Confessions of a Grinder

Have you ever watched the episode of Seinfeld titled, ”The Opposite” in which George Costanza (Jason Alexander) decides to do the exact opposite of what he usually does? This decision garners him not only a beautiful date, but also a high paid job with the New York Yankees. Seinfeld is my all time favorite sit-com and this is indeed a great lesson to learn and apply in the Casino.

What are we doing wrong?

I have noticed many players play tight after winning a big hand or getting a double-up. In both poker tournaments and cash games, these players avoid gambling with this ‘scared money’ and can be bluffed out of many pots. However, if they lose a lot of hands and are short stacked, they tend to play fearlessly and aren’t scared of gambling. Unknowingly, this works in their favor. Also, most poker players tend to leave when they are playing well and are ‘in their element’. This is mainly because they have pocketed a reasonable profit for the cash game session and are scared of losing it all. If they have a bad session, however, they tend to buy in again and again in an effort to win back all of their lost money.

Do the opposite! Learn from George.

When you are up, be aggressive. Whether you’re playing a tournament or a cash game, use your chip lead to your advantage. Raise a lot in late positions with a wider range of hands, and keep the aggression going, collecting a lot of poker chips.  When you do catch a monster hand, you will eventually get called or raised all-in by shorter stacks with weaker hands. Tighten up and be patient only when you are short stacked and things aren’t going your way.

Similarly, if you are in your element playing good poker, continue doing so until you start making mistakes. Don’t be scared and get up. Keep playing when you are doing well, and get up when you are losing. This will maximize your profits. In a previous blog post, I mentioned my belief in the proverb ‘Fortune favors the brave’. It does! Be brave, not stupid. Steaming and frustrated losing  players tend to exhibit a lot of tells. When you are playing good aggressive poker and are in a winning mode, you will be able to pick up on a lot of these tells and make better decisions.

Thank you George Costanza! Watch this hilarious clip of George trying to apply his ‘Opposite’ theory. George Costanza Does the Opposite

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