The New Religion of Poker -- It's Messiahs and Gurus
The Prayer Mat of the Green Felt-Covered Poker Table
POKER’S MESSIAH If you had any doubts at all that poker is now fully part of mainstream media look out for the new beer ads starring poker legend Chris “Jesus” Ferguson. The TV ad deals with a group of intense poker players when a key decision arises between the competitors. One of the players gets up mid-game and heads to the fridge to get a beer. He opens the fridge door and “Jesus” is stuffed inside to advise the player what move to make to ensure victory in the game. The player returns with his beer, wins the game using Ferguson’s strategy and “Jesus” is seen by the millions watching on TV to be a cool guy well at home within a refridgerator. The right bet, the right beer, but maybe not to everyone’s taste?
TODAY’S POKER TUTORIAL Q: You’re in the small blind position holding eight of spades and eight of clubs in a $10-$20 game. An early player and a middle player limp. You call. The big blind now raises and everyone calls. There is $80 in the pot and four players. The flop is: queen of hearts nine of hearts and eight of diamonds, giving you bottom set. What to do you do? A: Bet in the hope of being raised so you can re-raise. With three cards in a playing zone plus a two-flush, you need to make sure the flop gets bet and no free cards are handed out. Chances are you’ll be raised by a player with a top pair.
GREATEST BLUFF OF ALL TIME Poker guru Doyle “The Texas Dolly” Brunson has always been a very large (overweight Texan) and a true poker prodigy. The winner of no less than nine WSOP bracelets, Doyle works a bluff better than anyone alive. In 1988 Brunson was jumped by masked robbers at his home. Doyle clutched at his ample chest and feigned a heart attack right in front of the assembled gun barrels. The raiders fled in blind panic leaving Brunson with over $85,000 worth of casino chips in his jacket pockets, let alone what he had stashed in the house. Now that’s a bluff!
TAO OF POKER Ancient proverb: “In the presence of fear, nothing is possible. In the absence of fear, anything is possible!” 2006 translation: “At the poker table, be aggressive at all times!”
