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Growing Your Game - The World Poker Player Conference
By Lee Munzer

While some compete for pure enjoyment (are more concerned with getting into the action than winning) and a fortunate few play wildly behind virtually infinite bankrolls, most of us want to win often and as much money as we can. The best way to accomplish these objectives is to fully develop our skills.

To that end, on July 6, 2001 I (along with more than 250 other attentive, enthusiastic devotees) attended Card Player Cruise's inaugural World Poker Player Conference (WPPC). The cost for this event (for those who pre-registered at least a week in advance) was an affordable $99. The fee included continental breakfast, lunch, 23 pages of handouts, and a Q & A session.

I attend many conferences (mostly financial seminars). I've found the key to the value of these meetings is the speakers' knowledge, their openness, and their abilities to break down complex concepts. The WPPC lecturer lineup was awesome in this respect … Linda Johnson, Jan Fisher, Annie Duke, Howard Lederer, Andy Glazer, Lou Krieger, Mike Sexton, Phil Hellmuth Jr., and Daniel Negreanu. Mike Caro doubled as featured speaker and moderator.

I managed to "shorthand" the full day seminar. I'll focus on two of the ten speakers and some key concepts that I believe will improve your game.

Andy Glazer, a terrific writer/speaker/theoretician, hammered out several key points:

• Don't give away information. The more you can do to withhold information from your opponent, the more you will be able to win. Andy provided several examples from personal tournament experiences. He related, "I was playing at the Commerce Club recently. It was getting late and there was some serious money involved ($100,000 for first place). I was playing against someone I had never played with before. I held a pretty strong hand, but he made a big raise. I began to stare him down looking for a 'read'. After two minutes I decided he probably had a hand, so I folded. He promptly revealed the stone-cold nuts. Merry Christmas and thank you! Now, I knew the information that I thought I had was very reliable. I was able to use this confirmed finding eight hands later to my advantage."

  Andy then confessed that part of the reason he enjoys poker is the deceptive side of the game, stating, "I value and take pride in my personal integrity, but poker is one arena where it's okay to deceive." He warned we are not trained actors and often reveal exactly that which we are trying to hide in our attempts to throw players off our trail. Andy cited the typical example of a player who raises more than anyone else at the table. Occasionally, after everyone folds, he or she shows a big hand such as Q-Q. Andy observed, "Well, this is a flagrant attempt to convey an 'I play only premium cards' image." He recommended, "Be alert to an opponent who shows cards rarely … this is an actor delivering a purposeful performance."

  He continued, "Another reason you should not show your hand is you may have done something with your hands, chips, or voice that others observed. Now, when you show your cards, opponents are treated to a 'free look'. They can correlate this 'tell' to a big hand." Andy recommends not showing any hands. He declared, "Poker is not a game of charity. If you're going to give information away, make your opponents pay for it!"

• Watch carefully when you're out of a hand. Andy advised, "You are trying to collect information in a game of incomplete information. When you are involved in a hand you are peeking at your hole cards, watching the board cards, trying to calculate pot odds, counting and placing chips into the pot, and many other essentials.

  Conversely, after you have folded, you have no distractions … you can concentrate on the subtle things your opponents are doing. This is the best time to get true reads - since they are not playing against you, your adversaries will be unaware you are monitoring them. It's easier to be objective when you aren't worrying about your strategies and chips."

• Keep your ego in your pocket. Andy stated, "Showing off knowledge may scare away weak players and enable opponents to read you better." He related this story from his tournament experience: "I was playing in an event at the Bicycle Club not that long ago. I had been catching some hands and playing pretty fast. I had raised four hands in a row. Then I picked up Ah-Jh on the button and raised again. I knew the small blind had been watching my aggressive play and there was a good chance he would raise back. He did. In fact, he moved all-in on me. I called like a shot.

  Now, realize I would rarely call a reraise with A-J suited in a no-limit event unless the circumstances were just right. I wound up winning the hand. My opponent shook his head and asked, 'How do you call an all-in reraise with a hand like ace-jack?' I responded, 'Well, I knew you had seen me raise four consecutive hands before this one and I …' Then I thought to myself, 'Why am I telling you this. Is it because I'm a poker writer for a magazine and I'm supposed to have a reason for everything I do?' I should have just told him, 'I had a hunch' … anything that wouldn't educate him." Andy's right … what you tell an opponent one day can come back to reduce your stack of chips on another day.

