THE WORLD'S #1 POKER MANUAL - Card Games

Poker Book, Opponents
● devise new and better ways to manipulate his opponents
● better understand each opponent
● detect changes in opponents.
John Finn identifies and lists the personal weaknesses of his poker opponents as shown in the
above chart. Indeed, the following incident shows how John uses his opponents' personal
weaknesses to win extra money:
Missing his flush in draw poker, John finds himself in a good position to bluff, so he bets $50.
Scotty and Sid fold immediately. Ted Fehr holds two pair and thinks he should drop, but is
desperate and considers calling. John must prevent him from calling.
Everyone knows that Ted is superstitious about pennies and never keeps any ... especially when
gambling. So when Ted leans over and shows Sid his hand, John takes a penny from his pocket
and slips the coin onto the edge of Ted's money.
"Call!" Sid bellows as he gazes blankly at Ted's two pair. "He's got nothing."
"Yeah," Ted says and then grins as he picks up his pile of money to call. "What!" His grin fades
as the penny tumbles from the money. "No wonder I'm losing!" he yells while picking up the coin
and throwing it across the room. As the penny bounces off the wall and rolls around the floor, Ted
folds his hand and says, "At least that penny made me fold. I saved fifty bucks..." His voice fades
when John shows his winning hand ... a four flush. Ted's eyes water. His superstition cost him a
$200 pot.
Consider another example of John's exploitation of an opponent's weakness:
Sid Bennett injures his foot and cannot leave the house. At the last moment, John switches the
game to Sid's house so the injured loser can play. Knowing Sid's house will lack a good supply of
food, John stops at a delicatessen and invests in a gigantic Italian submarine sandwich nicely
wrapped in cellophane.
At three in the morning, Scotty Nichols grips his stomach. He rummages through Sid's bare
kitchen and finds a couple handfuls of dry cereal to eat.
The next hand is seven-card stud, high-low with two twists. John's hole cards are the ace and the
joker[ 25 ]; he has another ace face-up . . . the best possible start for high-low poker. He wants the
maximum number of callers. Now is the time to use his investment. He reaches under the chair
and pulls the huge sandwich from a brown paper bag. All eyes turn toward the juicy submarine.
Scotty moans as his tongue laps his puffy lips.
John lays the elongated sandwich across the pot. "The winners split it," he declares.... Scotty's face
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