Playing poker is a bit like riding a roller-coaster: No matter how good a player you are, or how bad a player, you’re always going to get ups and downs. The difference between the winning and losing players is that the winners have more ups than downs. This may seem obvious but it’s an illustration of a basic principle of poker play: the key to winning is the ability to make correct decisions. The luck of the draw and the fall of the cards cannot be controlled and even pocket aces can be cracked, but if you consistently make correct decisions then you will be a winner in the long run.

   So much for the theory. Let’s take a look at some of my recent hands and see how they measure up in practice…

   1. HOOK, LINE AND SINKER.  Texas Holdem Sitngo. I’m on the button with A8 so I bet 3 times the blind. One player calls. The highest card on the flop is an 8. I have top pair with top kicker so I bet 3 times the blind again. The other player calls again. The turn is a 9; I bet half the pot and get called. Did he hit the 9?  Has he got an overpair? It’s an 8 on the river, giving me trips. The opposition bets big so I go all-in. He shows 99 for a full house.  I don’t see how I could have gotten away from this. Maybe the fearless bet on the river should have been a clue, but I figured he had something like A9 or TT. The fish took the bait.

   2.  CALLING A DESPERATE BLUFF. Early stages of a TH Multi-table Tournament. I’m in late position with Qs Td. A middle position player raises 4x, I call and the Big Blind calls. The flop is 6 3 K, two diamonds. It’s checked to me so I bet 3/4 of the pot. BB folds but Middle calls. The turn is  Qd, giving me top pair and a flush draw. Middle now puts in a big bet, more than the pot. I know he’s an aggressive player and I doubt he has a King, so I call. The river is Jd, giving me a Queen-high flush. Middle goes all-in. His stack is much bigger than mine, so this is my tournament life. Was he betting on a flush draw too and if so, is it better than Queen-high? I call and he shows 7 2 of hearts! He has nothing. Would have been an awesome bluff if it had come off.

   3. POCKET BATTLE. Fixed Limit TH.  I’m in the big blind withTT. Player 1 raises, I reraise , P1 caps the betting and I call, along with two others. Four of us see the flop: K 6 2. I bet, P1 raises and I call, as do the other two. No-one is scared of the King. The turn is a 3 and everyone checks. The river is another King and the Small Blind bets. I think I have the best hand but just in case, I just call. The other two also call.  They show 77, 88, 99! LOL. Decision-making is so much harder in fixed limit games because it’s harder to push players out of the pot.

   4. TOP PAIR ON A SCARY BOARD. Fixed Limit TH. I’m in late position with Kd Qd. I raise, SB reraises, I call, as does the Button. The flop is T 6 Q, all hearts, giving me top pair. I get in a raising battle with SB and we cap the betting, forcing the Button to fold. The turn is 9h, putting four hearts on the board. SB checks so I bet, hoping that he’s missed the flush, but he calls. The river is 5d and we both check. SB shows QQ for trips. I had to bet on the turn in the hope that he’d be scared off by that flush draw. Maybe if I’d bet again on the river he would have folded. Guess I’ll never know.

   5. A RISKY FIXED LIMIT BLUFF. Fixed Limit TH. I’m on the button with J8. Four other players also limp into the pot. The flop is K 9 Q, giving me nothing but an inside straight draw. Everyone checks so I bet, narrowing it to two callers. The turn is a 6, giving me more nothing. They check, I bet, and they both call. Uh oh!  The river is a 5: blank. They both check so I bet again, praying for them to fold. They both fold. This is a risky play in Fixed Limit games. I think I’ll leave this sort of thing for No Limit games in future.

   What I need to do more of is to review my hands and look for what I’m doing right and what I’m doing wrong. I should be always asking the question, “Am I making correct decisions?” Gotta keep climbing that learning curve.