Poker Strategy: Mythbusting!
by Dougie Goguen | Mar 31 2011
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Dougie takes a look at a number of poker myths so that you can counter other's arguments.
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Much like the fields of cryptozoology and psychic studies, poker is full of myths that have become inflated to the point where they're accepted as fact by many people who aren't familiar with the game, and by a shocking number that are.
We're going to do a blow-by-blow look at three of the most popular ones and explain why they are myths and not based on fact.
Poker Myth #1 No One Consistently Wins At Poker!
Tell that to Phil Ivey or Gus Hansen or Evelyn Ng or Amanda Musumeci or any of the players that show up on Bodog's weekly tournament lists. Good poker players are able to use strategy and outthink and outplay their competition.
This myth falls apart with any real examination and is directly tied in to the next myth about the game's dependence on luck and directly connects to the third.
Poker Myth #1: Poker is a game of luck.
Mark Twain popularized the phrase "Lies, damn lies, and statistics," and that's how a lot of people look at poker.
The myth that you have to be lucky to play poker and winners are somehow juking statistics in their favor is one of, if not the most, pervasive myths about the game.
Even with the amount of education that is easily available for interested players, poker's connection to luck is so strong that even Congress and courts around the nation have debated the game's merit.
The truth of the matter is that poker is a game of skill that contains an element of luck to it.
Even if you are lucky and get the best possible cards hand after hand, it is still possible for you to lose a game because of how others play.
Meanwhile, a good poker player can take mediocre cards and maximize them while minimizing their losses elsewhere, something that can't be done by choice in a game such as Roulette or Craps.
Poker is as much psychological as it is math and thus deserves to be treated as a game of skill.
Poker Myth #3: Poker games are crooked.
Blame Hollywood or, worse yet, CBC dramas destined for syndication in the states for this particular trope that shows up again and again.
While it is possible for you to run into a game that's mismanaged or, worse yet, out-and-out aimed at pilfering your wallet if you play in circles where there's little in the way of supervision (such as back-room games or, worse yet, private games in someone's home,) the vast majority of games out there are professionally run with an eye firmly placed on the concept of fairness.
Casinos want to be known as a place where players can return to again and again for the best game possible., and the same goes for online poker sites like Bodog.
Outside of the general desire to ensure that players have the best possible experience and refer their friends to their site, any online poker site worth its salt knows that players talk and as the recent past has shown, they are able to quickly analyze a situation and figure out if there's anything amiss.
The myth of crooked poker games can usually be traced to players who believe that the first two myths exist and have run afoul of a cold deck or the like.
BE A PLAYER. Play online poker at Bodog.
