Free Glide

In one of the classic films of Las Vegas nightlife, Indecent Proposal chronicles the wild nightlife of the Vegas scene. In this movie, a husband and wife run into heavy losses at the online poker table. They have very little money to start with, so the loss is extremely damaging to the honeymooning couple. However, they still have their love for each other, or so we are led to believe. Their descent into debt is typical of films of the 1990s that tried to represent Las Vegas as a den of inequity. This perception has mostly changed with as the Texas Holdem poker craze sweeps the nation, but looking at films like this provide a snapshot of how gambling was viewed during a specific time period.

In this film, a wealthy patron offers to help the young couple repay their gambling and online poker debts by paying to spend one night with the wife. This proposal represents the benchmark for sordid adventure of the film. How the young couple handles the proposal shows that Las Vegas was considered to be one of the places in the world where one misstep could only lead to more trouble. The proposal shows how gambling debts can lead to further, and far more catastrophic, mistakes.

An online poker hand of two pocket cards that complete to trips is called a “set.” It’s a good hand to get and often wins. But how often do you hear players bemoan, “My set was smashed by a flush.” Or a straight, or a higher set? It happens and those players who hit a set must consider how fast or slow to play it at the casino.

In limit online poker, your set is more vulnerable since you can’t chase anyone off the pot with a big bet, and luck can go against you. In no-limit, you have more strategic options for playing your set to win the most chips. Some players will automatically bet out big when they hit a set on the flop, and essentially try to win the pot right away. This type of bet is meant to prevent any other players from drawing out on your hand at the turn or the river. It also limits the profit potential of the hand.

As with any poker hand, you should carefully read the board when you’ve hit trips. If there are two suited cards out there or connected cards, then another player could make a flush or a straight. Though the pot might not be big, a big bet will probably win it for you, and a small win is better than any loss.

If the board is not threatening, with no flush or straight likely to materialize, then slow playing your set could build up a bigger pot and win more chips for you.

When you’re playing online poker, if you’re at a casino, or at a card room, you will occasionally come across the player who raises every single hand. They are annoying, frustrating, and you must be of stoic mind and heart and you can take these people to the cleaners, or else they may do so with you.

Now obviously, there is nothing wrong with raising in online poker. One must raise aggressively to be a successful poker player. Calling stations may don’t win much money over time. But when you run into the person who raises every single time, a true test of will and Zen-like focus must be your allies.

Of course, if you play smart, over a period of time you will take this person’s money. But, the difficult task is not getting frustrated by this person’s constant raising, maybe folding a couple of blinds you otherwise wouldn’t want to, and going full tilt. For that’s when you make a dumb play with a mediocre hand, convinced the always-raiser has nothing, only to see him turn up pocket kings. Remember, patience is a virtue, both on the poker table and in life in general. A well-timed re-raise in just the right spots will be your proverbial ace in the hole (with hopefully a literal ace in the hole to boot)