JV'S KILLER POKER: FANTASY

BY: John Vorhaus

When I fantasize about my poker, I try to fantasize constructively. I seek to create and explore situations that amount to puzzles. Given these circumstances, I tell myself, against these opponents, how would I play this hand?

Okay, JV, you're in middle position in a $15-30 hold 'em game. The player on your right has been drinking Tequila Braindeaths and mouthing loudly about his bad luck. He's down to his last hundred, and seems in the mood to rack off and go home. How can you help?

Well, let's see... He has 20 betting units left, which means he can get to the river one more time in a hand that's not raised on any street. But if you raise and he calls pre-flop, then he's got six chips in already. Three more on the flop, and six on the turn means he'll be all-in with five chips on the river. Given his state of mind, you can probably count on him going pot-commit on the next hand he plays for a raise.

Watch out, though! There are other sharks in these waters, any one of whom would love to relieve ol' Drunky-tilty here of his last $100. So you need to be prepared to raise the very next hand that Drunky-tilty plays. You do have the advantage of position - you get to act first after he enters the pot.

Raise, then, with any hand that's halfway playable. If someone raises behind you, figure that they think they know what you're up to and plan on capping the bet to signal that you do, in fact, have a real hand. Bet any flop and bet any turn. If all goes according to plan, the pre-flop reraiser will fold, and Drunky-tilty will go all-in with a hand he probably wouldn't have played in the first place if he'd had his wits about him - which he doesn't, which is why you went after him in the first place.

Remember, though, that if Drunky-tilty comes in and you have absolute garbage, you don't have to get involved. So what if someone else gets his last hundred? That money will still be there for your taking - assuming that you haven't crippled yourself in a reckless pursuit. There's a difference between bold and reckless, even in a fantasy.

And even in a fantasy you might not win. Maybe the reraiser will stick around. Maybe Drunky-tilty has a real hand. Well, that's the beauty of fantasy poker - the chips are fantasy too. But the experience you gain in constructing and analyzing the situation... that's completely real. That's something you can use.

I don't draw much distinction between fantasy and reality. It's my blessing or my curse to experience an invented situation almost as intensely as the real thing. Nevertheless, if I find myself in a live game which mirrors one of my fantasy constructions (which, after all, only mirror all the live games I've ever played in) I have the comforting sense of no surprises here. Thus I find that constructed fantasies have become a tool I can use to turn my idle poker musings into directed poker exercises.

Give it a whirl. Think about poker situations that vex you, and then navigate a fantasy course through those situations where you're not vexed, but rather able and adept. At minimum, this is modeling positive behavior. It will help you do the right thing when it's the real thing, and I think you'll discover that if you can be not afraid in a fantasy, it's easier to be not afraid in reality too.