Being Bullied Out of the Hand

Author: Simon Dexter

Hi guys.

At times when I play poker, I feel like that guy on the beach who gets sand kicked in his face for no reason. It’s hard to admit, but I get bullied. If I didn’t enjoy the game so much, I’d have packed it in. Is there anything I can do to prevent being pushed about?
GH, London

Hi GH,

You’ll recall the ‘Charles Atlas’ ads where the guy is getting sand kicked in his face and what he resolves to do? That’s right: he goes back home and builds up his resistance to the bully. You’ve identified the problem, namely getting shoved around, and only you can fix it.

Before you do, it’s worth understanding why some opponents try pushing others about: in truth, it’s precisely what more experienced players do to pull in regular profits. You have to understand this is not because they get dealt better cards, it’s that they know how to bully opponents and scoop the pot even when they don’t have premium hands.

Why is this? It’s almost certainly because such players do not arrive at a game expecting to lose money; they have little fear on this front. Instead, they’re comfortable with the financial risk they’re taking and set targets, hungry to secure success. You cannot play poker properly if you’re continually worried about how much you might lose.

This could mean you drop down to a lower buy-in level for a while because you never want to be in a position where you’re thinking, “I’ve got this guy, but there’s no way I can call £X amount”. Try this for a while, rid yourself of fear and come back roaring at the bullies!

Tags: live poker, Online Poker, poker strategies, Poker Tips

This entry was posted on Thursday, May 1st, 2008 at 11:39 am and is filed under Have Your Say!. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

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