Poker - The Evil Twin Paradox

One of the key tenets of understanding how to play winning poker is to understand the concept that I call "the evil twin."

In the course of a cash session, you will be presented with a number of decisions. And you will be creating decision situations for your opponents. To the untrained eye it seems impossible to know what to do. For example, lets say you raised pre-flop with a pocket pair of sevens. Its folded around to the big blind who immediately calls. The flop comes out:

Queen; Five; Deuce

The big blind comes out betting. Its your turn to act. What do you do?

These situations come up over and over again. Your opponent either has you or the evil twin is that he doesn't. In a nut shell, this is what good poker is all about - dealing with the situation of the evil twin. The player who makes the right move in these situations more often, will be a winning player over the long run.

So how do you make the right play? The short answer is that its much more complicated than it appears. I've created a course on the "Evil Twin" concept at PokerSlamU.com. But in a nut shell, you are in a duel. The more unclear you make it for your opponent - the better. Most people will just fold if they are unsure. The more data you can pick up on your opponent - the better.

When it comes to your image, the most common and best strategy is you want to be perceived as a relatively tight player. You, most of the time, want your opponent to fold. Believe me, those pots add up fast. If you're having a card dead day, you can still have a profitable day if you can successfully create a tight player image, raise no more than once every two rotations or so. Consistently bet your cards. That is the best I can tell you in a paragraph.

When it comes to choosing a twin when you are put to the test, take as much into account as possible. Most players who are betting out do not have it. Most players do not like to be raised and are intimidated. Understand what each player is capable of doing. Most recreational players, for example, are incapable of making a big bluff re-raise against a tight player. These are only a few of the critical pieces to the puzzle that you are putting together.

Feel becomes critical. I'm most comfortable in a 5/10 no limit game. Whenever I dip down to 1/2 or 2/5, I don't do as well. I find the players are more willing to call. There is less at stake. Smaller stacks. Less at stake. So if I'm card dead, I have a hard time manufacturing wins.

Find your comfort zone. What game best fits you. The better you get, the more successful you'll be at the higher limits.