• Track your mistakes. Andy recommends deploying a "three strikes and you're out" rule. He clarified this concept by stating, "When I'm playing, I don't always know when I'm making a mistake. Now, realize I'm distinguishing a mistake from a correct play that leads to a bad result. What I'm saying is when you make a play you don't usually realize it's a mistake - if you did, you wouldn't make the play. But, there are times just after I move my chips in I'll ask myself, 'Why in the world did I do that?'

  Well, I have a rule that states if I make three such mistakes in an hour, I quit playing. Although I may make exceptions (such as when I've also made some excellent plays during that hour), I figure if I can spot three mistakes in an hour that means I've probably made a lot more that I haven't caught. The benefit to having this rule for me is that I will usually play my 'A' game after two mistakes … knowing I'm on thin ice … sort of like a basketball player getting focused and playing carefully when he has five fouls."

Mike Caro took the stage at 3:25 p.m. You could hear the proverbial pin drop as poker's beloved Mad Genius roared, "In the beginning everything was even money! This concept is central to what you need to know about winning and gambling. It is also central to winning at life." He lowered his voice to a mere 55 decibels and boomed, "What I'm saying is that the day you were born … when you looked around for the first time … you knew nothing. I could have told you that buses fly and parrots transport people to work. That would have sounded reasonable to you because without any knowledge everything is even money.

Your job in life and your job in poker is to attack the premise that something is even money … you must gain information so that your decision making … whether it applies to poker or to crossing the freeway in traffic is no longer 50-50. In the beginning everything was even money, but as we learn we determine that we can do much better in life if we calculate our expectations. This concept is fundamental to your poker education."

For the next 45 minutes Mike imparted more than 20 money makers. Here's a sampling:

• What is a poker player's objective? Mike asked, "What's the object of poker?" He related that when he asks this question at seminars most respond, "To win the pot." He hesitated, looked at us and exploded, "That's not your object! The object of poker is to make correct decisions!" He continued softly, "Many times the right decision is to throw away a hand and forfeit your desire to win the pot. You win money when you fold a hand correctly. Yes, that money you saved … that you didn't lose … is very real. When I teach people how to play poker this is the hardest concept to get across. But, believe me, money you don't lose buys just as many things as money you don't win."

• The more often an opponent bets medium hands at you … the more often you should call and the more often you should raise. Mike acknowledged this statement is not a revelation in game theory, but surprisingly, players do not react this way in game situations. He appealed to the audience, "Search your hearts. Can you say you really do this? When I see a very aggressive player making a lot of borderline bets, most opponents react by being more timid and backing off … it's a natural tendency … it's dead wrong … and, it's destructive to your bankroll. These loose, aggressive players offer your 'safest' call and raise opportunities. Take advantage of them … do not back away!"

• The more often an opponent tries to bluff … the more often you should call and the less often you should raise. Here Mike explained, "When a player has a lot of bluffing hands in his arsenal, your raise is not effective. Why? If you raise back when he's bluffing you will win anyway (with a call). But, if he has a strong hand you will have cost yourself one or two bets. So, if your opponent is one who generally bets only strong hands and bluff hands, then you are better off calling … because your raise becomes ineffective. Players may be fooled into thinking they won a pot after an opponent folds to their raise, but in reality the raise was not the reason the opponent folded his bluff hand."

• When a deceptive player checks to you … bet less often. Mike clarified, "Look, the first thing I do when I sit down in a poker game is try to figure out who's tricky … who's deceptive … who's trying to get enjoyment out of tricking me. Now listen to this … I'm about to tell you something that is radically important. Do not make value bets (those where you perceive your hand to be a slight favorite) into deceptive players because they will harm you."

I could type for hours and introduce terrific concepts provided by the other eight speakers. Instead, I have two suggestions if you would like to grow your game:

1) Order a complete set of 2001 WPPC conference tapes from PokerPages as soon as they are available.

2) Watch for announcements for the 2002 WPPC and make plans to attend.

Thanks for reading me. If you have any questions or comments, contact me at lee@pokerpages.com

Photos Mike Caro and Linda Johnson
Andy Glazer	Andy Glazer
Conference Session	Another Conference Session

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