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In this blog we will cover the first major books written on poker, the Hole Cams and RFID Technology and how these things helped change the poker landscape to become as popular as it is today.
Books One of the first major books on poker was Doyle Brunson’s Super System published in 1978. It had many different games including Texas No-Limit Hold’em. It gave away some of the secrets of the poker greats. Other seminal works were David Sklansky’s book: The Theory of Poker which came out in 1987 and Mike Caro’s: Caro’s Book of Poker Tells in 1999. Over time what started as a trickle turned into a waterfall of books as more and more pros exposed their secrets. The floodgates of how to play excellent poker is out in print and accessible to anyone with $20 in their pocket, a few hours of spare time, and a hunger to learn. But it didn’t stop there. Hole Cams Henry Orenstein invented the hole cams that display player’s hole cards. It became popular in 1999. Watching people play poker before this was as exciting as watching paint dry. Seeing someone’s hole cards coupled with engaging personalities and the romance of being in control of your own destiny made the game a great deal more fun to watch. Armchair poker players came in by the droves. Many of them started playing themselves. RFID Technology In recent years a new king of hole card technology called radio-frequency identification (RFID) is being used at some live poker productions. Instead of hole cams, RFID uses special playing cards with radio-frequency identification chips known as “tags.” RFID readers under certain spots on the poker table read the card tags. The readers send the information to tournament or TV production computers. In the next blog we will cover how the poker landscape changed forever with the internet and smart phones. Stay tuned! Chuck
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Sometime back I was playing a tournament at one of local card houses. It was a free-roll game with several hyper-aggressive players who over bet many pots. I had played with most of the players before and have a reputation as a solid player who knows the math at a visceral level. It was truly bingo poker. There were several all-ins with immediate re-buys. It felt like a street fight. I woke up with pocket queens in late position. There was an early position raiser of around 5 to 6 times the big blind. There was one call so far. It was my turn to act. I just called since I felt a raise against such players wouldn’t get any folds. And it might prompt an all-in that could turn into an all-in fest. Although I had a super-premium hand, pocket queens are still vulnerable, especially against multiple players. The flop with fairly dry with only 9 high. There was significant sized bet and a call. The current pot was over 1/3 of my stack. I was pretty sure I was ahead at this point so I went all-in. The next player to act pointed his finger at the first player to make a big bet after the flop and said emphatically: “I am not worried about you!” Then he looked at the next player who had called, pointed his finger at him and sternly said: “I am not worried about you!” Finally, he turned, pointed his finger at me and confidently said: “I am worried about you!” Then, he folded! I laughed heartily and was quite flattered by this powerful compliment. The two other players called my all-in bet. My queens were ahead of the other two players on the flop as I expected, and they held up on the turn and river. I won the hand and my stack increased about three-fold. Note: The player folded pocket Kings and would have won the hand if he had stayed in. The Moral of the Story The moral of the story is that when you play excellent poker and have a great table reputation, others will respect your play and act accordingly. This respect creates many benefits. You will not be pushed around as much, players will respect your plays and when you do bluff you have a higher probability of getting away with it. And finally, one of the most important benefits of playing excellent poker is that as you move to higher stakes games you won’t have to break bad habits that were developed at the lower levels. Make sure you press "Like" if you enjoyed this Blog Post
...and be sure and share it with your friends! Because I had been promoting my book Mastering Poker Math, back in 2018 I frequently discussed the probabilities before (or after) the flop when someone asked. It usually worked to improve my reputation at the table and occasionally creates some curiosity about my first book on poker math. It isn’t uncommon for players to ask me the probabilities of an occurrence since they know that I know the math extremely well. Sometimes the question comes from another table (during a friendly tournament). On one evening during a casual tournament a player who I know well called over to me from another table. He asked: “Chuck, what is the probability of getting a flush on the flop when you have two of the same suit?” I immediately called back: "It is .8%". Several people from the other table (as well as my table) turned their heads, stared at me with a bit of wonderment on how I knew this obscure probability. I sensed respect and maybe a bit of fear at my quick and accurate response from players at both tables. I wasn’t sure if I should be flattered that people at the two tables thought I was knowledgeable, or saddened because I was spending so much time preparing my book for release! What many of the players don’t know is that it wasn’t that tough when you know the back story. I had been investing a huge amounts of time day after day checking, re-checking and checking again my book to prepare it for release. After reading the same material over and over again, it can’t help but become an integral part of you. On a side note: I did take first place in that local tournament! Below is a picture of the printouts of the Mastering Poker Math that I used to edit the book. I checked the book so many times because I want it to be good. I want it to be very good.  The check prints when I was finishing up Mastering Poker Math for publication. If you are a poker player my goal for the book: Mastering Poker Math is to help you accelerate your game forward as quickly as possible so you can become a New Breed of Poker Player. It is designed to do this by helping you learn the math at a visceral level and how to integrate that math with the other aspects of your game. Make sure you press "Like" if you enjoyed this Blog Post
...and be sure and share it with your friends! “Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change.” ~ Stephen Hawking Mystery shrouds when Texas No-Limit Hold’em was invented, however it is thought to have started in the early 1900’s in Robstown Texas.
It gained traction when the early pioneers such as Doyle Brunson, Amarillo Slim, Johnny Moss and Bobby Baldwin played it. These men had to learn the game relying on their knowledge of human behavior, intuition, tells, basic math skills, and table experience. There were no books, no internet, no courses, no training, no YouTube video’s, no hole cams, and no easy access to play. At times these trail blazers would drive long distances just to get into a game. Many of those games were in the back rooms of shady places. Poker players were looked down upon. There was little respect for them in regular society. When they won money, they would still have to avoid being robbed or beaten. Their sheer passion and force of will helped them to become excellent players. It was truly a time of the Wild West in the poker world. The first World Series of Poker (WSOP) Main Event was in 1970 with only 7 entrants. Johnny Moss was the winner. Poker has grown exponentially since. Stay tuned! Chuck |
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This blog has been created to help you gain a competitive edge using poker math and how to integrate it with the rest of your game. Enjoy! ~ Chuck Clayton
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