Mike Caro poker word is Edge


Note: Not at the old Poker1 site. A version of this entry was first published (2008) in Poker Player newspaper.


The next, companion entry focuses on “Edges,” while this one is just “Edge.”

You should read both, because this entry gradually wanders into the advice that follows in Mike Caro poker word is Edges. Don’t go there yet; you’ll find another link at the bottom of this entry. — Mike Caro

Gardena, California was once billed as the poker capital of the world. It was a fitting title, because within the boundaries of this otherwise quiet Los Angeles suburb existed the largest and most prosperous poker clubs anywhere.

I remember them all. There was the Eldorado Club, which replaced the Embassy Club on land where Larry Flynt’s Hustler Casino is today. And there were the Normandie Club, Gardena Club, Rainbow Club, Horseshoe Club, and Monterey Club.

35 tables

When I tell you that these were the largest poker clubs, we’re talking kind of small by today’s standards, where Hawaiian Gardens, Commerce, the Bicycle, and Hollywood Park casinos rule. Only the Hustler Casino and the Normandie Casino remain in Gardena, and both offer many more tables than the 35 maximum allowed by city ordinance through the early 1980s.

I’m not sure why I’m sharing this bit of poker history with you, since it has little to do with today’s entry about the word “edge.” But while I’m thinking about it, you should know just how peculiar Gardena was. Most pros began there. And, in fact, most pros stayed there, because there just wasn’t anywhere else in the world that offered ’round-the-clock poker, with a wide selection of games.

Sweeping floors

Scratch that “’round-the-clock” part. When I first came to Gardena, clubs closed at, I think, 4 a.m. and reopened at 10 a.m.

That was by city ordinance, also. In the years I earned my living there, way before I published my first book, the closing times slipped later, until there were only a couple hours between closing and opening. Finally, there was just time enough to sweep the floors and reopen the doors.

Then 24-hour play was introduced, about the time that a more massive poker establishment, the Bell Club, opened in nearby Bell California. Although the Bell offered more tables, it was still small by today’s super poker-and-Asian-games casino standards. The biggest modern clubs in the Los Angeles area have more than 100 tables devoted to just poker.

One form of poker

Also, scratch that “wide selection of games” part. While there was a large choice of limits, and you could usually pick between profitable and unprofitable tables, there was only one form of poker offered — five-card draw. You could play it either traditional high-hand-wins or lowball.

In the bizarre poker world that was Gardena until 30 years ago, the most you could bet or raise was $20 until the 1980s. All games were limit.

Stranger still, there were no dealers. It was pass-the-deal, and you took your turn dealing. There were no procedures governing how you must shuffle, gather cards, or anything. Players who scream at dealers for carelessly exposing cards today would faint dead away if they could be transported back in time to old Gardena.

The question

Anyway, I’m rambling, and I just remembered why I mentioned Gardena in the first place. One day, as I was standing on the rail, preparing to choose a game, a friend came by and asked, “How many things do you need to consider before making a bet?”

I recall being slightly annoyed by the question, since I wasn’t in a thinking mood. Fortunately, he supplied his own answer, taking out a piece of paper. He said, “I’ve written down 19 factors. Did you know there were that many?”

I quickly looked at his list. In the days that followed, I began to realize it was incomplete.

List

So, I started to create my own list of betting factors. I did this in outline form, with main factors, sub-factors, and sub-sub-factors.

It soon became clear that there wasn’t an answer to how long the list of things to consider before betting should be. You could go on forever.

One of the main categories I created was called “Edges.” This is where I tried to itemize all the things that could be considered advantageous and weighed toward a decision to bet. Another main category, I called “Anti-Edges.” These were reasons you shouldn’t bet.

Anti-edges

Next time, I’m going to continue the series of columns where I get to ask and answer my own questions, focusing on edges. Then, we’ll also talk more about anti-edges. In the meantime, make your own list of edges and see if yours includes any of the points covered in my questions and answers.

It’s a great exercise in understanding poker, one that I’ve asked students to perform from time to time. Making a list of your own will help you focus on what’s important when thinking about whether or not to bet.

And doing the exercise leads straight to profit. If you’d like, you can even share your list in a comment below. We’ll have fun comparing notes. — MC

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Known as the “Mad Genius of Poker,” Mike Caro is generally regarded as today's foremost authority on poker strategy, psychology, and statistics. He is the founder of Mike Caro University of Poker, Gaming, and Life Strategy (MCU). See full bio → HERE.

 

4 thoughts on “Mike Caro poker word is Edge”

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  1. Hello Mike.
    Why don't give us your list ? I bet it's one of the most important thing that you could share with us. I could learn a LOT ! So I ask you : please can you share your list ? 
    Thanks for all.

  2. 1. The hand ranges of my opponents
    2. Can I take the pot by manipulating the betting and taking it down without showing my cards.

  3. 1) Your cards
    2) Position
    3) Hand stage
    a) Preflop
    b) Flop
    c) Turn
    d) River
    4) Bets/Raises before
    5) Players behind
    a) number
    b) passive/aggressive
    6) Tournament vs Cash game
    7) Table Type
    a) Passive/Aggressive
    8) Number of Players at the table
    9) Tournament stage
    a) Early
    1. Not in the money
    2. Rebuy available
    b) Middle
    1. Not in the money
    2. On the Bubble
    3. In the money
    c) Late
    1. In the money
    2. Final table
    3. Heads up for the win
    10) Stack size
    a) Yours
    b) Other players
    11) Type of game
    a) Hold Em, Omaha, Draw, etc.
    12) Limits
    a) Limit
    b) Pot Limit
    c) No Limit
    13) Number of players in the hand
    14) Live or online play
    15) How many Mike Caro books and articles have you read

  4. Great exercise Mike.
    When I tried this I decided to limit myself to ten (10) minutes because I was at work. I didn’t want The Man to catch me. Oh wait, I am The Man.
    I quickly came up with more than nineteen (19). That may be easy to do considering the differences in cash and tournament games.
    Now for the next step – setting priorities. For that I will give myself an hour sometime this weekend.
    Thanks for your insights and suggestions.
    Rich

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