Jan
23
Talking at the tables: Does it help or hurt? Table talk has been debated back and forth for as long as I can remember. It can be used as a method to extract information from your opponent when used correctly along with razor sharp instincts. We see top professional poker players like Phil Hellmuth, Dan Negreanu, and Joe Hachem employ this controversial tactic quite often with documented success. The amazing thing about it is that there opponents, much too there chagrin, indulge them in conversation knowing it could lead to there own demise. Over and over again I have seen player after player give away far too much information during a tournament in what appeared to be an innocent conversation only to have it used against them later in the hand or tourney.
Many players consider poker to be a “social” game where meaningless banter is OK. I beg to differ. Poker is not a “social” game at all in this writer’s opinion. It is a game of information and all out thievery at all costs. Information is harvested by observing cards, chips, and people. When people begin to talk at the tables it provides yet another way of picking up valuable information that would not be available to us if we just simply played cards.
Listening is a skill!
Ever heard your parents say, “You couldn’t hear me because you were too busy talking?” Well, truer words were never spoken. If you’re talking you cannot be listening which ultimately hinders your ability to gather much needed information from those that feel the need to tell the world exactly how they play the game. There is plenty of time to talk after the tournament or during the break. When you sit at a poker table you are theoretically sitting in a den of thieves. What do thieves do? They commiserate about how to LIE, CHEAT, and STEAL. Poker players are no different albeit in the legal sense of this metaphor. Although we are not stealing property we are stealing chips and lying about our hands constantly while at the tables. We always have our radar up and running listening for any kind of relevant information that can help us achieve our goal of getting our opponents chips. This is why it is extremely important to be very wary of what you say and to whom you say it to at a poker table.
I will never forget watching a 2006 episode of the WPT when Kido Pham, a very good player, talked his way right out of the tournament. Kido had a nice stack and was in contention to win the title with six players left at the final table when he just flat lost his mind. He got involved in a heads-up hand with an opponent with about the same number of chips and just flat lost his mind. He began singing nursery rhymes and making all kinds of foolish comments in attempts to goad his opponent into giving away the strength of his hand while Kido himself was on a stone cold BLUFF. His opponent never said a word and then finally during this verbal foolishness Kido mistakenly said, “I CALL.” As we all know verbal bets are BINDING and Kido lost just about his entire stack on a really stupid hand. A few hands later he was completely embarrassed and on the rail watching with the rest of us.
Another incident had us watching the infamous Kelli Griggs make a complete fool of herself while heads-up for the title against J.J. Lieu. Kelli attempted to talk J.J. Lieu off of the best hand at the 2006 WPT Ladies event. Kelli kept chanting,” It’s my destiny. It’s my destiny.” Sure enough it was her destiny to be sent to the rail with second place money. It was a complete embarrassment to Kelli and the game of poker. You are not going to talk a seasoned professional off of a hand very often. Especially, an amateur playing in her first televised final table. J.J. saw right through the non-sense and pieced the hand together and went on to victory.
Maybe there is too much poker on TV these days. Maybe the chat at the poker tables in these tournaments is a reflection of our society as a whole. Whatever the case you should be very careful what you say and to whom you say it to while playing poker tourneys or cash games. While you certainly can’t judge a book by its cover you can definitely blow your own.
Silence is golden.
Deuces,
Curtis Mayfield III www.do-or-die-poker.com
January 23, 2008
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