"Playing the odds in Poker"

I am not a professional poker player, i only played in a Poker house, Casino or if there are invitations in the neighborhood some time, and my game of choice was Texas Hold'em. Mostly because this is the most popular game around, and there is no shortage of opponents.

Weeks ago, I played in a cash game in Davao City. Most of the players at the table were regulars or appeared to be so to me. They all seemed to know each other and were, on the whole, a fairly tight bunch of players. The gentleman on my right was on his late 40's, and was doing fairly well. Masaya sya at palakwento, he was having a good time.

This was a P50/P100, no limit game, with a P3000 maximum buy in. He had built his stack of poker chips up to around P12,000 and was showing his pleasure. I had built my stack up to around the same size when an opportunity came along. He was a good, solid player and I had only seen him play premium hands. He raised to P500 pre-flop. I was next to act, on the button and called his raise with a pair of Eights (8-8). The rest of the table folded, so there was just the two of us.

The flop came, 9,J,10 variously suited. He bet P1000 on the flop, and I raised him to P2000, to see where he was. After a long think, he re-raised to P5000 and I sensed an opportunity. He was scared, the smile was gone from his face and his hands were shaking. He also counted out all his money to himself before re-raising, so I thought I could make a move. As soon as he re-raised, I moved all-in for P12,500. He thought for some time, and then folded his hand. He later confided to me that what he folded was trip 9s. I didn’t see them, but I believed him. He also said he didn’t want to risk the rest of his stack on the chance I had him beat with a set of Jack, or a straight. He then left the table with his remaining P6000 plus.

This would not have worked against another, looser player or a player who was playing for a sum that was not important to him. But the P6000+ was important to this man, and he made that very clear to me. He was prepared to lose the P5000+ he had already put in the pot, rather than risk the extra P6000+. The P5000 was important to me as well, but I didn’t let him see that. Playing this way is risky, and it is vital to sum up your opponents before doing so. A different type of player would have called my bluff, and although I had outs, I was glad he folded.
The main thing is to be aggressive with players of this type. If I had called his bet on the flop, and tried to make my straight – I would be the one on the defensive. By being the aggressor, I was giving him the tough decision. I had already made it clear I was prepared to put all my chips in – he had to decide if he wanted to do the same thing. I could have had any number of hands. An over pair, a made straight, another set. Even though he had the best hand, he could still have lost and he wasn’t ready to risk that happening. At that point there were two more cards to come – any of which could have ruined his afternoon. I usually find this is the point to put these sort of decisions to tighter players, if I had waited ‘till the river, we would both have had a lot more money in and he would almost have been forced to call.

BEYOND WORK: MY PASSION FOR MOTORCYCLES

As emotional beings, we humans have a tendency to develop an attachment to certain persons, things, events or habits. We fall helplessly in love someone some time in our lives, or we begin to love some thing, like a motorcycle, or develop a habit, like a get-together with our riding buddies at our favorite hangout or perhaps even get addicted to the habit of riding every weekend.
I started riding a motorcycle during my elementary years, as most boys our age did. My grandfather taught me to drive on his Pantra (pang-traysikel). It was a fun, and not to mention, free way to learn to ride a motorcycle. My grandfather, who had a 1973 B1 Kawasaki 125 and a 1978 Suzuki A100 eventually give me a permission to ride around the neighborhood only.
I recall during my high school days at Notre Dame, my motorcycle riding friends would lend me their bikes to ride around the campus and most of them were on pantra’s. I secretly admired my friends riding with their bikes in going home every afternoon. Just to have a ride, my father bought me a BMX bike which is not the same, but at least, it’s a ride. Before my graduation from high school my father bought a 1981 Yamaha Enduro prestine 100cc, I learned more about riding with this bike which gave me enough confidence to ride on the streets.
I went to college in Manila and work as a part time when I was in 3rd year of my engineering course. I found a job in an Engineering Consultancy Firm where I was compelled to drive a car instead of a motorbike but I kept my desire for motorcycles by reading magazines in the bookstores and attend bike shows at the malls.
But when I worked in the Bureau of Customs, Manila my passion for cars and bikes has also increased. I can’t hold my breath every time I saw a different cars and motorcycles imported from different countries. In 1997, I was forced to go home to help my father on his political career, I used a brand new 125 Kawasaki HD111 as my ride, then I shifted to modified black 1998 Yamaha DT 125, which was the fad in the province during the late 90’s. I prefer to ride in solo without a back rider since I like to ride in the fast lane. With a back rider I find it more difficult to maintain balance particularly on turns and when slowing down to a full stop. After gaining confidence with my riding capability, I moved up to a brand new Kawasaki Eliminator cruiser bike which becomes my constant buddy during long rides until these days.
Even though I have a car, I would rather ride my bike in going to office because it is more fuel efficient. I’ve always favored two wheels over four. I learned to ride a motorcycle long before I learned to drive a car, so when the time came, it seemed far more natural for me to be on a bike than in a car. I also earn a lot of friends in motorcycle riding, it always happen that you talk to fellow bikers without introducing yourself first. We usually talk about our bikes before giving our names.
The farthest that I had ridden my motorcycle was more or less 460 kilometers, although I would like to ride farther if only my schedule allows me to. I usually ride alone, but in cases when I had to ride with a group, I opted to position myself at the tail end to assist riders when necessary. I may not be the best rider technically, but I’m sure I have the correct attitude in riding.
I have two children now aged 8 and 10 I want to share my love for motorcycles with them. If ever my kids would want to ride, I would allow them as long as they would wear the proper riding gear and helmet. I would also allow them to ride on the streets only when they are properly educated about road safety and aware of riding rules and traffic regulations.
At aged 36, I would want to have bigger bikes with higher displacement with at least 600cc, if my budget and my wife allow me too, I want to buy the raven black 2008 Yamaha YZF-R6 it’s a Sport Bike, liquid cooled engine, 4-cylinder; DOHC, 16 titanium valves and a dry weight of 166kg. But then, my wife’s voice keep echoed in my head. “Instead of buying your passion bike, we settle first our debts” , I take a good advise from my wife but it doesn’t stop me from dreaming that one day I’ll have a bigger bike in my garage. My heart is really set in having an R6 in spite of all these obstacles, so I start collecting an affordable 1:12 scale models instead; it was an easier scheme than convincing my wife to allow me to buy the real thing. Who knows? Maybe after seeing this scale models day by day, she might eventually give in and permit me to buy the real one. Life, after all, imitates art. In this case, scale model art might become real life. One day soon!
For me, motorcycles are far more than just a leisure pursuit, but a passion I developed since my younger days, which I continue until now.