I’m assuming everyone’s heard of the old adage, ‘Keep your friends close, keep your enemies closer.’ If you haven’t it’s a quote attributed to Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu who put it in his book The Art of War during the 6th century BC. Let’s face it, he sounds like a man who knew a thing or two about conflict and diplomacy.

Basically what he means is that if you alienate your enemies not only do you miss out on a lot of information about what they’re doing but you’re putting yourself first in their line of aggression, and at the poker table this can lead to a sudden knockout. Annoy other players and you’re putting a big bounty on your head – because everyone will want to put you on your arse. Some of the top professional players use this approach to brilliant effect but – time to keep your feet on the ground – you’re probably not as good as them yet.

Ingratiation is a far better policy to pursue at the table. It sounds ridiculous but if people enjoy you being on their table it really can make the difference in you surviving all-ins or not.

If you’ve been enjoying some friendly banter with someone at your table it’s not going to stop them from calling your desperate all-in push when they pick up a big pair or big slick, but if they see a marginal hand like Q-10 suited they’re far more likely to lay it down. However, if you’ve been getting on their tits the whole game, and it’s not going to dent their stack severely, then they could be prepared to take a cointoss for the chance to destroy you.

Bullet-time

I was recently playing in a £30 freezeout at The Gutshot in London with the bubble a couple of places away. A solid player by the name of Jerome, a friendly effervescent dealer from the Big Slick Club in south London, put in a raise with, as I found out later, A-10. Somehow I’d accumulated a huge stack and looked down to see bullets. Rather than risking flat-calling and trapping I found myself reraising. Perhaps subconsciously I was warning him off the hand, because he was a nice bloke… It’s possible and if so I’d lost part of the mind battle.

Of course, if he’d have moved all-in I’d have called instantly. But looking back I realised that if it had been a sour-faced player I’d have called and tried to slow-play them out of the tournament. So you see – it pays to be nice.