Who doesn’t love quotes? We love them so much that John Bartlett—in 1855—published Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations—an immense collection of more than 8,000 quotes—currently on its 18th edition. Since then, numerous quotation books have been published, including The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations (1941) and The Yale Book of Quotations (2006) to name a couple.

Anyway, we’re talking about poker here, and there are hundreds of poker quotes out there. From funny to inspirational to matter-of-fact and beyond, here are my ten favorites.

10. “A Smith & Wesson beats four aces.” ~ American proverb

9. “There is more to poker than life.” ~ Tom McEvoy

8. “It’s not whether you won or lost but how many bad beat stories you were able to tell.” ~ Grantland Rice

7.  “Show me a good loser and I’ll show you a loser.” ~ Stu Ungar

6.  “I don’t play any two suited cards. I play any two non-suited cards. That way I’m drawing at two different flushes.” ~ Amarillo Slim

5. “Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes playing a poor hand well.” ~ Jack London

4. “Trust everyone, but always cut the cards.” ~ Benny Binion

3. “Just play every hand. You can’t miss them all.” ~ Sammy Farha

2. “If there weren’t luck involved, I would win every time.” ~ Phil Hellmuth

1. “Last night I stayed up late playing poker with Tarot cards. I got a full house and four people died.” ~ Steven Wright

Do you have a favorite poker quote? Please comment below.

We’ve all seen players place chips in the pot with multiple motions, or appear to call and then announce a raise and add more chips. As we collectively gasp with frustration at this point, the “offender ” is probably unaware that s/he has committed a major poker transgression: a string bet or string raise. String bets/raises are a type of angle shooting.

So…

What is angle shooting?

Players who are trying to oftentimes underhandedly obtain information about their opponents are said to be angle shooting. In such cases, players attempt to gain information from—or “get an angle on”—other players. While angle shooting is not expressly illegal, it is highly controversial and oftentimes used by players attempting to exploit a loophole in the rules.

Some examples of angle shooting include:

• Fake folding
• Hiding a large chip beneath what appears to be a call
• Pretending to have the nuts to induce opponents to fold
• Making assorted ambiguous gestures

There are numerous YouTube videos on angle shooting; some in large tournaments which are quite entertaining.

What is a string bet/raise?

Quite simply, a string bet/raise occurs when a player calls with a forward motion but then immediately tries to raise with another motion without announcing the raise first.

Also, quite simply, don’t do this. Just. Don’t.

The term “string” refers to the fact that the bet/raise is stretched—or strung—out.

Think of it like this: just like you cannot call and fold at the same time, or fold and raise at the same time, you also cannot call and raise at the same time. You get one action when it is your turn. One.

Thus, you can check, call, bet, fold, OR raise.

We have all undoubtedly seen the infamous call-and-raise technique in movies and on television where a player announces something along the lines of, “I’ll call your $500 and raise you $1,500.” You can only do one or the other.

This particular rule came about to prevent unscrupulous players from trying to gain information from their opponents’ reaction to a call and then complete another action such as adding more chips into the pot. Now, granted, not every player who breaks this sacred rule is intentionally deceitful as, oftentimes, beginners haplessly make string bets for which we should gently remind them not to.

The bottom line

Just remember that a verbal statement supersedes any physical action. Thus, if you announce a raise but fail to put enough chips into the pot to constitute a raise, you must add additional chips. Similarly, if you announce a call but place more chips into the pot, you are only calling. And if you toss a large chip without announcing a raise, you are also only calling.

 

You’ve likely all heard about—and probably used—Bravo, but how many of you actually know all the wonderful things it can do? Read on.

Bravo Poker is a convenient, secure, valuable, useful, and free poker information source and platform available on the web and via a mobile app. It not only enables poker room managers to centrally manage and accurately monitor their rooms and broadcast a variety of useful information for players, but it allows poker players to search their favorite poker rooms for this information right from convenience of their mobile phones.

Bravo Tournament and Poker Watch

With Bravo Tournament Watch, poker room managers are able to set up and track various tournaments in a number of ways. It can:

• Register players and maintain a registration list
• Set up tournament structures
• Randomly assign tables and seats
• Display and update live prize pool amounts
• Track buy-ins, rebuys, re-entries, and add-ons
• Expedite player payouts
• Issue receipts

Similarly, Bravo Poker Watch enables poker room personnel to stay abreast of the entire floor from a single screen. Managers and supervisors are immediately aware of vacant seats, table drop amounts, players’ histories and points, and other informative room statistics.

