Lucky Dog Poker by Russ Scott

An Iowa reader this week discusses a tournament-winning experience, and a player in Texas gets down to hold 'em basics.

Q: After a long dry spell playing hold 'em tournaments, tonight I actually won! The thing is, I really didn't play any differently than I have been. The cards were just there for once. Is that the secret? — Bob R. in Davenport, Iowa.

A: Yes and no, Bob.

While it's no secret that success usually comes if you're playing well AND catching a run of winning hands, you only have control over one of those factors. It's like asking: Would you rather be good or lucky at poker?

The correct answer, of course, is you always want to be the best player at the table, capable of making your own "luck" with skillful plays. Players who count on luck as their main weapon aren't consistent winners.

Let's assess some action from your victory.

"Before the break, it was looking grim, as I had only won two hands," you wrote. "Then I went all-in with A-9 suited with about 1,500 chips and got called by five guys, for goodness sake! But I flopped an ace, and my hand held up.

"Not too long later, I won another nice pot and ended up at the break with about 18,000 chips. Even with all those chips, I had only won four hands before the break."

While winning "only" four hands during the first three short levels of action prior to break doesn't seem like a lot, Bob, it actually is close to average. Playing 10-handed for an hour, you probably saw about 40 hands.

More important is that you had the patience to wait for the right moments to pounce, even though you no doubt were getting frustrated at catching a lot of non-winning and non-playable hands.

"After the break, I got my money in calling all-ins quite a few times when I was the favorite and didn't get outdrawn.

The whole night I was only all-in twice, and that was before the break. After that, I always had the all-in player covered. I must have busted five or six guys myself."

You were a tad lucky to win all of those all-in pots, but your success late in the event was set up by patience and timely winning hands early in the night. Your skill, plus your share of good fortune, provided the winning combination.

Secret solved.

Q: Your recent column made how to memorize poker math look so easy! I played poker for fun years ago, but never heard the word "flop." Can you explain? — Helen A. in Austin, Texas.

A: The term "flop" primarily refers to Texas hold 'em and Omaha — two games you might not have played in the past, Helen.

Both games feature downcards (two for hold 'em, four for Omaha) initially dealt to each player. The rest of the action is dictated by five community cards dealt face-up.

The community cards are shared by all players and combined with their individual hole cards to make their best five-card hand.

Community cards all have designations. The first three upcards are dealt at the same time and called the "flop." The fourth card, named the "turn," is dealt individually. The "river" card, also dealt separately, comes last.

I'm thinking it might be time for you to get some friends together and play again — just for fun!

E-mail your poker questions and comments to russ@luckydogpoker.com for use in future columns. To find out more about Russ Scott and read previous LuckyDog Poker columns, visit creators.com or luckydogpoker.com.

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