Posted by Steve Rosenbloom
Editor's note: Send your poker questions to Steve Rosenbloom. He will answer as many as he can each week.From dochavez8: I have a question of the power of the button? I have seen different people in live games as well as tournaments frequently raise on the button if there has not yet been a raise. I have even seen a few guys never even look at their cards. My question is how effective is this and if I do raise on the button and get a caller, should I fire at the flop regardless if I hit it or not?
Rosenbloom: Talk to the pros, and having position seems to be about five of the 10 commandments.
"Position is huge,'' says Josh Arieh, winner of two World Series of Poker bracelets. "It means the other guy always has to show what he's going to do. I would rather have 7-8 offsuit in position than A-K out of position. It's something I focus my game around: keeping position and making the other guy act in front of me. There's a range of hands you can play from each position, and the further you are from early position, the more your range of hands widens. An opponent might build a pot from out of position, and that's just stuff that I prey on.''
But raising on the button just to steal the blinds is overrated, says pro Jean-Robert Bellande.
"Trying to steal just the small blind and the big blind isn't justified with any two cards, I don't think,'' Bellande says. "Sure, your hand selection is going to be a lot wider on the button, but just raising to steal the blinds is not such a good move. Raising to build a pot and have position is a good move. But people should be aware of the difference. Raising to get the blinds is not enough. But if there are antes involved, and the antes are high, then it's a whole different story.''
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From alanrubin81: I am planning on moving to Vegas within the next few months, looking to go to poker dealer school. My question is upon graduation what level in terms of quality of casino should I expect to get a job in? Is the Mirage or the Golden Nugget too unrealistic?
Rosenbloom: Shoot high. Even the guy at the top says so. "There are so many big rooms opening and little rooms opening that this is the best time for someone to get in as a dealer,'' says Doug Dalton, director of poker operations at the Bellagio. "There are more positions than people. The World Series of Poker is a great time to get a job. Someone could also get an entry-level job like a chip runner while going to dealer school and have a foot in the door. We look for people who know the games and can deal them to perfection. But more than the skill level, we look for people who can pass a background check, who are drug-free, who have a good personality, who speak English well. They need to know how to play the games. I won't hire a dealer who's not a poker player.''
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From Mike in California: What is poker etiquette if you give someone a bad beat? When I have done it, I generally don't say anything about it because I know I got lucky. Likewise, when it happens to me, and I would say I've suffered more bad beats than I've dished out, I don't whine about it because I know if you play long enough you will end up on both sides of it.
Rosenbloom: Good practice. I have heard some players say, "Sorry,'' knowing they got lucky, but that is pretty much the same thing that you're saying. Experienced players know enough to act like they've been there, because they've been on both sides of a suckout.
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From Albert in Canada: I've been playing online poker for a few months now, so I am still pretty green. One thing I've seen that confuses me is when three or four players are still in a hand and a player has the option to check but folds anyway. I've tried to reason this out without looking it up, but can't come up with anything better than they don't trust themselves to stop betting on a poor hand. Am I missing something?
Rosenbloom: I've seen it, too, and I don't understand it either. Maybe they don't trust themselves, maybe it's something else. I don't fold unless someone bets me out of a hand and I don't think I can push him off his hand.
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From Jake in Michigan: I have a question about seven-card stud. What happens at a full table of eight people when no one folds? Eight people times seven cards equals 56 cards. The river is going to run a little dry.
Rosenbloom: Tables are eight-handed because casinos don't expect every player to play his hand all the way to the river.
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