Poker for Fun and Profit

Gambling casinos are not built by accident.

The minds behind places like Caesar's Palace, Bellagio and the Desert Inn know the odds of every game of chance that they permit in their neon palaces. They don't share those odds with the general public, by the way. All they offer is the lure of fantastic payoffs in return for the pull of a slot handle, the push of a button or a wager on Let It Ride or some other table game.

Now I don't know of anyone who could walk into a casino anywhere in the world and who could realistically say, 'I am going to play the slots today for fun and profit.'

Sorry to spoil the party. The chances of you ending up with more money than when you began your slot machine mania are slim and none.

Will you sometimes win? Of course you will. But you will lose far more often than when you win and your bankroll will not benefit from your enthusiasm.

Same with dice and to a lesser extent blackjack. The controlled roll has not yet proven itself to the point that people can consider dice a skill game. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. When you pick up the bones and shake them, you take your chances with Lady Luck.

But poker! Now poker is the game to play for fun and profit.

In any poker room, you will see players with various amounts off chips in front of them. The size of their buy-in often reflects the skill level of that particular player. If the game is $1-3 no-limit Texas Hold'em, you might see a player sit down at a table with $2,000 or more. He is there to play.

I personally prefer to stay away from such games. Do I think my skills are comparable to thoses of the player with all those chips? Possibly. Do I want to risk my bankroll against his deep pockets?

Not a chance.

Poker is like war. When you are in enemy territory and subject to being ambushed, you want to pick your spots and choose the time of battle. You don't want to go into battle with fewer chips than the guy in the driver's seat.

In golf, a player's skill level determines his handicap. A player with a two handicap is or should be seven strokes better than one with a nine handicap. They may play in the same golf match, but the guy with the two will end up with the money most of the time. The same is true in poker.

I once decided to risk going against the big boys in a cash game at Binion's Horseshoe. I had just won something like $1,400 playing $5-10 limit poker and was feeling the rush that comes with playing well and knowing I controlled the game.

There was a $10-20 limit game going on a couple of tables away. Feeling brave, I bought in for $200.

I remember two of the players. One reminded me of my high school English teacher. She was a no-nonsense woman who gave few A's and who could find more errors in one of my manuscripts than I cared to acknowledge.

The other player was a kid who had one of those headsets. He was gyrating to the music while playing his hands. He had an immense pile of chips in front of him. I later discovered the kid's name.

Stu Ungar.

It didn't take the table long to relieve me of my $200 buy-in. The dealer smiled and asked if I cared to re-buy?

'No thanks,' I said, smiling. 'I'm going for a walk.'

And I did go for my walk. And never returned to a game where I knew I was playing over my head.

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 ).