Decisions

This article will stress one simple point, poker is about decisions. Whether it is obvious or not, it is an important way of thinking about the game.

The object of any poker game might be to get the winning hand. But it would be too simple minded to say that it is the principal meaning of the game. The winner in a poker game need not be the player who has gotten the best cards, but is most often the player who has taken the best decisions.

One decision would be whether to call or fold. A more pleasant choice would be in a situation where you debate the correct choice between calling and raising. These kind of choices are the most common ones. You assess the strength of your hand in the current situation and on the basis of this you decide whether to: check, bet, fold, call, or raise. This must be done at least one time for each betting round, and many factors can be taken into consideration. Sometimes the decisions are easy. If you are holding a T 4, you fold. If you have T T in last position, raise preflop and get three callers, then you are glad to fold the hand when the flop comes A K 4 and the first player has bet, the second called and the third player in front of you raised. In another situation you could have gotten the nut flush on the river and are facing a bet from your single opponent, then it is easy to decide to raise.

At other times it can be more difficult. Say you have A Q as your pocket cards. You raise and get only one caller, the player in the big blind. The flop comes K Q 6. The player in the big blind comes out betting. What should you do now? It is no longer about getting the best hand. It is about making a good decision.

Should you call because you might have the best hand? Then you are potentially facing bets on the third and fourth betting round as well. Should you fold because the player in the big blind probably already has a flush? Should you fold because your opponent rarely bluffs and probably has at least top pair when making such a bet? Should you raise because your opponent will fear that you have a flush or "Big Slick" A-K? Should you raise because your opponent is a fairly good player who is just as likely to have the king as a lower pocket pair, and if holding the king will reraise (and you can get out of the hand at the cost of two small bets) but if holding the latter will give you the pot right now? Should you try the risky alternative and call because you "almost" know that your opponent is only testing you and will do it again on the next betting round, but will give up if you then reraise?

This last situation should mainly serve as a testimony that there are many ways to justify a decision. There is no "how-to-guide-answer" for such situations. All of the reasoning above have their pros and cons. It simply pays off to think, including information that you have gained about the player in earlier hands, and make a good decision. You make the decision that you think most likely is the best one for the current circumstances.

There are many other kinds of decisions too. The most important one ought to be whether to play in a certain game or not. You never have to play poker, it is a decision that you make. You never have to play at a specific table, with the opportunity that online pokier gives you it should be a conscious decision to play that game, with those opponents, at those limits, in that seat.

In poker it is rewarding to be a good, resolute decision-maker. Before you get that good appraisals, it serves you well to have the same attitude. It is impossible to win every hand. It is inconceivable to make the correct decision every time. It is nearly inconceivable to make good decision every time. That is what any aspiring poker player should strive at though. To think about poker as making decisions. And always try to make good ones.