6.2.07

Advertise and Sell

Because most opponents come to games looking for reasons to call, you should think of them as shoppers who are ready to spend their money. When you have a strong hand, think of that hand as a product that you're seeking to sell.
Fine. Now, here's the secret. You will earn a lot more money in the long run if you make opponents want to call you when they are having trouble deciding whether to fold. Sure, if they have reasonable hands, they will call no matter what. That's their nature. But if they have sub-standard hands, they may or may not call. Getting these players holding substandard hands to call you - and know they would not call other players with those same losing hands - is part of the magic of world class play. Just think how much more money you can earn if you can get two such extra calls every hour!
No, don't just nod. Really think about it! Experts talk about the rarest and most skillful players earning two big bets an hour in profit. Some say two small bets an hour is more reasonable. Let's middle it and say that in a $10/$20 game, it's $30 an hour and in a $75/$150 game, it's $225.
That's an excellent achievement, and you need to be extremely capable in many facets of poker to achieve this. Additionally, you need the cooperation of weak opponents. But, listen. That $30 or $225 an hour is their target - the number that top pros strive (and often fail) to achieve after years of practice and study. And here I am flat out telling you that you can get that much, and maybe more, just in extra calls alone!
But, you are only likely to win calls if you have established the right image and advertised correctly. Advertising in poker is simply the art of convincing opponents to call you with very weak hands because they believe you are apt to be bluffing. So the trick is to bluff a lot less often than these opponents believe you do. (This doesn't mean you can't ever bluff successfully, however.)
Advertising effectively earns money. Advertising ineffectively - just for show - can actually cost you money.

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