While my daughter took a nap the other day, I worked in my home office with an old episode of “High Stakes Poker” on in the background. In this episode (the first of season four, for those who are interested), the players agreed that anyone who wins a hand with 2-7 will receive $500 from each player at the table. Almost immediately, Phil Hellmuth bluffed Mike Matusow, who held K-K, out of a big pot on the river with 2-7. Hellmuth re-raised Matusow pre-flop, both players checked the flop, and Hellmuth led out with a healthy bet on the turn with nothing, not even a draw. After some thought on the river, in a hand he knew he could not possibly win without betting, Hellmuth bet $40,000 into a $50,000 pot, forcing a fold by Matusow.
What caught my attention after the initial excitement of 7-2 beating K-K was what announcer Gabe Kaplan said before Hellmuth fired his third bullet on the river. He said that the bet would not only be necessary to win the pot, but that it was also “a matter of pride” for Hellmuth, as he probably wanted to be the first one in that day’s game to win with the worst starting hand in Hold’em.
Pride. Ego.
These play major roles in the games of many poker players. And, in my opinion, this is completely unnecessary. Pride and ego all too frequently cause players to make poor decisions and play in ways they normally would not. Often, those who let their ego guide their decision making are the types of people who take poker too personally. They interpret any loss or any “move” someone makes against them as a personal affront. “How dare that guy beat me? Who does he think he is?”
Where I see ego come into play the most is when a player thinks he is getting bluffed. And this situation presents itself a lot online. Because players don’t typically have familiarity with each other on the internet, the air seems to be thick with suspicion. It is not at all unusual for a player who makes a bet with a fairly strong hand on the turn or river to be met with a big, often all-in, raise. And, also not unusually, the original bettor automatically assumes that the raiser is bluffing. There’s no real reason for this, more often than not; the bluff is assumed because the original bettor feels that he not only must have the best hand, but also because he feels that he is the more skilled player. I mean, what kind of terrible player would make such a reckless raise when I have a good hand? The result: the bettor lets his ego get the best of him and calls or re-raises into a stronger hand.
Ego also hurts players when they are the ones running the bluff. Someone who lets his ego get the best of him can’t understand how someone can stay in a hand when he is playing so cleverly, so masterfully. He will continue to fire bullet after bullet, trying to impose his will through brute force. He puts his desire to win the pot and his desire to look good ahead of his hand reading skills and proper poker strategy. He will show how awesome he is by winning the pot with a terrible hand, or go broke trying. And go broke is what he will probably do.
Even when someone isn’t trying to cram a bluff down someone else’s throat, he may let his ego make him stubborn when he knows he probably doesn’t have the best hand. I love watching someone call me down with something like the tenth nuts because he simply doesn’t believe that I am smart enough to know what the heck I am doing.
Interestingly enough, ego also prevents players from bluffing. Novice players, in particular, are usually scared to bluff (side note: with beginners, ill-advised bets with sub-par holdings should not be confused with bluffs). Typically, they do not fear losing money. They know that losing money at some point is inevitable in poker. What they fear is showing a failed bluff. It is embarrassing. Your pride can take a hit when you show the deuce-seven with which you tried to make a move on Kings. Your competitors might think you are an idiot. But so what? If you never get caught with your hand in the cookie jar, you aren’t bluffing often enough. There is a difference between a bad play and a bad bluff – don’t worry about people who can’t understand that.
On top of all of that, pride and ego have the tendency to turn people into, let’s say…jerks. As I mentioned earlier, those who let their ego get the best of them look at anyone playing back at them as attacking them personally. Every bluff is personal. Every bad beat is personal. Every strange move made against them is personal. And that causes the egotistical player to lash out in anger at his opponents, especially online, since he doesn’t have to look anyone else in the eyes. While I get just as frustrated as anyone else when something doesn’t go my way at the poker table, I also realize that people are allowed to play however they want. It is my job to figure out how to combat them. I don’t appreciate it if someone hurls insults at me, so there is no way I am going to do that to anyone else, no matter how much my ego wants to.
So when you sit down at the poker table, real or virtual, check your pride, ego, and emotions at the door. All they can do is get in the way of sound poker decision making. Leaving the table a winner is much more satisfying than flexing your muscles, anyway.
