Pins and needles

The vast majority of time spent at the poker table involves waiting. Waiting for the cards to be dealt, waiting for the chips to be pushed to someone, waiting for others to act on their hands. Of course the fun part involves the small percentage of time when you are in a hand, contemplating and acting on decisions. But mostly, it's about staying patient and waiting until it's your turn to strike.

The other part of waiting, the fun and scary part, involves waiting on someone else to act once you have placed a bet. Depending on where you are at in the hand, you might be rooting for this person to fold, call or raise you. Early on in the hand, it can be unclear what exactly you want to have happen. But once all the cards are out, after the river, you typically have a pretty good idea. There are instances when you might bet an average hand and be unsure if a person who is debating a call has a better hand than you or not. But most river bets have a clear intent on what they are designed to induce. You will either have a strong hand or a weak hand, thus strongly rooting on the inside for a call or a fold, depending on your holding. And this brings about a special kind of waiting. 

When you have a very strong hand, even the nuts, your internal voice is screaming in rapid succession, "CALL! CALL! CALL! CALL!" while outwardly you are doing everything in your power to project weakness. Slumped shoulders, a scared expression, shifty eyes, whatever might push your opponent over the edge and get those chips to make their way into the pot. Sometimes it works and they call. Other times, it doesn't and they fold. But regardless, you are winning the pot. It's just a matter of how much.

The other end of this.. the scary, but sometimes exhilarating part... is when you have made a bet on the river with nothing. You are bluffing.

"FOLD! FOLD! FOLD! FOLD!"

There is no possible way of winning the pot without getting your opponent to fold. You are trying to represent a hand you simply do not have. If he calls, you're screwed. But if he folds... you have pulled it off.

"CRAP, HE'S GONNA CALL. I'M SO STUPID"

 The size and stakes of the bet will often determine how fast your heart is beating, how dry your throat is, how quickly your mind is racing.

 "WAIT... HE'S GONNA FOLD. I MIGHT BE A GENIUS. C'MON MAN. LET IT GO. LET IT GO!!"

And the more seconds that go by, the harder it is keep the voices in your head silent. They get louder, more insistent and closer to the surface the more time that elapses. Until it's all just a great, big buzz

"ZZAASOFKSDORIJSDFIGSDFGF;GHSFGF;KSG"

If it's early in a tournament, the outcome isn't that big of  deal. However, if it's late, and all your chips are in the pot on a bluff, you know you are going home if you get called. That's the cadillac of bluffing. No safety net. Nothing to save you if this goes wrong. Dangling off the cliff precariously with one simple decision to determine your fate. Call. Goodbye.


But then there are times when it happens. You get the fold. Oh, that fold! What do you do? Exhale? Smile? Show your bluff? It's up to you. But the feeling you get is unparalleled. The ultimate trickery. You made someone think something, and the reality was quite the opposite, You had the stones to put all your chips in there with the very real risk of getting none of them back. But you did, You got them all back and then some. New life, new blood, new chance. 

Now let's go get some more