Victoria Coren on Playing Poker with Pals

3 Mar 2010

Victoria Coren, the poker player, writer and columnist, has described in the Guardian Newspaper her experiences on playing poker with friends.

In a previous article on the same subject she drew the conclusion that if one was not willing to treat one’s poker playing friend in exactly the same way as you would treat any other player, then it would be better not to play with the said friend.

This created a considerable amount of online debate and some of it, said Victoria, had worried her. Several participants in the debate argued that it was fine to play friends on the condition that one avoided bluffing; whilst it was OK to bet according to the value of the hand, bluffing would be a form of lying to the friend and should be avoided. Victoria referred to this as a middle ground approach and, she said, one that was very dangerous.

Victoria helpfully illustrated this with an example deal in which you held the six and four of clubs and the flop was seven of clubs, five of clubs and the King of hearts. This is one of those hands that can deliver a massive draw, or if you fail to get that then you could have nothing better than six high.

In fact with a hand like that it has far too much potential to pass, yet the only way to play it correctly is to bluff on the river.

In another example she suggested a scenario where had pocket tens. You raise, again your friend calls and this time the flop delivers an ace. She asks how you could respond to that without a continuation bet being construed as bluffing.

In a final example she quotes from experience. She was check raised on five, six, nine when playing with a friend. Under the impression that her friend would not bluff she reasoned that he must have a straight. She was so convinced of this that she passed her pocket aces. Her friend had and ace and an eight and had been semi-bluffing.

Victoria concluded that the only was to play poker with friends is to play as you would with strangers.