Poker & Philosophy: Dwight Eisenhower
by Bodog Poker | Aug 19 2010
In preparing for battle I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable. - Dwight Eisenhower
We all make plans when we sit down to play poker. We size up our bankroll. We look at how we've played in the past few games and consider that. Then, we say to ourselves something like “OK, let's stay tight for at least the first ten hands, see how everyone's playing, then go in with a bluff just to put some shock and awe in them.” We go in, this firm embedded in our mind, and then the real world intervenes and we have to abandon this carefully constructed attack and we're left with nothing. That is because individual plans are worthless while proper planning is essential in any poker game.
A good poker strategy involves multiple scenarios and creating a fluid response to the way the game is developing around you. In many ways, Eisenhower's strategies that he developed with his fellow officers in World War II were very much akin to proper poker strategy: they assessed the enemy forces and created a number of viable scenarios based on previous actions, troop numbers, etc. The same can be done if you are a careful player that takes the time to make notes of how other players engage you, the sizes of their bankrolls that they're bringing to cash games, etc.
Tournament play is different, of course: everyone starts with the same number of chips and their fiscal risk is mitigated by this, but still, keeping track of how others play and knowing that tight-aggressive will work against Player X while Player Y is a calling station that will bleed your chips given a chance is key. Notes are great, and they're essential to many an online poker player's game, particularly as most online poker rooms offer software that gives you the chance to take notes and have them attached to individual player profiles in the games themselves., so when Player X appears, your notes about them are also just a click away.
The fact is, however, that you are going to go in blind frequently, particularly when you move up to a new level of tables with a higher buy-in. So, planning should you engage in that is not merely a concrete plan? It's recommended that you keep some truisms in your head, such as position is key. You will want to maximize your position and the power it gives you at any given time. Later in the hand and seeing that others are limping in just to play? It's a great time to play lower pairs aggressively and look at sweeping the pot.
Bluffing is always a possibility and you can actually determine if it's worth it by looking at basic math. For instance, if you can get into a pot for a $4 bet and earn $16 from it by being a little more aggressive, then that's a good buy. It won't always be possible to bluff bigger hands into your bankroll, but it can be profitable and provide you with a fallback if your regular play doesn't work.
The short version of all this is that you should take the time to evaluate and maximize the assets you do have in a game and you'll have begun the sort of planning that sets the best poker players apart from the wannabes and railbirds.
