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ALL (newest first), Hold 'em, POKER, Strategy, Tips
MCU poker tip: Ask opponents for their opinions
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MCU poker tip: Bad news for hold ’em small pairs
Hold 'em, Strategy, Tips
MCU poker tip: Best-game shopping in poker
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MCU poker tip: Betting a flush draw on the flop
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≡ Content above: Poker1 Phase2a specification ≡

An important warning to my friends in poker!

Note: Not at the old Poker1 site. A version of this entry was originally published (1993) in Card Player magazine.

Updated and enhanced: 2014 and 2024 (see changes at bottom).

I can beat most upper-middle-stakes games in my sleep. Oh, gosh! You’re going to think I’m bragging. Darn it, I already typed the words, and now it’s too late.

I’m not saying I could beat these games in my sleep simply because I’m a brilliant player (although I thought about saying it). All serious poker players can beat these games in their sleep! You. Your friends. Your dog. Anyone. You won’t always win, but you’ll have so much of an edge that you can play on automatic pilot (which is what I mean by “in your sleep”) and eventually win.

Tough times for pros? Which stakes am I talking about? Limit stakes from $20/$40 up to at least $100/$200 and all no-limit games. Which forms of poker? All of them! Why are these games suddenly so easy? Well, they’re not suddenly so easy. They’ve been getting easier and easier every year. I first wrote about this in 1993. And the strange thing is, the trend continues! Are pros finding these games easier to beat? No! Many pros are finding them harder to beat.

The warning. Tell me when you’re confused. Good. Now let’s talk about a very serious matter affecting you and your bankroll. In 1993, at my poker seminar at the Bicycle Club Casino near Los Angeles, I projected this warning on the screen:

WARNING!
Most serious players are becoming too creative
They’ll go broke unless they return to basics.

And I’ve been stressing that fact worldwide for more than two decades since.

This next part is just between us. There’s been much serious material on poker strategy written in those decades. It hasn’t just come from me, and a lot of it is powerful and credible. Unfortunately, it often dwells on very unusual or alternative strategy — utility bets, semi-bluffs, value bets. All these options, sadly, have now addicted most otherwise skilled players in upper-middle-limit games. They don’t seem to realize how far they’ve strayed from the basics. Instead of using these tricky high-powered weapons judiciously, appropriately, and profitably, they are currently using them routinely, inappropriately.

Why? Their reasons are complex. They want to impress opponents. They seek to amuse themselves. They feel a psychological need to find ways to prove their “superiority” to themselves. Who really knows?

But that’s why it’s possible for any astute player to sit in the midst of this Harlem-Globetrotter style of poker and, by playing a brilliantly basic game, defeat not only their average opponents, but also their strong ones! What I’m saying is that — and I’m saying this straight at you — if you continue with this compulsion to be creative without knowing the reason, your bankroll might die. That’s my message. That’s my warning. That’s all! — MC

CHANGES: Changes in 2014 were minor and unspecified. These are the main 2024 revisions — in paragraph 1, changed “limit” to “stakes”; mildly reworded paragraph 3, mainly to include no-limit games.

A–Z | Newest | Oldest
Brunson: Be patient when you teach poker
Entries by others, Tips
Favorite poker tips revisited: Part 1
General, Psychology, Tips
Favorite poker tips revisited: Part 2
General, Manipulation, Motivation, Tips
Games you can beat update and two tips
Gambling, General, Other games, POKER1 EXTRA, Strategy, Tips
Important poker tips thoroughly shuffled
POKER, Psychology, Strategy, Tips
McHaffie: MCU lesson 074 / Poker tips
Entries by others, General, Manipulation, Tells, Tips
MCU poker tip: A check can cost money
ALL (newest first), General, POKER, Strategy, Tips
MCU poker tip: A good time to bluff
ALL (newest first), General, Manipulation, POKER, Strategy, Tells, Tips
MCU poker tip: A quick bluff is more likely to succeed
ALL (newest first), General, Manipulation, POKER, Strategy, Tips
MCU poker tip: Adjusting to wins and losses
ALL (newest first), General, POKER, Strategy, Tips
MCU poker tip: Aggression in the blinds
ALL (newest first), General, POKER, Strategy, Tips
MCU poker tip: All-in, late in a no-limit tournament
Hold 'em, Manipulation, Strategy, Tips, Tournaments
MCU poker tip: Always be pleasant to play against
ALL (newest first), POKER, Strategy, Tips
MCU poker tip: Are kings almost as profitable as aces?
The profit gap between these two hold 'em starting hands isn't what most players think
ALL (newest first), Hold 'em, POKER, Strategy, Tips
MCU poker tip: Ask opponents for their opinions
ALL (newest first), General, Manipulation, POKER, Strategy, Tips
MCU poker tip: Babble and bluffing
Tells, Tips
MCU poker tip: Bad news for hold ’em small pairs
Hold 'em, Strategy, Tips
MCU poker tip: Best-game shopping in poker
ALL (newest first), Strategy, Tips
MCU poker tip: Betting a flush draw on the flop
ALL (newest first), Hold 'em, Manipulation, Tips
MCU poker tip: Betting correctly into aggressive foes
General, Tips
1 2 3 … 7

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Published by

Mike Caro

Visit Mike on   → Twitter   ♠ OR ♠    → FaceBook

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.

One thought on “An important warning to my friends in poker!”

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  1. Still working on the Basic …….. I hope to get Brilliantly basic soon. By the way this article is one of your best in my opinion.

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