Bettin’ Benny vs. Slow Playin’ Seto — Part I

by Daniel Negreanu

I want to backtrack a little to the very early days of my career. Before I'd ever set foot in a casino or cardroom, I learned the game of poker, as most people do, in house games. It was during high school that I became fascinated with the game of poker.

Before that, snooker (pool) was my game of choice. I played pool for hours and hours each day, spending most of my free time at the local pool hall 'getting my education in life.' Up to that point, I didn't know if a flush beat a straight, because I hadn't played a hand in my entire life. Through pool, though, came all sorts of gambling. Of course, we always played pool for money, which led to sports betting, then blackjack, and then a whole slew of other bad habits. I was lucky enough to get all of that out of my system by the time I was 19.

Then, a couple of the pool players asked me if I wanted to join them at a friend's house for a poker game. I didn't really know what poker was, but it was for money, so I was in! At that point, none of these pool players were very good card players, and, of course, neither was I. For the first month I played, I literally carried a hand-ranking chart with me. For some reason, I couldn't remember if a flush beat a full house, or if it was the other way around.

Anyway, after a while, the poker game became a regular thing, and we played once or twice a week. For the first little while, the faces were interchanging, but eventually it was the same old crew.

There were a couple of players in that game who left a lasting impression on me. I can still remember the day that I met John Seto. Seto was a quiet, mild-mannered kind of guy, and was very polite. He was of Asian descent, was born in Canada, and was well-educated. At the time, I think he was getting some sort of a degree in college. He wasn't a pool player, but was a friend of a pool player who was hosting that week's game. Our house game was pretty typical, a lot of wild-card games and such. There wasn't much of that boring hold'em or seven-card stud - we played action games!

With all those wild cards in the game, I thought it would be silly to fold early in a hand just in case I got one. Yet, for some reason, that John Seto character was folding all the time! Hmmm ... that must be boring, I thought.

So, as the night was coming to an end, Seto had played only about 20 hands or so, yet, amazingly, he was the big winner. I thought, how is that possible? That guy plays only when he has two wild cards or better, and he still wins?

This was my first poker epiphany. Finally, the simplest poker truth dawned on me. Seto played only when he had the best hand. He'd throw away all the garbage cards for only the ante, and play only when he had a big advantage. Hey, that's not fair - or so I thought.

If he was going to play so tight and win all the time, so would I. Or would I? Better yet, could I? I tried, folding and folding until I couldn't stop yawning. Ah, the heck with it, this is boring - I want to play! So, play I did. As the night was drawing to a close, Seto was booking another nice and tidy $200 win while I'd just gone broke again.

I'd win from time to time, but never enough to cover my losses. Yet, Seto? I don't think he ever lost. There has to be something to this game, I thought, nobody is that lucky. I really needed to figure out how Seto won every night, so I started to pay closer attention to him when we played. Whenever he bet on the end, he always had the best hand. I don't think he ever bluffed, yet, amazingly, people always called him - including me! But I always thought poker was about bluffing - another misconception.

Seto and the others were all older than I. I was about 16, while they were all in their 20s. I'd go to school and spend most of the day in anticipation of the next poker game. Eventually, I taught my friends at school how to play poker, and suddenly I was the poker guru. I'd already been playing for a month, so I knew a little bit more than they did about poker. I was making about $100 a day at school with my friends. Even though they played very badly, I was still learning things about poker by playing with them.

Then, I'd take my $100 and play with Seto and the big boys at night. Over and over again, I'd beat the kids at school and give all the money to Seto and the boys. That went on for close to another month, and then things started clicking. What Seto was doing finally made sense to me. Like Seto, I was now able to understand how the others played - my second poker epiphany.

Oh, what a feeling! Finally! Not only was I beating the kids at school, I was beating the big boys, too! I'd learned from Seto how important discipline and patience were. Fancy plays and bluffing all look cool, but it was discipline and patience that would make me a winner.

I wasn't done there, though, the learning never stopped. Now that I was winning, I wanted to play more and more. So, I hosted the game at least twice a week in my basement. Everything was under control. I had the discipline and patience to win at poker. Then one day, someone invited a new guy to our little house game. He was another pool player I knew of. Actually, he was a friend of my older brother - Bettin' Benny ... more on him later.

Observational skills are very valuable at the poker table. By observing a winning player, I had learned some valuable lessons without his having to say a word. I absorbed the information I got by watching him, and it made me think more about the game, which is always a good thing.

In the next article, you'll hear more about Bettin' Benny and his influence on me and our little poker game.