… And I still get my ass handed to me at the office when we play poker.

Yup, I don’t know squat about being a top poker player but I sure know some to be good enough to win some hands. Being good in poker does not necessarily mean that you have to spend hours in front of the PC, playing online poker.

And no, trips to Las Vegas a year or playing poker every Friday does not necessarily turn you into a good poker player either. It helps, but not entirely.

Like basketball for example, playing five-on-five basketball does not make you the next Michael Jordan. Yeah I know, I told you here in OddJack that Dwyane Wade is the next in line but that’s not even the point.

To excel in one sport, you have to practice all the fundamentals of the game. In basketball, you practice passing the basketball just right, having that perfect shooting stroke that suits you, and yes, a little defense won’t hurt. In poker, it’s the same.

I guess you would say that poker is JUST a game where you wait until you get lucky enough to land those nice hands eh? Er… Not quite.

Poker is all about your opponent’s psyche and how you psyche ‘em out with the way you attack the table with your betting methods. Some would disagree with me on this one but it sure works for me.

The best way to practice this concept is by playing a game ESPN calls, ‘’Blind Man’s Bluff.'’ It’s a game similar to Texas Hold’em, the only difference is, you get to see all your opponents’ hands and NOT see yours.

You will receive your set of cards and it will be placed on your forehead, enabling all your opponents to see them. Now, the strategy here is to look at your opponents’ reactions towards your forehead.

If your opponents look at your head the longest, that could mean you have one heckuva’ hand. If they look at the flop and then look at your head immediately, that could mean you have a straight, or even a flush going.

It’s all about your opponent and how you psyche them out. Of course, if you’re opponent owns a face as if it was hit by a goddamn train or something then you can throw that strategy out the window.

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