I started to notice patterns in people when I was dealing poker on grave shifts at Aladdin Casino. I was starting work when most people in Vegas were either shacking up with a significant or other - or they were hitting the tables on the alcohol high.
I was in the bust. Earning my livings now by dealing what I was used to being dealt. The Poker Gods had not been kind.
One year before, I was making my living playing online in 6 - 8 table, 12 hour grind sessions. Next, I was in Greektown Casino on Mondays grinding it out with the regulars on comp meals of styrofoam hotdogs and extra onions. Finally, I moved to poker Mecca - Las Vegas. The best poker rooms in the world. I played in them every day.
I was playing small no-limit stakes against drunk tourists and other grinders. The winnings were small, the time was long, and it is perfectly summed up by the grinder saying - "it's a hard way to make an easy living."
Unfortunately, it wasn't meant to last, I got bored and stopped playing structured and tight at the tables, I tried new and different styles of play - and many of them weren't working. I got scared at the losses I was taking and lost my edge. Sensing I was going broke - I managed to secure a poker dealing gig at Aladdin.
Working at Aladdin was my true lesson in live poker. One day a man came in that everyone on staff knew - except me. They called him "Angel" and I am a believer. He sat at my table - a $200 buy-in no limit game. Dealers at Aladdin are allowed to play at the tables, so I was mixing it up with some tourists - I had about $400 in front of me when Angel sat down. He immediately took control of the table. His opening raise was 4x our average pot size. I looked at him incredulously, "who is this dueche? And why is he making me pay another $60 on my raise of $15 to see a flop?" My only option was to push all-in or fold - and I had AJ suited. A call would be suicide as he would have the better position after the flop. So I did what I always do when I'm in a tight spot in poker. I talk to the other person.
"Why you raising your first hand?"
"Because I know you're weak. You're a decent player who has prob been playing for awhile and you're getting bored."
Hmm. Not worth the risk. After I folded, he then went on to propose a side bet.
"You give me $5 and guess one of the cards in my hand anytime I raise, and I will give you $100 if you are right. Lets start with this one - he held the cards up. Guess the number suit doesn't matter."
It was great odds for me so I tossed him $5 - I suspected AK so "A King".
He showed me 26 offsuit. I got excited then. "I'm gonna crush this moron." - I was thinking.
However, after one round - I was down $15 from three lost "guess the card" bets and his stack had grown to $600 on one two pair and a few astoundingly well placed bluffs. He knew exactly how to play the table as a whole and each individual - as if our cards were transparent. He knew the instant anyone had a real hand and got safely out of the way - but was hammering down every other time. But it seemed to flow without effort. He was debating taking the money line or the points on Duke with the dealer, and casually crushing my table - taking small breaks to point out how horrible I am at guessing.
A half hour later, he left my table $600 richer. It was an incredible take for the time he sat there. I started to reassess how I approached poker. I always knew reading people was important, but I viewed it as a last glance factor where first you apply the more concrete details. However, this guy Angel played a completely different game. His decisions were based on people. He knew the people at my table better then they knew themselves. It didn't matter if the hand he was holding had no chance.
The online grinders stand no chance against this type of player. The only way to beat him is to become better at reading him than he is at reading you - or get lucky.
I started delving into material about psychology and poker.
There is a great book - Beyond Tells - that really describes this phenomenon as it relates to poker. The main idea is this - people fit into certain categories of player. For example, the boss player was one that would reprimand you if you made what they would consider, a bad play. I met a lot of bosses during my poker career and all of them were shitty tippers.
What this book is essentially saying is you do not have to know how to play against everyone as individuals, because people fall into certain categories - so all you have to do is learn how to play against each one of these types. So I started to group the people I encountered at the tables based on their play and I noticed something interesting. People that had the same physical features seemed to have the same styles.
So in effect judging a book by its cover in poker, if you know what to look for, can be profitable. That is how Angel knew how to play against the table without any background on any of us. He didn't need to know how we played. He knew how the category we each fit into played.
This is an extremely interesting phenomenon when taken into greater context. Why do we seem to develop similar attributes to other people who look like us?
