YOUR STORIES We get some interesting stories of poker conquests, defeats, bad beats and triumphs that arrive on dailystarpoker.com. Here’s one that serves as an educational insight for new poker players as it takes the form of a question. Q:As a relatively new poker player I was holding Pocket Rockets (Ace clubs-Ace spades) for the first time ever last week. I raised pre-flop- There were five folders, and three remaining callers. The flop came 9 hearts-Queen hearts and 3 hearts. The first player to act post flop placed a pot size bet, the next two folded and I called. I’m pitched into a heads up. The Ace of hearts came down from the turn giving me trips but an uneasy feeling about the obvious potential for a killer heart flush to be out there. My opponent went all-in with a big stack. I bottled it and folded. I never got to see his cards as he didn’t volunteer them. Did I do the right thing? A: It’s hard to tell somebody with Pocket Rockets they should probably have folded when initially faced with three same suited cards at the flop. It’s especially hard for me to make my case when that person landed a THIRD Ace at the turn, so on balance it wasn’t a bad call you made. The fact that your opponent had the balls to go all-in with a big stack indicates to me he probably had the flush and therefore the beating of your three Aces at that stage so the fact you folded then was vindicated. By not showing you his cards your opponent left you, and more importantly, everyone else at the table with a huge question mark over whether or not he had pulled off a massive bluff. Smart guy. Not just content with taking you down. He used the opportunity to sew confusion among all the rest of his opponents for future games.
THE OTHER VEGAS Who would have thought that a stand up comedian, supreme navigator of the drunken haze and star of the movie “Sex Lives of the Potato Men” would have any comments to make that might usefully enhance anyone’s game of poker? Well, here’s what Johnny Vegas has to say on the subject of playing our favourite game now that he’s become a self-appointed pundit and keen player. “Drink’s not a bad thing -- drink’s a lovely thing. I play poker better drunk because, to be honest, you’ve got to be willing to lose. If you’re not afraid of losing, that will put more fear into someone. If it doesn’t matter to YOU that’s real scarey!” How does this improve your game, I hear you ask? Simple. If you ignore every word of it you’ll become a better poker player and you won’t waddle around like an unstructured beer barrel. Now that’s helpful on so many levels. Thanks, Johnny! You were brilliant in “Bleak House” by the way. Stick to acting and being funny.
