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 I’ve had a lifelong love affair with Poker.
It all started with 5 and 7 card stud. My uncle taught me to play when I was about 8. It was awesome. We were a card-playing family, but, most of the
time you could only play cards if you were an adult. I felt so grown up… and alive.
For a long time, I abandoned the game because I felt that it was too much like gambling. My Mom and Dad have issues with gambling. They toss
thousands of dollars in the trash each year chasing down their big dream of winning the Massachusetts state lottery. Frankly, it scares me to think
of how much money we didn't have around growing up because it was funding their get-rich quick habit.
Then, Celebrity Poker Showdown on Bravo happened.
I started watching it to see how badly the celebs would do. I have a vicious streak like that. Then, I started to get hooked on the game of Texas Hold 'em.
How original, right? No one plays Texas Hold 'em these days. (For those of you who don’t get it – that’s sarcasm.)
I moved onto watching the World Poker Tour final tournament tables on the Travel Channel. I enjoyed watching the best players playing the "Cadillac
of Poker." That’s it – I was a Poker junkie.
I thought Texas Hold' em was *IT* for me.
I started playing a lot. Mostly on the Internet, though. I'm a mom of two kids under the age of 8 and I find that this is a great way to use the
mind I feel like I'm losing every single day. Besides, I don’t live near a casino and paying a babysitter to go out and play poker doesn't seem right
for some reason. At least not right now.
I desperately wanted to get good so I began to read poker books on the subject and
learned the "top ten" hands. Depending upon who you read, it could be different. I started figuring out the mathematics behind the game and
figuring out pot odds, 'outs' and so forth.
Windows - Mac
After losing with AA in the hole a few times on the Net, I started feeling like anyone can play and get luckier than me. I was showing improvement
but still subject to the 'suck-outs'. It made me mad. I was also getting frustrated because everybody else was playing Texas Hold 'em. I don’t like
being a trend-follower.
I also began to feel that I'd never earn money as a Texas Hold 'em specialist. Oh yeah, by this time, I decided I wanted to turn pro. I had found my
calling, but not my "game." Texas Hold 'em was too hot and well, the odds were not in my favor, I suppose. I figured if I could find a game
that was sort of the best-kept secret in Poker, then I could play with less competition and be more successful over the long haul.
So, I started asking around. A lot of people who I considered "in the know" about Poker, didn’t list Texas Hold 'Em high on their list. They
preferred a game called Omaha Hold 'Em. I was so relieved. I started learning the game right away.
In Omaha, you get four hole cards. You have to use two of those cards, along with
three out of the five community cards, to make your hand.
There is a hi/lo variant of the game, which is also known as Eight or better. In this version, you have two shots at the pot. You can win with the highest
or best hand, or the lowest (worst) hand. A best worst hand is 5,4,3,2,A, which is also called a wheel.
I really enjoy this game. I think it's more mathematical and requires more skill. The best cards win, not the biggest bluff. You really can't bluff
other people out of the pot, nor should you try. If people are in the pot, 9 times out of 10, they've got something good. Most of that time, they
probably have something better than you do. So, when someone bets a lot, the choice is pretty simple: get out of the pot unless you have the nuts!
In fact, someone told me the most common losing hand in the game is two-pair. I have lost hands with a full house and haven't won with anything
lower than a flush. Rarely does anyone ever win with one pair or just a high card as can be the case in a Texas Hold 'Em game, especially No-Limit.
Of course, I've gotten my share of straight flush and four
of a kind wins in this game and well, those kind of hands are just so much fun to hold, aren't they? I think they're exciting, at least.
Omaha takes some getting used to, but I have the desire, the determination and the drive to master it. That's probably because the best thing I've
noticed whilst playing the game is that so many people play Omaha badly. They throw in their chips hoping to get something on the come.
And, many times, it doesn't happen. My wicked and competitive streak likes that. There's nothing I dislike more than losing with a good hand to
someone with a junk hand. In Omaha, I don't have to worry too much about that. I can applaud the hand my opponent has and not congratulate them
with clenched teeth because they bested me in a bluff.
So, you can play No-Limit Texas Hold 'Em. You may see me play it myself from time to time. I still like it and I'll master it someday, when I'm old
and gray, or not. It doesn't matter so much now because, although I now reside in Austin, TX, I'd rather be in Omaha. Well, playing Omaha, that is.
See also Omaha Scooping, and Deanna Couras Goodson's
Antonio Esfandiari Interview
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