improve his game. I like to get opinions and information about different forms of strategy from as many places and people as I can. This day and age the ability to tap into those discussion groups are only a click away on the Internet. I enjoy reading different opinions from people when someone posts a story about particular situations and asking group members about what they would do in that situation. It’s not that I believe that any of the opinions are wrong. I am more intrigued about how they came to the conclusion that they came to regarding the decision that they said that they would make. Talking strategy with opponents and fellow players you trust is a great way to improve your game but at the table during the game may not be the smartest thing.

This is why I myself am very careful about what I talk about at the poker table when it comes to strategy. In fact, one of the few people I ever discuss my game with and someone whose opinion I truly trust because I have seen that he has been a long term winner, pulled me aside one time and advised me that I was giving away too much valuable information at the table. He told me, “You have to remember, these people are trying to take your money. Why would you educate them on how to do it?” That was something that I have never forgotten to this day and I go out of my way to implement it. This is why I never show a hand when I make a big bet and someone folds. I know that a lot of poker players lie about what they had when they are playing, unless of course they show the hand. People who know me, know that I don’t believe that lying is right under any circumstances. I’m not saying I haven’t done it. I just don’t believe it’s right. I won’t even lie at the poker table about the hand I had even if I don’t show. Many times when people ask I don’t say anything. If they persist I just tell them, “I didn’t show it. Are you really gonna believe me if I tell you?” The bottom line is, there is no advantage in revealing information even after the hand is over.

On the other side of that coin I actually like talking to players at my local card room about strategy. However, I try to just sit and listen and let them do all of the talking. They sit and tell me countless stories of big hands that they won, how they played it preflop to the river, and I just soak it up. I am hopeful that I will end up sitting down at a no limit table with them at some time in the future and be able to use the information that they have given me to beat them. When you start bragging about how you would’ve played the hand differently, you are in essence giving everyone at the table tools to beat you. A number of players that I play with know that I went to a poker boot camp and ask me for advice all of the time. I have to keep things generalized to, “It depends on the situation, the table, the players, your stack size, all sorts of variables.” I tell them that I am still learning so I may not be the best person to ask advice from. The reality is that I don’t want to make them any better than what they already are.