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Las Vegas Gambling Tips: Poker By The ATC Method |
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On The Town With Vegas Vic
By: Victor H. Royer
Welcome to Las Vegas! My name is Victor H. Royer, but everyone just calls me Vegas Vic. I was named after that famous neon sign in Downtown Las Vegas, that cowboy with the hat on top of the Pioneer Club, always waving his hand and beckoning to his long love, Sassy Sally, on the other side of the street. I will be writing a few articles for AccessVegas.com, so I hope you enjoy them.
Poker By The ATC Method
I have been witness to poker plays which defy all logic, mathematics, reason or sense. Was it sheer bravado, or just pure luck? Was it really good play? How is it that many players can play with such aggressive abandon and win, and win, and win? Throughout the year I have thought about this. I have played in games and saw with my own eyes how players employ this way of playing and I was astounded by the frequency of their wins. I have tried this myself, and even with me it worked - some of the time. I surely am not an expert at this type of play. At least not yet.
I have come to call this kind of play "The ATC Method". This stands of: Any Two Cards. Surely, this is nothing new to poker players. Anyone who has played poker for any length of time had witnessed players who seemingly time after time make their hands and win monster pots with what can only be described as "any two cards". But is this madness? Or, is there a method to this? There's a method to this madness, it so appears.
I thought about how to analyze this phenomenon. Primarily, this kind of play seems to work best in low-to-middle-limit games. I have as yet not seen this succeed in major tournaments, although Chris Ferguson's A-9 offsuit for the World Series championship could be classed in this "method". But I truly think that the ATC-Method can be most successfully employed in the small ring games. Secondarily, there has to be a large portion of the luck factor involved. However, recognizing when the luck factor is present is a skill. Likewise, knowing how to exploit your opponents, and the table, in combination with the luck factor, table presence and strength or hand representation, is also a skill. Finally, the ATC-Method is not mathematically unsound.
What are the mathematical odds of receiving pocked Aces versus pocket Deuces? Well, they are the same. Out of the deck of 52 cards, any pocket pair has an equal chance of being dealt. There are four of everything, so receiving pocket Aces happens exactly the same amount of time as receiving pocket Deuces, or any pocket pair. BUT - pocket Aces win more often than pocket Deuces, by mathematical probability. That is true. Most poker theorists would cringe in disgust if anyone would suggest that playing pocket Deuces in the same manner as pocket Aces amounts to a key in poker success. Mathematically, certainly not. In the real world of small-to-medium ring games, well .... perhaps yes.
There are many variables to take into account when applying the ATC-Method to poker play. But, the truth is that in most, if not all, small-to-medium ring games, any two cards can win. And do win. Does that effect the long-term prosperity of the poker player who plays like this? Perhaps. Mathematically, yes. Realistically .... the ATC player will win many large pots, while the "rock" will not lose very much but will also not win very much.
I am not advocating a willy-nilly attitude to your starting hand selection. Nor am I saying that all poker should be played with total abandon and that any two cards should be used to enter the pot. What I am stating, however, is that many players in small-to-medium ring games make the mistake of trying to play as if they were playing the final table of a major tournament, or a ring game with $5,000.00 blinds, or as if they were facing some of the world's best and most successful poker professionals. In truth, the thoroughly knowledgeable poker professional already knows when and how to employ the ATC-Method of play. That is the largest part of their skills. If you don't agree, simply analyze the play of the Poker Champions.
My primary purpose in this article is to let the majority of recreational poker players know that there is no shame in playing hands which others may ridicule. If you can recognize the table, your opponents, and the potential value of the hand after the flop, and you can get to see the flop for no more than one raise, why not? You never know. Your two cards may be the nuts. Any two cards ... but with a method to that madness.
Victor H. Royer is the Author of 21 books on casino games and gaming, and more than 50 casino reports, profiles, and manufacturing analyses. Visit his Web site at: http://www.GamingAuthor.com
© Copyright 2004 Victor H. Royer. All rights reserved.
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