The Most Dangerous Player

Who is the most dangerous player at your table?

I'm talking poker, of course. While there may be 'dangerous' players at a blackjack or dice table, they are playing against the House, not you. Poker is the only gambling game in existence where the casino doesn't care who wins.

Dangerous players come in several different categories. If you are serious about being a steady winner on the poker circuit, you had better learn how to identify them and counter-act their moves. If you don't, just say goodbye to your bankroll.

In the past, I used to be intimidated by dangerous players. I first got serious about poker in the 1970s when I worked as a reporter for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner. I lived in Hollywood in those days, which was just a 15-minute freeway ride from Gardena, at one time known as the 'poker-playing capital of the world.'

Gardena was one of the few communities in California where the citizens had voted to legalize poker and pan, another card game. And I can assure you there were many dangerous card players in that town.

A dangerous player starts by buying in for a large number of chips. The player wants to be thought of as so powerful, nobody will want to challenge him. While it can work with some people who are easily intimidated, it should not work with you. I will go one step farther: don't ever let it work with you.

Dangerous players are also known for their raising and re-raising techniques. Think of the bullies you survived in elementary school, high school, college or even the work place. Think of how they acted to intimidate you and the other people around. That is how a dangerous player operates.

In my early years of learning to play poker, I hated to be at the same table as a dangerous player. It was even worse if there were two or three players who used the same techniques to rob the other more passive players of their chips.

They would wait until they lured a player into their circle and then conduct a raising and re-raising war. While some players stood up to them, most would surrender to end the blood-letting. It took me a while to understand their game, but finally the message got through to me.

One day I decided, 'To hell with this. If they want to play rough, bring it on!'

There is an old saying that applies here: fight fire with fire. Doyle Brunson said it well in one of his published books. He encouraged poker players to fight back against dangerous intimidating players. Brunson will sometimes battle back by making the final re-raise with a 7-2 offsuit, probably the worst hand in Texas Hold'em unless you get a magical flop. If you are the last person to act, it doesn't really matter what cards you have. You already possess the information that the other players are working with high cards. Unless one of them has a pocket pair and the flop comes 8-8-2, you probably are sitting on a winning hand.

There is another dangerous player at the table who is not as obvious as the blustery types. This is the one who slow-plays pocket aces or kings. If you have such a player at your table, file the information away for future use.and develop a counter-strategy to take them down.

Who is the most dangerous player at your poker table?

If you haven't figured out the answer by now, shame on you. Give up poker and start playing Old Maid or Canasta..

The most dangerous player at your table, my friend, should be you.

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 ).