I caught up on all my Tivo'ed episodes of the Pro-Am Poker Equalizer this weekend. If you're unfamiliar with this show, it's a 6-handed table played with 4 pros and 2 amateurs, where the amateurs start with a 3:2 chip lead over the pros ($150000 for ams, $100000 for pros). It's an interesting format. For the most part, the chip lead didn't seem to help the amateurs, because they didn't really know how to use it to their advantage.

There was one move in particular that, while demonstrated in the extreme, struck me as something I've seen many players do, both in tournaments and in cash play. In one hand, Cindy Margolis is heads-up against Phil Laak. Phil has flopped trips, whereas Cindy has only queen high. Phil puts her all in. While debating her call (which she eventually made!), Cindy says to the crowd "I think he's bluffing!"

Now, Phil Laak is certainly capable of bluffing there, so you can see her point. But queen high?! I've actually seen people make this call in person, saying "I didn't think you had anything." Well, here's a tip ... if you don't have anything either, you simply can't make this call! You can only call the "bluffer" if you put him/her on two cards lower than yours, not connected to the board, with no straight draws or flush draws, *and* won't pair up their hole cards on the turn or river. That's a lot of ifs. Poker isn't very forgiving, and even if you're right, the guy can still hit his miracle cards to pair pretty easily. Just lay it down.

On a side note, play similar to this netted me over $700 on a spur-of-the-moment trip up to Chocktaw last weekend, after the freerolls. Forget what I said. Keep calling suspected bluffs with nothing, people. And, I'll see you at the tables in Chocktaw.

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The other day I was in a Sit & Go at Bugsy's Club when I busted an Irish player (there are a lot of Europeans on Bugsy's) out on the bubble. I wished him gg and he replied "no it wasn't, you're jammy". I asked him what the heck "jammy" meant (it means "lucky") and he said "it's just a saying. You keep getting your straights and flushes."

I'm not sure why I indulged him, but a spirited debate ensued, where I actually sent this person the snapshot of my stats to prove that I had only played a small percentage of hands and won most of the ones I played without ever seeing a showdown.

Was I "jammy"? No, not really. I happen to have made a flush to take him out. But in looking at the hands I played, it turns out I gave that impression through two actions.

Protecting your hand. I don't remember who the author was, but a recent Card Player article contained the phrase, "Don't leave your kids in the street." What this colorful phrase means is, if you bet at it before the flop you want to bet at it after the flop too, even if you missed your hand -- unless someone beats you to it. Betting at it gives one of two impressions: Your hand was good enough before the flop that it didn't need to improve, or the cards on the flop improved you. This should help chase out anyone that hasn't made
their hand yet, or hasn't made a hand that beats what they think you have. Especially important to this technique is...

Bet Sizing. The software at Bugsy's, like most online sites, has a button that makes it easy to do a minimum bet. Many people use this, despite the fact that it is almost never correct to bet this amount after the flop. Because a lot of people bet like that, when I made bets of proper size, it gave the appearance that I had a much better hand than I did, as compared with how most people on the site would have played it. If you see this minimum betting going on wherever you play, use this to your advantage! For a great article on bet sizing, see CardPlayer.com
Incidentally, if you don't subscribe, you should.

So, back to being Jammy. I wasn't making all my hands in this game. I simply used a fairly tight hand selection, protected my hands even when I missed the flop, and bet in amounts that made sense for the pot size, but were larger than what this player was accustomed to. All that (plus the final winning flush) gave the Irish player the impression that I always made my hands. What a great table image to give! If it means everyone will relinquish pots to me, I hope to appear jammy all the time.

I hope you're looking "jammy" when I see you at the tables...

This article was previously posted on 14-Apr-2005, on the old site.

Online poker lacks the social atmosphere of a real poker table, where you can see and chat casually with your fellow players. They do, however, provide a chat window where you can type messages to your opponents. A lot of acronyms have evolved to save some typing. This tends to baffle newcomers, but they aren't that hard to decipher.

Here is a list of some of the most common ones. With these as a base, you should be able to figure out any others you come across.

• gg - good game - Usually said to someone who has played well, but just got busted out.


• nh - nice hand; also n1 or just n


• nb - nice bet - Usually said by someone who wanted to stay, but got priced out by a bet too large to call, but not so large as to be an overbet


• ty - thank you - the courteous response to the compliements above

In addition to the game-specific acronyms above, some "standard" chat acronyms come into play.

• cya - see ya


• lol - laughing out loud


• u2 - you too


• tc - take care


• :-) - a smile; also :), :D, or any number of others

If you frequently see others that aren't listed here,
and I'll add them to the list.

This article was previously posted on 04-Apr-2005, on the old site.

Imagine yourself in the end stage of a freeze-out tournament, or a one table sit & go. The blinds are 200/400. A short-stack at the table raises all-in for 3000. You hold A J and you call. There are 2 other callers. One of them has more chips than you, the other less. The flop is: J 8 7. You have top pair with top kicker, but there is a straight draw and a flush draw on the board. What do you do?

If you are like many people I have played against online, you bet big. You want to chase everyone out so you can have the pot with your top pair, right? Well, let's think about this. There's a straight draw and a flush draw. Could your all-in opponent have one of these? Could they have a pair of kings, beating your jacks?

Sure they could. This is why you should check. And your other opponents should check too. Unless one of you ends up with the absolute nuts, everyone should check that puppy right to the showdown. Here's why.

In a freeze-out tournament, just as important as accumulating chips is survival. Or, to put it another way, the elimination of other players. One less player means you are -- you all are -- that much closer to the money. If the other players in the hand can help you ensure that the all-in player will be bounced out, by all means let them stay in and play.

Suppose, for instance, you manage to chase out the other players and you find yourself heads-up with the all-in player, who reveals a pocket pair: 9 9. Great, right? Then the turn brings the 10. You go to the river drawing dead. (The best you can do is chop, if one of the two remaining 9's comes on the river.)

Further suppose that one of the people you chased out would have had a small diamond flush if you had let him stay. Do you want him to have all those chips? No. But, isn't that better than the all-in guy sticking around? You bet! To win a freeze-out, you need to be the last man standing, so anything that narrows the field is a good thing. Look at it this way: if you weren't involved in the pot, you would be cheering for something, anything, to happen to make that all-in player lose.

This situation comes up a lot. When it does, remember: unless the flop absolutely knocks your socks off (in our example, 2 aces, 2 jacks, or the nut spade flush), check it down.

See you at the tables.

This article was previously posted on 23-Mar-2005, on the old site.