WHO NEEDS THE NUTS ? - POKER ADVICE FROM WILLIAM HILL'S "BADGIRL" XUYEN PHAM
pendil
Sites.(http://www.sculpturebooks.co.uk/)
Who Needs The Nuts?
by 'Badgirl' Xuyen Pham
"Poker is a man's world" - I have no idea who first made that
statement, but if it was ever true, I think that I can say "things they
are a-changing!".
Today, there are more and more women playing the game and proving that
they can hold a card or two themselves.
Now, I cannot pretend to speak for every lady that enjoys playing poker
as I do, but I do think that as a woman I am definitely treated by the
men at the table in a different way than another man would be.
Recognising that this is happening can give me just a little more
insight into where I am in a hand which of course can be to my
advantage.
I think that the first thing men think when I sit at the table is that
I will be an easy target to get chips from. Because I am a woman, I can
only bet if I have a hand, I will call a lot and rarely if ever bluff.
And because I am a woman, I can be bet out of a pot more easily. These
perceptions mean that I am categorised before a card has been dealt and
this can often work to my advantage. It takes time for the other
players to realise that I do not play like a rabbit caught in the
headlights and that I am not the easy target they first thought.
One thing that does not happen, especially in the bigger tournaments,
is a male opponent trying any less than one hundred percent to get my
chips just because I am a girl. I cannot remember ever being let off
lightly in a pot because my opponent was flirting. Maybe I have got
Steve to blame for that!
Rather than soft-playing me, the opposite is more normally the case;
some men seem to be trying even harder to take my chips, or at least
not lose theirs, because I am "only" a girl and will either try to
bluff too far or will call me when they really shouldn't. Recognising
this can be helpful, allowing me to make the most from a pot when I
have the hand and giving me a clear warning when not to run a bluff.
However, it can also make surviving more difficult when I need to steal
pots during a dry spell.
Sometimes though, the opposite is the case and it can be possible to be
given more respect for my bets than if I were a man. Some men seem to
think that as a woman I am naturally a weaker player and therefore less
likely to be able to bluff, so if I make a bet I must have the hand.
This can of course, let me get away with more bluffs, but don't tell
everybody.
The trick to all this is being able to recognise what is happening
when, and then to play accordingly. It does not always work - the top
professional players do not really seem to change their game against me
at all and sometimes things are just not obvious. But forewarned is
forearmed and at least I know what I am looking for.
So, just who does need the nuts, me or the boys? From where I am
standing, or should I say sitting, I would say that things are looking
pretty much even and if you think differently, well... I will see you
at the table!
William Hill Poker write for British Betting and Gaming
Sites.(http://www.sculpturebooks.co.uk/)