Alligator blood
Poker Strategy
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Marcus Bateman /
08 September 2010 /
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In the endless psychological warfare that is poker, being able to keep a sound and constant temperament is crucial to success, and trying to ensure you keep your levels of alligator blood up can make a big difference in the long run.
Alligator blood is one of the oldest terms in gambling, and refers to any player who seems both resistant to the endless psychological blows of gambling, but also one ruthless enough to keep pounding away on others when ahead.
In the endless psychological warfare that is poker, being able to keep a sound and constant temperament is crucial to success, and trying to ensure you keep your levels of alligator blood up can make a big difference in the long run.
Everyone at the poker table is just trying to make money off of everyone else. It's that simple - even the biggest fish will rarely just be there to give money away (although often their behaviour appears close to this), and it is not a world where sympathy is asked for - or given - very much. This in a sense is the true beauty of poker, as it is a world where every thing becomes equally ruthless. An old woman can sit down with a young man and be on an exact level playing field - something very rare in the modern world.
The people who truly survive the test of time in poker are simply those who can handle the adversity and conditions of this best. The biggest winners in poker are guys like Barry Greenstein, the late Chip Reese, Doyle Brunson, and Phil Ivey. What unites all these players above all else is steam control and ruthlessness - they both handle their losses better than weak players, as well as maximising their wins when players start to collapse.
Making sure you keep you eyes on the chips and ensuring you do not become consumed by other factors around you is one of the most important aspects of poker. Although in most walks of life being compared with an alligator is hardly a complement, in poker it most certainly is, and maintaining your ruthless streak at the tables is one of the most important aspects of the game.
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