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Why Nietzsche Was Right About Poker
Friedrich Nietzsche, a German philosopher who died in 1889, was right about a lot of things. 'Only sick music makes money today', he said - a fact that has remained true in these days of manufactured bands and 'music' that is programmed, not performed. Nietzsche also wrote many eloquent things about poker (although he didn't know it), and here I want to examine some of them in relation to common mistakes made by poker players.
'Before the effect one believes in different causes than one does afterward' - Friedrich Nietzsche
How often have you heard a player say 'I put him on Ace King' after losing a big pot in Hold'em? Or 'I put him on sixes', or 'I put him on that?'. In my experience, the player spouting this nonsense is usually a losing player with poor judgement. This player 'puts you' on a hand, and then refuses to change his mind no matter how the hand develops. For example, a loose player calls your preflop middle position raise from the big blind holding Q-J offsuit, and puts you on big cards like A-K. If an ace or king comes, he folds, but if any other cards come, he'll play until the end. Then he's surprised when you turn over pocket kings to beat him. 'I put you on A-K, I had to call', he says, flipping over his Q-J for a pair of jacks with a mediocre kicker.
Worse than this player is the one who changes his opinion of what you might have to whatever gives him an excuse to call. If the flop comes 9-8-2, he puts you on A-K, and if the flop comes A-Q-7 he puts you on a small pair. He calls you down, and is again surprised to lose. There is also a similar breed of player who is so tight that he'll find any excuse to fold his hand, although these players are much more rare.
The other day I was playing in an online Hold'em cash game and had called a small raise in position with J-10s. The flop came A-K-Q, and my opponent bet out. I called, hoping to extract more money later in the hand. On the turn, she checked and I checked, and on the river she checked, I bet, and she called. When I showed the nuts, she modestly pointed out that she 'knew' I had the straight when I flat called. 'So why did you call the river?' I asked. She had no answer for that.
Why put your opponent on any hand at all? It's much better to observe how your opponents are playing, and then assign a range of hands to them rather than a specific holding. It is rare that you can be so specific as to assign a specific hand like A-K to an opponent. Instead figure out what range of hands he might have based on his actions throughout the hand, calculate the chances that he has each particular combination of cards, and then decide how to play based on this information.
Don't make a judgement and then refuse to let it go no matter how much contrary information is thrown your way.
'The growth of wisdom may be gauged accurately by the decline of ill-temper' - FN
'Nothing on earth consumes a man more quickly than the passion of resentment' - FN
When I sit down at a poker table and see a man on tilt, my mouth starts to water with anticipation. Soon, one of us will have his money, and I hope it will be me.
Most poker players know the feeling of being on tilt - even the greatest player in the world feels like everything is going wrong sometimes. Your pocket aces just got cracked by pocket deuces and busted you out of a tournament. Later your rolled up nines are cracked by somebody who called your fifth street check-raise with just one overcard and no other draw. These 'bad beats' as they are known, are the prime cause of tilt, particularly among players who know the odds but are otherwise inexperienced.
I'm not invulnerable when it comes to tilt, and I've made some bad nights worse by playing poorly as a result. But I try to think about the situation with a clear head, and remind myself of two things:
1. It's not a really bad beat unless your opponent had one out or fewer. (By fewer, I mean he had no outs but won the pot on a technicality).
2. Even these types of bad beats happen to someone, somewhere in the world, every minute of every day.
Remember, in poker you're paid to make correct decisions. If your opponents are making bad decisions which result in them outdrawing you in a horrendous fashion, you should be happy since they are effectively paying your wages. You should encourage your opponents to make these mistakes. Root for the underdog to win - if you live in Scotland like me, you'll be used to it.
'Believe me! The secret of reaping the greatest fruitfulness and the greatest enjoyment from life is to live dangerously!' - FN
When I first started playing at Full Tilt Poker, it was unique in that it's low limit tables were extremely tight. You could sit at a $0.25/$0.50 No Limit table, and every pot would be either heads up or folded to the big blind. Part of the reason for this was that people were trying to earn the deposit bonus which was (and still is) 100% of your first deposit up to $600, and didn't want to go broke while they were earning the money. This made the tables extremely weak indeed.
Extremely tight play just doesn't get the money, except in very loose games. I've read articles by so-called 'successful' tournament players that suggested playing only aces and kings in the first stages of a no limit Hold'em tournament - yes, this player actually folded A-Ks, queens, jacks etc. This player probably finished on the bubble of almost every tournament he played.
Weak-tight players, as they are known, are easy to take advantage of. When I first started playing at Full Tilt, people wondered why I was 'stupid' enough to play at tables which were so tight. But I was making a killing in these games. Every time one of the weak-tight players raised, they had a good hand - a big ace or a pair. Every time they limped in, they had a marginal hand like small suited connectors or a small pair. In the former situation I would fold unless I held a big hand, and in the latter I would raise almost regardless of what I held. If I got called I took it down on the flop or turn almost without fail. I always knew the type of hand my opponent held, and as a result I could make almost perfect decisions.
Playing tight all the time, without adjusting to the game you're playing in, is not a recipe for success. You'll still lose your money - just very slowly.
'Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself' - FN
One thing I see a lot of on internet poker forums and in games themselves is players excusing their bad play. Lets look at the following post from one internet poker forum:
I am a good poker player and i have been playing now for about three years. I play home games and cash games at the local casino, not to mention a few big tournaments here and there. I have been successful for the most part, until i started playing here. I have been playing at [poker room] for about six months, and i have done nothing but lose, lose, lose. In my opinion, it has to be fixed. I have lost to way to many runner runners and 2 outers'
This post made me laugh. First, he describes how good a poker player he is, and that he has been successful, although I doubt he keeps records or can prove how successful he has been. Then, he describes a six month losing streak, which would be possible even if he was a winning player - but far more likely if he was a loser. But instead of taking responsibility for his losses, and trying to improve his play, he blames the site.
In today's society, people make excuses for their own stupidity and bad behaviour all the time. 'I was drunk' is the most common excuse that I hear for a person's ridiculous actions. The people who constantly do this will never achieve anything significant, or contribute anything to the world. The best they'll manage is to appear on Big Brother where their actions will be reviled by a nation of observers.
NEVER fall into the trap of excusing your losses and poor play in poker. Unlike life in general, you'll be punished very quickly for your mistake - your bankroll will be broken into pieces and fed to the rest of us.
By the way, if any of you were wondering whether the player mentioned earlier is actually a winning player, this quote from his post should clear things up:
For example, today i was playing holdem and was on the button with 2d 3d. I limped in with 1 caller and the BB. Flop was 3c 5h 6d, the 1 caller bet 1/2 the pot. Semi-bluffing, i raised all in for about 3x the pot. He called with As 7d, absolutely nothing. Turn was 2h, river was 4s. He wins with 7 high straight. This kind of crap has happened to me nonstop since i have been playing here.'
Not only did he play one of the worst hands in Hold'em, he then complained when the other player called with only a 40% chance to win...
Alex Scott September 2005
