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| Why Sunglasses and Headphones Aren't For Me Poker Lesson by Howard Lederer Be prepared for a poker tournament and stay focused. Poker Strategy Article by Howard Lederer. |
| Poker Strategy Lesson by Howard Lederer Leave the Sunglasses and IPod at Home in Tournament Poker Poker Strategy Article by Howard Lederer |
| Full Tilt Poker Tips From The Pros |
| Download the Full Tilt Poker software and enter bonus code: POKERPLAY 100% Bonus Offer You can play for fun at Full Tilt Poker and still enjoy all of the features that they offer, including watching and chatting with all of the professional poker players. Where the Pros Live, Full Tilt Poker |
Howard Lederer
Poker Lesson #6
Why I Leave My Sunglasses And iPod At Home
April 25, 2005
Why Sunglasses and Headphones Aren't For Me
I know this newsletter is being written for an online poker site, but I hope
that most of you still find time to play live poker. As much as I love online
poker, I would never completely give up sitting at a table and getting the
chance to size up an opponent. This week's lesson will examine why I think it
is a mistake to wear headphones or sunglasses during live play.
Poker is a game of information. You give information to your opponents, and
they give information to you. Most of that information is in the form of betting
patterns, which is why online poker is such a great form of the game. All of
the betting information is right there for you to use while playing a hand. But
when you play live, there is a small amount of additional information that is
given off through physical tells and audio cues. I am a very visual player, and
am blessed with good eyesight. I wear contacts, and with them, my vision is
20/15. I constantly use my eyes to take in every nuance of what's going on
around me at the table. If I wore sunglasses, much of that information would
be lost to me. I am confident that the information I take in with my eyes far
exceeds what I give away.
If you currently employ sunglasses when you play, I would encourage you to
try playing without them. Yeah, you look cool in them. Maybe. But, if you try
playing without them while staying committed to taking in as much visual
information as possible, you might find that not only are you doing better, the
game is suddenly more interesting as well.
I reserve special scorn for the rampant use of headphones in poker
tournaments. They slow down the action and, on the whole, I believe they
hurt the people who use them. When a player throws a single, large chip into
the pot, he usually announces 'raise' or 'call'. But all the guys at the table
wearing headphones can't hear the call. Invariably, they have to take off
their headphones and ask the dealer what the bet is. It is annoying when
the action comes to a grinding halt to clarify something that anyone without
headphones already knows. Also, poker is a social game. It would make me
sad if poker someday becomes a game where nine people are sitting at a
table listening to music, and no one is talking to one another.
Also, there are some valuable things you can pick up on simply by paying
attention to the conversation around the table. You can sometimes tell when
someone is over his head just by listening to him talk. In a recent
tournament, I won a very large pot as we were nearing the last few tables
because I heard someone speaking a few minutes earlier.
It was the Bellagio $15K WPT poker tournament. The blinds were $4K-$8K
and I was in the big blind. A player who'd been playing very tight so far
opened the pot from an early position for $25K. The small blind called and I
looked down at 9-9. I often re-raise with this hand, but this seemed like a
good time to just call. The flop was 8s 5s 3c. The small blind checked and,
with about $275K in front of me and $100K in the pot, I continued playing
cautiously and checked. The opener checked, too. The turn was (8s 5s 3c) 6c
and the small blind checked. I felt like I must have the best hand, so I bet
$50K. I was very surprised when the original opener raised all-in for a total of
$175K. The small blind folded and now I had a big $125K decision to make. If
I call and win, I have $550K and am in great shape. If I call and lose I'm in
real trouble.
I didn't think he had a big hand, but it didn't seem like a very good bluffing
situation either. The board looked really dangerous. Plus, I hadn't seen this
player get out of line at all. But then I remembered a comment he had made
to his neighbor about ten minutes earlier. He had hardly played a hand for
about an hour, and said to the guy next him that his cards had been so bad,
it would have been just as well if he had stayed in his room after the last
break. Remembering that comment, I felt there was a good chance that he
was frustrated. With that factored in, I made the call. He turned over the
Kd-Qd, and with a 2 on the river, I won a key hand that put me in great
shape in a big tournament. If I had been listening to music, I don't think I
could have made the call.
Poker is a game of information. Sunglasses might keep some information from
getting out, but they stop more from coming in. Headphones simply give you
fewer opportunities to gain valuable information about other players. These
are handicaps I am not willing to spot my opponents.
