1. Common Concepts

The most common concept for winning at poker has always been to play conservatively (tight) and to play according to the card odds. Most books on poker stress that concept. They usually include some basic techniques as well as some rules for betting, raising, and bluffing. They also present some common ideas about strategy and psychology. But none of those books offers or even considers a maximum-win approach to poker. (Appendix B lists all the known books about poker published since 1872.)

Table 3 identifies and analyzes the fallacies of many common concepts presented in the well-known and classic books on poker.

By applying the common concepts of poker, a player can win moderately in small-stake games that consist mainly of poor players. But in regular high-stake games, continual losses force most poor players to quit or to improve. High-stake games, therefore, often consist of experienced poker players advanced beyond the common concepts. But when a player using the common concepts enters a high-stake game, he usually feels confident that by playing tight he will eventually win over his looser playing opponents. Bewilderment gradually replaces confidence as he continually loses against players whom he considers inferior competition.

Scotty Nichols usually plays sensibly. He bets only good hands and is the tightest player in the game. He has studied many books about poker and faithfully follows their techniques and strategy. According to those books, he should be a consistent winner, particularly in this game with its loose and wild players. Why is he a loser? John Finn knows the answer . . . Scotty plays too tight. The pots he wins are usually small, and the pots he loses are often large. Why? Whenever Scotty shows betting strength or even stays in a hand, the other players either fold or stop betting. When he wins, therefore, the pots are smaller than normal. When players do bet against him to make a large pot, they usually hold powerful enough hands to beat him. In other words, Scotty is a tight player who, like the wild player, has not adjusted to the game pace.