Sunday, January 27, 2008

"Yes, It's Almost True..."

After TheLegend called me out in his blog, I decided I had to respond with at least some sort of explanation. Long story short—it’s almost true. I was sitting at a table with Jane Gold. I’m not going to lie, but I didn’t even know who she was until an hour or so into the tournament. So I was sitting there, playing like absolute ass when my chip stack wasn’t really going anywhere. The fifth round came along and the antes started going up. I was able to steal a few pots by going all in, but it wasn’t nearly enough. I ended up making a horrible mistake, one that I hardly ever make. I was one spot behind the button. There was one caller and then this chick bet the pot. I looked at her chip stack and thought she had about 12k in chips. Everyone else folded to me and I decided to make a move. I had about 18k in chips and thought an all in would force this chick to fold. So, I did it. The small and big blind both folded and it went around to the woman who raised it up. She says, “I’m all in.” And as she moved her chip stack to the middle of the table, I saw a stack of 4k behind the rest of her stack. So, instead of having 12k like I thought, she had 16k. I had a somewhat decent hand with Q2 suited diamonds and she had AK off-suit. I instantly knew I was fucked if I lost the hand because I’d be left with 2k in chips with antes at 50 and blinds at 200/400. There was a small crowd that gathered around this woman before the flop came out. I thought to myself either she’s somewhat important or she just has a decent amount of friends. Anyway, the flop came out: 10h, 4c, 5s. The flop was shit for me and it just made her hand that much better. The turn and the river were Jh and 7d. After making a terrible decision to go all in I was left with a measly 2k in chips. So basically, Jane Gold knocked me out of the tournament. But technically it was the next hand that knocked me out. I went all in with 45 suited hearts and got busted out. It wasn’t until a little while later that people told me who the woman was that “knocked me out.” Nonetheless, the whole experience was completely emasculating. Maybe I’ll think twice next time before I try to brag. Probably not, but hey, it’s an idea. And Jane Gold, if you’re reading this, thanks for the story.

Monday, January 14, 2008

Coming Up...

Stay tuned for part 2 of "Psychological Warfare"

Now, I’m good at reading people, but I can’t always read minds. So if you have any suggestions as to what you would like me to write about, let me know. Also, if you have any questions that you would like answered one on one, email me at wallstreet@acpokerguys.com and I will get back to you as soon as possible. Comments and criticisms are welcomed as well. If you want your voice to be heard, the place to do it is at wallstreet@acpokerguys.com.

"Psychological Warfare (Part 1)"

Well Happy Fucking New Year. Now that we got that out of the way, let’s move on to some business. How about for 2008 we throw out all of those half hearted New Year’s resolutions that we all make and start to focus on some real ones. How does making money sound? Or better yet--getting the best of your opponents in gambling, work, and in life. I don’t intend to have you do this by cheating, stacking the odds in your favor, or any other easy way out. I intend to have you do this by showing you the art of what I call psychological warfare.

I can attribute psychological warfare to much of the success in my life. It’s not something that I was ever taught, which is why I want to share with you this very successful and rewarding tactic. Over the years I’ve learned that most people in a given trade--whether it’s distressed debt trading or playing cards—all have a similar skill set. They can all compute numbers quickly in their heads, they all have people skills, and they certainly all know about greed and money. However, there is one trait that separates the men from the boys, and that’s the ability to manipulate a situation and fuck with the heads of those going against you. This, my friends, is the skill of psychological warfare.

Have you ever sat at a poker table and absolutely despised the player sitting across from you? Has a co-worker ever made you want to put their face through a paper shredder? Did your anger towards that person affect the decisions you made? Let’s be honest, it’s happened to all of us before. The moment that you let these people get to you is the moment that you become the fool. Don’t let that happen to you.

So, how do you employ psychological warfare? Well first of all, you have to want to be deviant. If you feel bad distorting someone else’s perception of reality, then you should probably stop reading this blog and visit www.imsoft.com. All psychological warfare starts out with an action that makes the other person think twice about it. If you can get the “enemy” to think twice, that’s your window into the weak side of their thinking. It buys you time, and it certainly gives you an edge. The first stage of psychological warfare doesn’t’ have to be malicious. It can be friendly, and done with a smile. The first stage can go something like this: