Behind The Mask

There is only one game of chance known to mankind where image is as important as the weapons at your command. That game is poker.

Image means nothing at blackjack or baccarat. It doesn't help you at roulette, the horses, dice, slots or the greyhounds.

But if you are able to create a believable image to the other players and make the image stick, you are well on your way to poker stardom.

To prove my point, let's start with some of the legends of poker. Let's say you got lucky in a satellite tournament and suddenly, miraculously, found yourself with a free $10,000 buy-in at the World Series of Poker.

Anyone who found himself or herself in such a position would be ecstatic. Unless you were sitting at the same table as Phil Ivey.

If you are the average person like many poker players are, you would be awed by Ivey's presence. His image precedes him. And while luck and circumstance may permit you to survive and even flourish at the table, your chances of advancing to another table are very, very slim.

A person's table image is a mask he wears to confuse and defeat his foes. If you are known as a raiser, some players who are intimidated by the raise won't want to play with you. They may even request a table change. While this is permitted in a cash game, there's no such luck in a tournament. You are stuck at the table and seat to which you are assigned.

This is why I enjoy changing masks when I sit down at a poker table.

I may start out playing very docile, just calling hands when I have a big pocket pair or A-K. I'll do that for a while and at a certain point will suddenly don my raising mask. For a short while, I will raise with any hand that gives me the slightest edge. And I will follow through with bets until I am caught.

Sometimes I wear the mask of one of my favorite players. I will imitate that player in the way I slouch at the table or raise or even the way I tilt my hat. The mask must be authentic in order to do the job for which it is intended.

There are other tricks you can use to cause the other players to go on tilt. You can tell yourself the next time you catch 10-2 off-sit, you will play the cards like pocket kings. This means betting and re-betting and pushing the hand to the river. If you are called, shrug, smile and show your cards. That will help create an image that should earn you a payoff on future hands when you do hold the nuts.

Try to read the other players to discover what masks they are wearing. Does the young Eurasian beauty in seat four really have a big pocket pair with that raise, or is she raising the pot with king-jack off-suit?

How about the guy with the designer sunglasses and the Rolex? Did he raise because he is bored and tired of waiting for cards, or does he have pocket rockets? Try to look beyond the mask. Look for small identifying tells that will help you read the minds of the other players.

Remember the childhood game, 'Rock, scissors, paper'? Think in terms of that game and try to outmaneuver the other players. That will help you out think and out play your opposition. Their masks may be tricky. But they can be penetrated. Even Phil Ivey can be caught bluffing.

Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.

(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).