The Selfish Game of Poker

The success or failure of a poker player is measured in how many chips you take away from your opponents. As Fast Eddie Felson says in the film The Color of Money, The best is the guy with the most in all walks of life. Whenever you win a pot or lose a pot, someone else wins or loses that same pot. This is why poker is a game you can win as you are playing your opponent and not the house. As long as you win enough to beat the rake in whatever game you are playing there is little or no house edge to worry about. There is certainly no house edge in the form of your odds of winning, unlike Roulette for example. Your skills allow you to defeat opponents.

The charitable poker player is a paradox. Barry Greenstein gives much of his tournament winnings to charity and is known as a poker philanthropist. Barry is not so charitable to his cash game opponents and he has a reputation as a fearsome opponent who has shown a profit at the highest stakes games for many years now. Of course we are not criticising this ruthlessness. If you are not able to beat your opponent each time there is the opportunity then Poker is probably a hobby you should avoid. Your opponents will always have a seat for you at their game if you are not happy about taking their money, but are prepared to risk your own!

Guy Laliberte is a well-known Texas Holdem poker player who enjoys mixing it up with the highest stakes live and internet Texas Holdem Games. Guy is the founder of Cirque De Soliel and therefore an extremely wealthy man, valued at over a billion dollars. Guy took up Poker in a big way in 2008 playing the nose bleed stakes online. The sharks certainly enjoyed his presence as they took around $28 million from his pockets in less than twelve months according to the data mining websites who track wins and losses. Guy is now wisely taking a break from high stakes poker after incurring these large losses.

During one episode of High Stakes Poker, Guy was having a good run of cards and got all the money in with a set over David Benyamines two pair. Rather than ruthlessly take the money he allowed Benyamine to have his all in bet back and play for the pre-flop pot, which was much smaller. This saved Benyamine over $150,000. Whilst a nice gesture from a man who certainly does not need to win, this told me that he was playing in stakes too high for his ability. Why do I think this? If the shoe was on the other foot Benyamine and his fellow professionals would have taken pot without offering a reduction in Guys potential loss in the hand. The evidence for this is found in the huge losses amassed by Guy online during 2008. I doubt whether he has had any emails offering him the money he lost back.

To be a winner at poker you must concentrate on getting all the chips. Never think about the loss your opponent may be suffering or how he feels about it. They must deal with it in their own way the same way you do when you lose. No-one is forced to gamble. This is an attitude you must adopt to stay in the game and keep sharp. It is dog eat dog in the poker world and your acquaintances off the table are enemies on it. Look after number one and play hard at all times. Your opponents are quite happy to win your chips so be happy to win theirs. That, after all, is poker.