YOU DON'T HAVE TO OUT RUN THE BEAR

by John Ivey,CCHT

The following story illustrates what we as poker players often forget:

There were 2 men sitting and fishing from the bank of a river. To get more comfortable both men had removed their shoes and socks earlier in the day. Suddenly they heard the bushes rustling behind them. As they turned they saw a bear slowly moving in their direction. It was apparent to the fishermen that the bear had not yet spotted them. As they watched intently to see what the bear's next move was going to be, one of the men reached down and started putting his shoes back on. Seeing this the second man quietly whispered, “What are you doing? …......... You know you can not out run a bear”. The first man exclaimed, “I don't have to out run the bear ….... I only have to OUT RUN YOU! “

As a general rule you do not have to beat ALL 9 players at the table. If you play your hand correctly you should only have to beat (out run) 1 player each hand. While it is true, it is not always the same player, most hands will be just you and 1 or possibly 2 other players at the showdown.

Once you learn this you will find yourself winning many more sessions. You will no longer sit and wait for 'The Nuts' and then try to win the hand against 4 or 5 other players. If you start raising pre-flop and post flop, you will narrow the field. This will also allow you to ONLY have to beat the players left in the hand. This will also mean you do not have to have 'The Absolute Nuts'.

Most of the time the flop misses everyone, unless you allow 8 or 9 players to limp in. In my opinion the pre-flop raise is the most important weapon you will have in your arsenal. If you can eliminate all but 1 player and the flop misses both of you the winning hand is usually a long way from 'The NUTS.' This explains why so many times you will see small pairs win big pots.

The professionals are not sitting and waiting on 'The Nuts' …....... neither should you.

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