Sixth Street

I was cruising around YouTube the other day, looking at some poker-related clips (as you do), when I came across a link to a very interesting article by Tommy Angelo. It was called 'Reciprocality' (www.tommyangelo.com/reciprocality/) and it was basically about the different ways that you can get an edge over your opponents. It covered a number of different areas but the thing that really stood out for me was the section on 'information reciprocality'.
   The author contended that the toughest poker players he ever came across were those that  knew how to play sixth street well. To clarify; the flop is third street, the turn is fourth street, the river is fifth street, and sixth street is what happens after the hand has ended. This is when many players give away a lot of information that is available for anyone aware enough to take advantage of it. And this is when the best players keep their mouths shut and just listen.

   I have been aware of this basic principal for a long time but came to the realisation that there was a big difference between knowing the theory and actually putting it into practice. In the pub and club games that I usually play, I know that I have been guilty of 'joining in the fun' and utterly failing to keep my thoughts to myself. The players in these games typically have a great deal to say about their and other people's hands both during play and after the hand is over. Even when a hand is still in play people will talk about what they think their opponent has, call for a particular card on the next street, comment on the size of the pot, declare that they are 'chasing' and more. Then, when the hand is over, the full scale post mortem begins and everyone has a go at dissecting the hand while they wait for the next lot of cards to be dealt.
   I have tended to contribute to this torrent of free information far too often. I don't know how many times I've said things like; 'so my ace is no good anymore? or 'how can I not call with those pot odds?' or 'Ace King misses again' and on and on. The worst part about it all is that a lot of the time I'm just showing off. I can't resist the urge to correct someone on some miss-stated poker stat or defend a particular line on the basis of the pot odds offered. And the more I display my superior knowledge of poker theory, the more I reveal my lack of understanding of correct poker strategy. It's time for me to learn how to play what Mister Angelo calls 'Mum Poker'.
   From now on I'm concentrating on not giving away any information about my hand: no more showing cards after everyone folds, no more sighing and muttering when faced with a difficult decision, no more talking about how many big blinds I have left or discussing strategy in any shape or form. It's not that I'm just going to sit there like a rock. I'm perfectly willing to discuss the prospects of the Warriors in next year's competition, the horrors of Auckland's rush hour traffic or the likely winner in the current season of Survivor. I'm just not going to talk about my cards, my chips or anything related to them.
   Some might argue that the typical pub/club player is not particularly aware of what I or anyone else is revealing. However I know that this is not true of at least a few players that I regularly face. But even if it's true of most of these players (and I don't think it is), I don't always play in these types of games. Occasionally I'll play in what might be called 'more serious games'. And in those sorts of games leaking information is potentially very bad. So it's time for me to cultivate some good habits. Time to close the mouth and open the eyes and ears. Time to do some serious information mining. To paraphrase the old World War Two posters, 'Loose lips lose chips'.