Joe Williams - Poker Notes

After reading the following information, you might think this book should be titled Evil Poker . Thats understandable. However, its not evil; its a strategy for a game. And in this fine game of poker, every player at your table is attempting to take your money. Therefore, any tactic available to you should be implemented at the right times. Attempting to protect your money, or attempting to acquire money by any means necessary on the felt to pay bills and feed your family isnt evil its moral.

Down On His Luck

A lot of poker players make the mistake of playing table games against the house. Dont dissuade them. These are players you want at your table. If they were winning at the table games, then they would still be at the table games. If theyre at your poker table, then they likely lost at the table games and are attempting to switch things up. What they dont realize is that theyre on tilt before they even sit down.

If youre a nice fellow, you could comfort this person after he announces he just got crushed in blackjack or roulette. You could offer justifications for the loss and make him feel better, putting some crazy positive spin on the chain of events that have unfolded for him. But this would be unwise, and when youre playing poker, you dont want to be a nice fellow.

Instead of taking the approach mentioned above, offer a casual needle or two, which will add to his tilt and increase his impatience once he begins playing poker. For instance, with a gentle laugh, you can say something along the lines of, Oh, no, you made the mistake of playing blackjack here? Nobody wins at blackjack here. This is sure to make him feel worse, not better. Use your own personality and change the wording around. As long as it sounds sincere but is really designed to feed tilt, you will be good to go.

Painful Lies

Moving on to another cruel poker tactic, lets say youre heads-up in a hand with another player. You make a big bet on the river and your opponent folds. Youre 100% sure you had the winner, but your opponent doesnt need to know that. Instead, muck your cards and say, What did you have there? He will tell you and then expect you to tell him he was beat. But its time to feed tilt. Instead, base your answer on his response and make your hand slightly weaker than the hand he said he had.

For example, if says he had top pair with a king kicker, you should react with slight surprise and tell him you had top pair with a queen kicker. This wont be true, but thats not the point. The point is that youre going to see this character go on tilt in an instant, especially if it was a big pot. If it doesnt work, wait a few orbits and use the same tactic. This time, tell him that your hand was a few levels lower than his. Remember, hes there to take your money, and youre not there to make friends.

The Job Ploy

If youre having trouble getting your poker neighbor guy sitting next to you on tilt, this is a surefire way to do it. Strike up a conversation with that fellow and ask him what he does for a living. Once he replies, hes doomed.

Nobody likes talking about work when theyre playing poker. The game of poker is an escapist activity. Part of the reason we play is to forget about stress. Logically, if you bring up stressful aspects of life to someone who is there to relax, theyre going to get frustrated.

Try to gear the conversation toward the negatives that person experiences at work. Act like a psychologist by comforting him, but at the same time, be sure to add some, Oh, that stinks and I wouldnt be able to deal with someone like that. Youre putting negative thoughts in his mind, which will affect his mood and game.

Obvious Tilt Weapons

Lets not forget the easiest ways to get someone on tilt:

Show your bluff after your opponent folds.

After hitting a hand and beating your opponent, tell him you only called for some crazy reason (i.e. you only played 97o because you wore 97 on the football team in high school).

After sucking out on your opponent, remind him that you only had two outs (or whatever number of outs apply).

Tell him that the seat hes sitting in is known as unlucky or has been cold all day.

Tell him hes an awesome poker player (this will put pressure on him to make all the correct decisions, which is often highly effective).

Tell the chip leader in a poker tournament that hes on fire and hitting everything (he will see this as bad luck, and it almost always lead to reduced concentration and chip declines).

While I dont believe this to be true in real life off the felt, in the game of poker, its better to be feared than loved.

Welcome to the profitable side of the felt! But this is just the beginning.