Something once said by Teddy Roosevelt is paraphrased below:
It is not the observer to who go the laurels,
Nor to the critic who, from the comfort of observation afar,
Speaks of how a thing could be better done:
But to the one standing in the arena, dusty and bloody
Who has strived, persevered and through DARING GREATLY
Now stands high above those timid souls
Who experience in their lives neither defeat nor victory.
Poker is like that; we enter the Pokertorium taking our place in the arena, presenting ourselves (and our wallets & purses) squarely in the sights of competitors who would willingly defeat us without a second thought. In light of the quote above, we players are those who endure the heat of battle. We develop the moves and counter-moves required of this endeavor. We are the ones standing in the arena “daring greatly” while others – those ‘timid souls’ – bleat about not having the courage to face opposition and risk possible defeat through doubting their own abilities, their strengths, their will to win in the felt arena.
Those who do enter this forum of competition have heard from any number of sources clues, ideas, techniques and ploys that “will” result in victory (I use quotes around the word ‘will’ as every savvy player knows there is no such thing as a guarantee of anything in poker). However, one tactic that does afford the greatest opportunity for victory is aggression. Utilized when properly positioned against those who would back down rather than stand and fight, selective aggression is a powerful tool in the arsenal of a discerning and aware poker player.
I was playing in my third tournament this year when the following hand ensued reinforcing in my mind the power of aggression. In early position four rounds in, I found myself with two red Jacks as my hole cards. Jacks, as most experienced poker players know, look lovely but are incredibly vulnerable. Others have said they would rather play Ace-rag than Jacks. But no matter the bad rap they may have, those were my cards for that hand. (Philosophy of Life – and Poker: It’s not the cards you were dealt that matter, it’s how you play them) I then bet four times the big blind to see where my hand stacked up against the opposition and I got three callers. From observing their style of play in the previous rounds I classified two opponents as ‘weak-tight’, meaning they would only play ‘better’ cards but not assertively. The other opponent, next to act after me, played a wide range of starting hands and so could have almost anything.
The flop was dismaying: K-Q-7 rainbow. I was now ready to heave my cards into the muck at first inkling of someone hitting the flop. I could have made a bet then to more completely define the hands of my opponents, but I felt I was facing a King-Queen minefield. If I stepped on one my Jacks would be blown sky-high; so I checked. It was amazing – all my opponents checked as well. Could no one have a King or Queen? Could someone have one and be slowplaying? Could any opponent be sophisticated enough to attempt a check-raise or reraise? I went into the think-tank reviewing everything I had mentally noted about these players. The next one after me could have a wide range of cards so may not have hit the flop. The other two were more likely to have called my preflop raise holding either a King or Queen…or both, but had never played hard at any opponent when holding good hands. Could I push them off of a better hand than mine? I wasn’t out of the minefield yet.
When the turn brought a 9, now an even more coordinated board, I remembered an old bit of poker wisdom: Whoever bets at the pot first has the best chance of winning it. I made a half-pot wager and was amazed once again to see all my opponents fold. I made it through the minefield with nary a mis-step. As I was stacking the chips I heard one say “I had K-7 suited.” The second player whispered “I was afraid he had trips.” Evidently either player could have beaten my Jacks but they were playing afraid, not wanting to risk defeat even with a playable hand. They were defeated not by a better hand but by a second-best hand played aggressively, and with daring.
BTW, I cashed in that tournament when the final five – myself included – agreed on a chop.
