Play Your Own Cards  

It is rare to be seated at a table anymore, even the higher stake ring games, without someone else sitting there that thinks they can play your cards better than you can. They are constantly spitting out comments about the way someone played a hand. Things such as " you bet 100 on that","you raised with that #$%$", and one of my favorites "you lucky *&%$, you don’t know how to play". The last one is my favorite because it is usually form the loser of a hand to the winner of a hand and he is telling them that they don’t know how to play. I always want to say to that person that if they are such bad players and don’t know how to play poker, how did they beat you?

It is very important in the game of poker to play your own cards. The only concern you could have as to the way someone else is playing their’s is to learn their style of play and any habits they have. There is no, let me repeat this for you NO need to voice your opinion about how someone else plays their hole cards. If you think it is a stupid move or you think they don’t know how to play, fine, then they should be easy for you to clean out. Why would you want to discourage anyone form making what you believe is a stupid play? The object is for you to win. If your going to say anything about it, then encourage them in a serious manner to keep up the stupidity.

If anyone has ever watched Gus Hansen play for more than 10 minutes, you would realize 2 things. First, he is one of the best players in the world at Texas Hold’em. Second, he does not play by the little cheat cards that most people do. He plays by feel. If he likes his hole cards, he plays them. Take a lesson form Gus, play poker by feel not by guidelines set by someone else. It has been repeatedly proven that having cards like J spades and 8 hearts can win a hand.

Now, do not get me wrong, I am in no way saying play any and everything. I am saying if you are hitting flushes like crazy and you get dealt 10 and 5 hearts, why not call the blind. If it feels right, if it fits into the way the cards are flowing for you then play it. Folding Ace King pre flop is excepted if you don’t feel right about it so why no play a lesser set of hole cards if you feel it will work.

It is not necessary to explain to anyone seated at your table why they should have folded a set of cards that you would not have played. You have 2 cards dealt to you, play those and not the ones across the table. Poker is a game and there is a certain amount of skill and a certain amount of "how the cards fall" involved in the outcome. Neither is more important than the other. It will take both to make your sitting a good one or a bad one. You can get dealt pocket Aces every hand but it certainly doesn’t mean your going to win every hand. Play your won cards and play them the best way you can. Leave everyone else’s cards alone.