Telling Your Opponent Your Poker Hand as a Poker Strategy

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Telling Your Opponent Your Poker Hand as a Poker Strategy

Poker players have always been known to be less then truthful at the table. We all at one stage or another have lied about the cards we are holding after a brilliant bluff. My last trip to Crown Casino taught me that being a player quite the opposite by telling the truth can help in NL Texas Holdem!

Who would believe you when you tell them EXACTLY what you are holding? I would not have, until my recent discovery – some players use telling the truth as a magnificent poker strategy.

I was sitting playing a cash game with a few pros, nothing serious to most of us but for some more then serious. I was sitting in the big blind with a J and 2 of Spades. There were 2 limpers and i checked. Down came the flop 5, 7, and 9 of spades. I felt immediate joy when seeing this, but then immediately was distracted. Mr Texas Hold’em Poker Pro (will leave name anonymous) burst into laughter and hysterically started telling the table how he had flopped a straight flush.

Wow, what to do? Time to be a truth sleuth! Was he lying as we all normally do? Would he call with 6 and 8 of spades from first position? Was this just trash talk?

The hysterical laughter continued as did talk amongst the table. Mr Poker Pro had been calling EVERYTHING with a stack massive compared to most. Indeed it was possible he would have called with 6, 8 of spades! No risk taking – he looked too delighted – I was FOLDING!

The young man next to me had different ideas though. He was very serious. There was a big raise from Mr Poker pro and immediately he says “I call”. Mr Poker Pro was almost crying with laughter now. He said to the young man “What the hell are you doing man? I just told you; I have flopped a straight flush!” The young man replies “I am not listening to your table talk trash!” Poker Pro says “Well; I will raise you all in then if you are stupid enough to call”.

The turn saw Mr Poker Pro raise The Young Man ALL-IN! Instantly the young man says “I call, I have the nuts, Ace high flush!”

Mr Poker Pro fell off his seat laughing, crying and acting like he had just seen the funniest thing EVER. He couldn’t even sit up to show his cards as he rolled around floor of the poker room. Was he telling the truth? Did my sleuthing, my analysis and determination that someone would tell the truth pay off for me (although would have been beaten by the young man’s Ace high flush anyway).

When Mr Poker Pro got to his feet with tears rolling out of his eyes and flipped those cards, the Young Man went CRAZY! Indeed Mr Poker Pro had told the truth. Abuse now came from the young man’s mouth. Mr Pros reply was “quieten down, I was trying to save you money, there is no law against telling you my hand!”

Indeed – telling the truth can be a good poker strategy, also; being a truth sleuth can save you a lot of money if you detect correctly! It can also save you a lot of heartache. Just look at the movie "Mett the Parents" as an example of winning with the truth!