Global Sports: Stereotyping in Poker: Is it Profitable?

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Stereotyping in Poker: Is it Profitable?

By Hulk Hawking


Poker is a complicated game. It has a lot of variables that can impact the game down to every single hand. Different players, different cards, the dealer, then there's calculating odds, reading hands, tilting. A lot of things can affect every single hand of every single game.

Of all of these factors, a lot of them are out of the player's hand. Bad beats, coolers, cards running cold, sometimes luck just gets his way with you. No matter how good you are, situations like this will always happen in poker. It's just part of the game.

But some of the variables can indeed be controlled, or at least affected. There's your decision on how to play your hand, or whether to bluff or not, to slow play or not, among other things. Some of these decisions are easy while some are hard, but whatever you do, these decisions will affect the outcome of the game. So learning how to affect these things positively will be skills you would typically want to master.

Knowing how to read a villain is a very crucial skill on poker. It allows you to make smart decisions with your hand, based on your reads. Sometimes, you can even represent a hand if you're really that good.

But what do you do when you have no information about your opponent? Like when you play against a person you've never seen before?

In cases like these, it is imperative that you have a go to strategy that you can use. Something that helps you get and edge rather than just flipping a coin. That something will have to be stereotypes.

Believing that stereotyping is a legit strategy to use all the time is really dumb and ignorant. Just because people look the same on the outside doesn't mean they think the same on the inside. Failure to recognize this will drain your cash and make you look stupid on the tables.

In some instances, stereotyping can actually be used to your advantage. You can do this when you have no information whatsoever on your opponent. In these cases, stereotyping will be slightly more beneficial than flipping a coin or asking the opinion of a drunk monkey.

For instance, you join a tournament and are now in a table filled with people you don't know. In situations like this, the first stereotype that does come into your head is a very important one. This won't have a very big impact on the game, but in a game like poker, then you'll have to rely on this.

Whatever stereotype comes to your mind, if you have no other information, then you have to go with what your gut tells you. If a 75 year old man raises when the board pairs on the river when there was a flush draw possible then chances are high that he's not bluffing. If a drunk fat guy with his mistress behind him does the same while taunting you in a similar situation then chances are also high that he's just bluffing.

The rest of the world knows that stereotypes are no match for actually getting to know someone and thinking logically about things. But in the world of poker, where tiny edges can add up to make a ton of money, don't just flip a coin. If it walks, talks, and quacks like a duck, then more than half the time, it is a duck!




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