MAN VERSUS VEGAS Daren Leverenz is an extraordinary poker player and gambler. He had already conquered the so-called American Dream at an early age. Leverenz had a nice house in Beverly Hills, cars and three million dollars in the bank. Over just a couple of years he blew all three million dollars in Las Vegas in what he describes as a gaming frenzy. Undaunted Daren decided to “capitalise” on his situation. No mean feat you might say. But Daren is no ordinary individual. He raised enough cash to convince TV executives that his proposed show “Man v Vegas” would be a winner. The executives agreed when Daren explained he planned to give thousands of dollars to ordinary people on the streets of Las Vegas to go into casinos and play poker and generally gamble on his behalf in a televised effort to recoup his three million dollars. He would split any winnings with them and under no circumstances would they lose any of their own money.
IT’S A TRUE STORY The show was a hit, Daren got his money back and no-one on the streets of Las Vegas lost any of their own money. The moral of this true story? If you can think of a good enough strategy and execute it with determination you are far more likely to be a winner than a loser. Luck on its own can go either way as Daren’s life demonstrates. Luck with a cool strategy puts the odds back in your favour. The beauty with poker is it’s a strategic game.
POKER STRATEGY OF THE DAY To fully make the point about the importance of poker strategies here’s an outline of one of my favourite tactics for all new players. This poker strategy actually works especially for women, who tend to be less aggressive by nature than men, but all newcomers can benefit from it. Poker is a game which rewards aggression so you have to learn to be aggressive even if you are a polite, politically correct, normal human being in daily life. So what’s the best way to do it? Obviously punching the air, shouting at people and throwing chips about isn’t what’s required. That’s not aggression poker style. When you sit down at your PC for a few hours of online Texas Hold’em you need to become someone else entirely. Here’s what to do. Enter an online tournament and restrict yourself to only raising or folding. Nothing else is an option. Make notes as to how this works out for you. It will change how you play. I am not suggesting that “calling” is not a useful weapon in any poker player’s arsenal. Of course, it is appropriate at times and as your game matures you will feel when it’s required. First, create this more aggressive entity within yourself and take that lesson forward.
