Weekend Poker Warriors

Any time you sit down at a poker table with eight or nine perfect strangers and hope to win their money, it pays to know who you are playing against.

It never ceases to amaze me that in the majority of poker games I play in, silence reigns. Players don't talk to each other. They don't talk to the dealer. It's just total silence as chips change hands.

While I occasionally go along with the crowd and maintain my own silence, recently I have been changing my tactics.

I become the one who opens up the conversation.

I usually begin by making a comment to one of the players. The player may be dressed differently or he might be wearing a hat. Since I am rarely without my well-known black Stetson, I can joke with such a player and congratulate him. When he asks, 'What for?,' I shrug and say, 'When I sat down at this table, I thought I had the coolest hat in the place. Then you had to walk in.'

That generally is a conversation opener. From there it is natural for me to ask the player's profession. If he is retired, I ask what did he do before he retired.

The player's answers can supply some valuable background on the player that suggests the types of plays he is capable of making.

If a person is a mechanic or drives a wrecker, he is one of the 'good old boys' and is quite capable of trying to bulldoze his way to grabbing a pot.

If the person is a certified public accountant or a banker, his plays will be more subtle and much more clever.

If the player is a cowboy or rancher, he will probably play basic poker. He's just a weekend poker warrior, there for the fun and action and thrill of winning.

Conversation at a poker table is desirable for you. Silence is not.

The game becomes more relaxed. Getting the dealer involved in the conversation is even better. Dealing can become a boring chore at a silent table. But good talk, jokes, and a general exchange of information makes the game go faster and makes it more interesting.

I used this technique of talking to other players at Binion's Horseshoe in Las Vegas some years ago. The person I spoke to was well tanned, wore a brown suit and tie, and turned out to be a Hawaiian rancher who owned one of the largest ranchers on the Big Island.

We engaged in a good conversation about Hawaii. When he left the table to catch his plane back to Hilo, he gave me his card and invited me to be his guest on the island -- an invitation I followed up on. I had a marvelous visit in Hilo, retraced the footsteps of Samuel Clements when he journeyed across the island and wrote his book, 'Letters From Hawaii' and even attended a political convention on the beach when one of his friends ran for political office.

Don't settle for silent tables when you play poker. You're alive. Prove it by talking. It will help your bankroll and will be a decided asset to the game.

You can even have fun with the cocktail waitress and get her involved in the conversation. I will often ask the waitress's name. She will smile and say something like 'It's Angie.' I will then order an 'Angie's Dream.' Puzzled, she will ask what that is and I will say, l'Bring me an orange juice with whipped cream. That's a new drink and I'm naming it after you.'

If that doesn't get a conversation going, you are at a hopeless table and should request a table change. Let the games begin.

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 ).