Bravo Poker isn’t just a handy online tool for poker room personnel. It is also extremely valuable for players. Players can:

• Find a nearby poker room
• Obtain room information
• Search for poker rooms with specific games and limits
• Sort rooms by multiple criteria
• Gain information about a particular poker room’s current open tables, live games, and wait lists
• See a poker room’s upcoming tournaments
• Browse for tournaments based on buy-in amount, structure, bounties, guarantees, and other valuable information
• Check out a particular poker room’s promotions
• Place themselves on a wait list
• Register for a tournament

Not only does the Bravo Poker Live app let players check out their favorite poker rooms, but it also acts as a poker room locator based on their current zip code.

Be aware, however, the Bravo information is only available for those poker rooms which utilize the software. Therefore, some smaller casinos may not be represented.

Bravo Poker Live is available as a free download for both iOS and Android operating systems.

As is the case with everything in one’s life, there are many valuable lessons one can learn from virtually every situation, and playing poker is no different. Poker is a game of skill, of luck, of learning from one’s mistakes, and of bettering oneself.

Here are seven valuable life lessons anyone can learn from poker.

1. Play the hand you are dealt.

Many people erroneously think that having more—more money, more friends, more looks, more whatever—will make life easier. This “the grass is always greener” mentality is a recipe for disaster. In life—as well as in poker—there is no easy fix, no do-overs, and certainly no genies in bottles who will happily grant us three wishes.

We must take what we are given and make the best of it. Sure, we may not always get the outcome we desire or win that monster pot, but we will glean some valuable life lessons to take with us to the next dilemma, hand, or tournament we face and, hopefully, obtain a better outcome from it.

“Life is not always a matter of holding good cards, but sometimes, playing a poor hand well.” ~ Jack London

2. Don’t sweat the small stuff.

Just like life, poker is a journey, not simply a destination, and focusing on the minutiae at the expense of the big picture won’t work in either situation. Obsessing about small setbacks—something for which I am notorious—not only dampens your frame of mind for the present but also may impede your progress for the future. Becoming good at anything requires time, practice, and patience. Learn to enjoy striving toward your goals instead of focusing on every small setback.

“As long as you think more is better, you’ll never be satisfied.”~ Richard Carlson, author of Don’t Sweat the Small Stuff…and It’s All Small Stuff (1996)

3. Make good decisions.

We have no control over how the cards fall; however, by making good, pragmatic decisions based on our own observations and assessment of a situation instead of emotion, we can, in fact, maximize gains and minimize losses. The same holds true in life. The key to success is in making good decisions.

4. Keep an open mind.

There’s this wonderful quote I happen to love that says:

“If you always do what you’ve always done, you always get what you’ve always gotten.” ~ Jesse Potter,  Director of the National Institute for Human Relationships, 1981

Whether it’s playing a poker hand differently or reacting to a repeating life problem in a new way, you really have nothing to lose by trying new things and keeping an open mind. Who knows? You may discover a better way.

5. Choose your battles wisely.

Choose your battles, and choose them wisely. I remember listening to Dr. Laura Schlessinger on the radio years ago, and she always asked her callers, “Is this the mountain you want to die on?” There are many situations that may seem more important in the heat of the moment that, upon further investigation, really were not worth our time and/or money. Making decisions based on pure emotions is never a good thing.

That said, we all need to take a look at the big picture—in life and in poker—and decide whether we should continue to invest more time and money into a likely losing situation or realize that the potential reward doesn’t justify the risk and cut our losses.

Kenny Rogers had it right in The Gambler:

“You got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold em,
Know when to walk away, and know when to run.”

6. Exercise financial control.

Bankroll management in poker is akin to keeping a budget in “real” life. If you don’t have any money, you can’t play. Similarly, if you don’t have any money, you won’t be able to pay your rent, purchase food, or buy any of the myriad other things for which money is necessary.

In both respects, it is critical to keep track of your money whether through a written budget and/or poker software/apps that help you see exactly how much you have, how much you’ve won, and how much you’ve lost. That being said, never live a lifestyle that is beyond your financial means, and never play for more money than you can afford to lose. Of course, this is much easier said than done.

7. Patience is a virtue.

This is another one with which I struggle. Poker is, indeed, a game of patience. Sometimes we don’t get a hand to play, and if we lack patience, then we may be tempted to play a subpar hand simply because we want some action. Being patient and waiting for the right moment to go all-in in poker is akin to holding out for a better situation, job, relationship, or other goal in life. Making rash decisions oftentimes leads to poor outcomes.

“Patience is bitter, but its fruit is sweet.”~Jean Jacques-Rousseau

What are some life lessons you have learned from playing poker? Please comment below.