Poker Tactics - A Poker Inquiry

Poker players need to do many things quickly when it becomes their turn to play.  Most times your brain wants to do other things, but if you wish to be successful then a consistent method of approaching the hand is a useful process to take.  Any time you miss getting the truthful information can be a costly experience.

In the Army, and other walks of life, people recite a series of sayings or actions in a repetitive, machine-like way as a means to force oneself to remember the information on time and on cue to make better decisions under stress.

Poker is a similar business made up of three actions : raise, call, or fold.  sounds like a walk of life that could benefit from some repetitive actions to help insure every decision under stress is better.

I made up a short list of questions to ask oneself as a way to counter the brains automatic lazy needs.  I call it an inquiry because it is a method for augmenting knowledge, resolving doubt, or solving a problem. The idea is to get into the habit of saying it to yourself, in your head (because you would look crazy saying it aloud at a poker table and of course it would give you away ) during every hand at every street.  You won't do it all the time, but when it counts if you use it wisely it may augment your knowledge, resolve any doubt or solve the problem of what you should do next.

The idea with my inquiry is to keep it short and to the point. I have seen lists of questions that experts want to know after every street.  But they are fooling themselves if they think the average human being can repeat 20 questions let alone 30 questions.  If you want people to use it, then it must be short and sweet and to the point (or succinct).

Here are my questions:

1. What is the nuts?
2. What am I holding?
3. How likely is opponent holding nuts?
4. How likely can I bluff this player?
5. How likely can I improve to the nuts?
6. What are the odds of the draw?
7. What will the pot give me?

There it is. Seven questions you can rattle off in your sleep. It's that kind of simple system that can make any hand better played but not be so long people just ignore it when they need it the most.  I wrote these questions once while playing online. I did this out of frustation when I didn't see a flush on the board that could beat my straight. It's a beginner skill to spot a flush on the board and I mistook the betting for he had AK but I didn't see the obvious possibility that he had AK suited in hearts which would give him the right to re-raise my re-raises. 

Then I went back and asked myself should you change the order of the questions or change the questions?  The answer to both was no, that they make sense and they need to be asked in about the same order.  You need to start with what you hold and work from there.

Your answers to the questions can be as simple as I don't know but at least then you get a better picture.  Perhaps only one of the questions helps you for this hand? So what, one answer more is better than nothing.

In the words of Francis Bacon:

A prudent question is one half of wisdom.