07-23-09, 06:28 PM
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Discussing poker hands: Do it with caution
Discussing poker hands: Do it with caution
Matt Villano
You're at a poker room and you've just laid down a good hand to an aggressive opponent. To what extent is it acceptable to ask him what he had?
The answer isn't as easy as one might think.
Some players believe poker should be a game of silence; that, even in defeat, confronting an opponent about his hand is in some way a violation of this (fittingly) unspoken rule.
Other players see the act of asking about hands as a sign of weakness, even if you might have been strong. Their reasoning: Why do you need to know if you didn't care enough to find out on the felt? Yet another group of players, usually the more gregarious, insist that motor-mouthing is a part of the game, and that even if opponents decline to reveal information about their hands, other aspects of their replies (body language, facial expressions, etc.) can provide insights for future battles.
Many pros fall into this last camp; this month, during an interview a week before his record 38th World Series of Poker main event, pro Doyle Brunson told me, "I don't care if people ask. I just ain't gonna tell." The truth is that there are no hard-and-fast rules about discussing hands - so long as you do so after the fact (Bay Area cardrooms prohibit players from discussing hands while the hands are live).
If you do decide to ask, some strategies work better than others.
One option is to couch your query from a position of knowledge, so your opponent knows you are at least aware of what he could have had. If, for instance, the high card on the board is a jack, ask if he had a set; if the board shows three-fifths of a flush, ask if he had the two missing suited cards.
A second option is to frame your query so it's entirely absurd - a direct attempt to antagonize your opponent. This scenario is worthwhile when the board shows nothing; tersely ask your opponent, "Ace high?"
The opponent will be so irritated that you've underestimated his intelligence that he may tell you something about the hand.
The absolute worst question you could pose to an opponent about his cards after a hand is, "What'd you have?" This open-ended query is bad on two counts: It signals cluelessness on your part and gives your opponent the opportunity to misinform you by answering however he sees fit.
If he just bluffed you off a big pot, is he really going to admit he bluffed because you asked?
My approach is to play poker as quietly as possible. I keep my mouth shut and let the cards do the talking. The strategy hasn't failed me yet.
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