Reader Mail: On Poker And Root Canals

Posted by One Angry Monkey | Filed under Reader Mail

Alright folks, no big intro this week – we’ll save the fancy word play for another time. In the words of Al Green, “Let’s get it on.” No, it’s not an invitation for unbridled sexual ecstasy; it’s just a little bit of Reader Mail. Contact us at pokerfromtherail@fulltiltpoker.com with any questions, comments, or recipes for making whoopee (or, as the kids call it, “bumping uglies”). Let the sexual healing begin:

I have a question about live play that I hope someone can help answer. Here’s the situation: Nine players at table, player from early position (first to act) moves all-in after the flop, action folds to the button. Before any verbal announcement is made, the player on the button flashes their cards to the all-in player. So my question is, would the player’s hand that was flashed be considered dead and must be folded or live and flashing cards constitutes a call? Or does this player just suffer from bad poker etiquette? Any insight you could give into this situation would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

I’m probably the wrong person to answer this question, considering that I fear playing live poker like the plague. Don’t get me wrong, I’m cool with a home game once in a while where it’s just a bunch of friends hanging out, passing money back and forth and imbibing the sweet nectar of the gods. But otherwise live poker is just too damned boring for me. After multi-tabling online for a good while now, anything less than four tables of poker at once doesn’t hold by attention. Never mind a single live table where players are taking forever to make decisions and the urge to throttle them with my bare hands because they’re all such tremendous idiots is simply overwhelming (and could lead to jail time for me). Most of the time I’d rather go in for a root canal than play in a live poker game, but that’s due to the potential for some Vicodin after the root canal as opposed to a sore ass and broken spirit after a 12-hour session at the table.

But I digress. I’ve asked around the office and found some people who are far more wise and knowledgeable in the area of live poker than I, and here’s the gist of what they had to say: flashing your cards at another player does not officially constitute a fold or a call, but it is officially frowned upon and may be cause to incur a penalty. So basically, yes, it’s bad poker etiquette and should not be done. But it’s not illegal. In the words of Whitey Ford, “It ain’t a crime if you don’t get caught.”

I am hooked on Poker After Dark ever since it started. I couldn’t wait to get home from work and watch it every night, including the Director’s Cut on Saturdays. I was blown away that Gavin Smith beat Phil Ivey heads up because Gavin’s chips were little compared to Phil’s tremendous chips lead. I felt certain that Phil was a sure winner, so for Gavin to come from so far behind to win is amazing to me. Gavin was gracious to say that he got good cards during heads-up, which is true, but credit should also go to his great play.

I also enjoy watching Poker After Dark when I get the chance. My bedtime is a strict 9:30 each night, so I usually don’t get to watch, but I did happen to see the show you’re talking about. I was a bit surprised as well that Gavin took down Ivey, but stranger things have happened.

Gavin is a very strong player, one of the most underrated guys out there. Plus, when play gets heads up, all bets are off and pretty much anything can happen. Gavin got some good cards and made some good plays to take down that match. Ivey isn’t unbeatable; he’s not some superhuman card playing machine that can’t lose. Not to mention that Gavin was obviously being fuelled by some high-octane rum and cokes. Here’s my question: is there any person out there who plays better when drunk than Gavin Smith. I think not. That man was born to guzzle booze, play cards, and be Canadian. If only he could avoid the soakers.

Why do people short-stack at cash games? I hate them and hope they all burn in hell.

It’s a combination of factors that would make one short stack at a cash game. First and foremost, they think that they’re showing good self control by not buying in for the maximum amount (or even half that). They are limiting their own liability and trying their best to protect what is probably a meager bankroll. They’re probably playing a level or two above what they should be and figure it’s OK just to mess around and take a shot with 10 big blinds.

Point number two is that these people are all idiots. Yes, you can limit your liability by only buying in for 10 big blinds, but what happens when you catch a monster hand? Chances are you’re not going to win a pot bigger than 20 to 30 big blinds. Wouldn’t you rather buy-in for 100 big blinds and potentially win a truly monstrous pot with your monster of a hand? That’s the part of short-stacking that I really don’t get – you’ve minimized your risk at the cost of not being able to maximize your profit.

Wow, I think I just blew my own mind with that last sentence. Did that make sense to anyone but me? Who the hell knows? In the words of Shaquille O’Neal, “Kazaam!” Until next week…

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