In Depth Review of Full Tilt Poker
Poker Lesson #6
Why I Leave My Sunglasses And iPod At Home
April 25, 2005
Why Sunglasses and Headphones Aren't For Me
I know this newsletter is being written for an online poker site, but I hope
that most of you still find time to play live poker. As much as I love online
poker, I would never completely give up sitting at a table and getting the
chance to size up an opponent. This week's lesson will examine why I think it
is a mistake to wear headphones or sunglasses during live play.
Poker is a game of information. You give information to your opponents, and
they give information to you. Most of that information is in the form of betting
patterns, which is why online poker is such a great form of the game. All of
the betting information is right there for you to use while playing a hand. But
when you play live, there is a small amount of additional information that is
given off through physical tells and audio cues. I am a very visual player, and
am blessed with good eyesight. I wear contacts, and with them, my vision is
20/15. I constantly use my eyes to take in every nuance of what's going on
around me at the table. If I wore sunglasses, much of that information would
be lost to me. I am confident that the information I take in with my eyes far
exceeds what I give away.
If you currently employ sunglasses when you play, I would encourage you to
try playing without them. Yeah, you look cool in them. Maybe. But, if you try
playing without them while staying committed to taking in as much visual
information as possible, you might find that not only are you doing better, the
game is suddenly more interesting as well.
I reserve special scorn for the rampant use of headphones in poker
tournaments. They slow down the action and, on the whole, I believe they
hurt the people who use them. When a player throws a single, large chip into
the pot, he usually announces 'raise' or 'call'. But all the guys at the table
wearing headphones can't hear the call. Invariably, they have to take off
their headphones and ask the dealer what the bet is. It is annoying when
the action comes to a grinding halt to clarify something that anyone without
headphones already knows. Also, poker is a social game. It would make me
sad if poker someday becomes a game where nine people are sitting at a
table listening to music, and no one is talking to one another.
Also, there are some valuable things you can pick up on simply by paying
attention to the conversation around the table. You can sometimes tell when
someone is over his head just by listening to him talk. In a recent
tournament, I won a very large pot as we were nearing the last few tables
because I heard someone speaking a few minutes earlier.
It was the Bellagio $15K WPT poker tournament. The blinds were $4K-$8K
and I was in the big blind. A player who'd been playing very tight so far
opened the pot from an early position for $25K. The small blind called and I
looked down at 9-9. I often re-raise with this hand, but this seemed like a
good time to just call. The flop was 8s 5s 3c. The small blind checked and,
with about $275K in front of me and $100K in the pot, I continued playing
cautiously and checked. The opener checked, too. The turn was (8s 5s 3c) 6c
and the small blind checked. I felt like I must have the best hand, so I bet
$50K. I was very surprised when the original opener raised all-in for a total of
$175K. The small blind folded and now I had a big $125K decision to make. If
I call and win, I have $550K and am in great shape. If I call and lose I'm in
real trouble.
I didn't think he had a big hand, but it didn't seem like a very good bluffing
situation either. The board looked really dangerous. Plus, I hadn't seen this
player get out of line at all. But then I remembered a comment he had made
to his neighbor about ten minutes earlier. He had hardly played a hand for
about an hour, and said to the guy next him that his cards had been so bad,
it would have been just as well if he had stayed in his room after the last
break. Remembering that comment, I felt there was a good chance that he
was frustrated. With that factored in, I made the call. He turned over the
Kd-Qd, and with a 2 on the river, I won a key hand that put me in great
shape in a big tournament. If I had been listening to music, I don't think I
could have made the call.
Poker is a game of information. Sunglasses might keep some information from
getting out, but they stop more from coming in. Headphones simply give you
fewer opportunities to gain valuable information about other players. These
are handicaps I am not willing to spot my opponents.
In Depth Review of Full Tilt Poker
| Some of the best players in the world have joined Team Full Tilt Poker. The Full Tilt Team includes Howard Lederer, Phil Ivey, Chris Ferguson, John Juanda, Jennifer Harman, Phil Gordon, Erick Lindgren, Erik Seidel, Clonie Gowan, Andy Bloch, and Mike Matusow. It's WSOP Main Event Mania at Full Tilt Poker. This year, they're giving away $1 million worth of free WSOP Main Event seats, and when they say free, they mean it. Completely free... gratis... on the house. Nowhere in the world will you find a guarantee tournament like this - not online, and not in any casino. With 26 WSOP bracelets between them, the Full Tilt Team knows good poker when they see it. See who you'd like to match wits with, then join them at the tables and see how you stack up. You can Learn, Chat, and Play with the Pros at Full Tilt Poker, Where the Pros Live! Complete, in depth Review of Full Tilt Poker available. |
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