No limit hold’em is like picking up women. Both take perseverance, both take calculated risks, and, if you’re doing it right, both will ensure a large stack by the end of the night. But unfortunately, picking up women and a hand of hold’em both also has their complications. By the end of the process, you have to be able to close the deal.
Now, I don’t claim to be either an expert poker player or a full-fledged pick up artist, but I would classify myself as ‘intermediate.’ So maybe you’ll learn something about playing the river as well as closing the deal with women. And if you happen to be a woman, there’s nothing wrong with learning how to bed other girls, especially if you email me pictures.
Specifically, I want to talk to you about a concept under the umbrella of “last minute resistance.”
Pulling Rugs
You’ve built attraction, set the mood, got makey-outy, and now that you’ve moved to the bedroom, you might find that you’ll get a little resistance at the end. It’s just lip service when she says, “We really shouldn’t be doing this.” She doesn’t mean it, but you have to react somehow to make her feel more comfortable. The correct response is to mirror her: pay lip service, agree with her, “No, we shouldn’t be doing this,” and keep right on doing it. Mirroring gives you control, because suddenly you’re posing an idea that she already agrees with. You pull the rug out from under her.
You can use the very same technique to gain control on the river. There is a general rule for how to play the river out of position. The rule is, if you would call anyway, put in a bet.
Show Me Some Love: An Example
You’re holding A-8 and the flop comes Jh-6d-8s. You check, your opponent bets, and you call, thinking he could be using his position, he’s on a draw, or maybe you’ll draw out.
The turn is 3h. Check, bet, call.
The river is 2h. Now you’re in a perfect position to mirror his play and take control of the situation. Bet out an amount that’s marginally less than you think he would bet. Thinking you caught a runner-runner heart flush, or two-pair, or god knows what, he might fold a better hand like J-T or Q-J. And even if he calls, you lose less money than you would have if you just called what you thought he would bet. But if he raises, then you know that he likely has something worth raising, and you still get away without investing more than you would have with just a call.
Making Your Move
When you take the initiative, when you tell her between passionate kisses that you should slow down, when you put money in the pot before the bettor, then you take control of the situation. Work this move into your play and you’ll begin to see an upturn in your bankroll. But work it into your game, and you’ll see an upturn somewhere else.
Cheers,
