Inside Poker !

In the meta-game that poker can become, you are not only trying to get a read on your opponents based on their image -- playing style, betting patterns, that sort of thing -- but you also need to get a read based on the way they play against you.

The case of bluffing maniac Jamie Gold, the World Series of Poker main event champion in 2006, presents an interesting example of moves that his image demands but might require different action by other players. In this hand from the 2008 World Series of Poker $10,000-buy-in main event at Las Vegas' Rio Hotel, with blinds at $50-$100, two players limped ahead of Gold, who also limped with K-3 suited on the button.

The blinds also played, so five players took a flop of K-3-7, two spades. The original limper made an overbet of $600 into a $500 pot. The second limper folded. Gold called with top and bottom pair in position. The blinds folded.

The turn came the five of clubs. The original limper made another overbet of $2,000 into a $1,700 pot.

"There are two spades on the flop and a spade didn't come on the turn, so he thinks I'm on spades," said Gold, celebrity spokesman for ALS, the disease that killed his father. "I called because he didn't know what I had, and I knew that if the next spade doesn't come, he's going to bet again and I'm going to get him.

"No one ever believes me because I'm always bluffing. So, I knew I might get doubled up. He was the chip leader at the table and he had the chips to call my stack."
The river paired the 5. Gold's key second pair was counterfeited by a higher second pair on the board. The original limper checked. Gold checked. The original limper showed K-Q offsuit, giving him the pot with a better kicker.

"If I had raised on the turn, he still would've called me and I still would've gotten counterfeited and lost more money," Gold said. "He wasn't getting off the hand unless I went all in, which is a stupid play. What if he had a set? I wasn't 100 percent willing to go all in and put my tournament life on it.

"I know now that they're calling me, so when I get counterfeited, I can get off the hand. It's the smartest play for me, but any other player should've raised there because they can get people off one pair. No one's getting off K-Q and one pair and nothing else on the board. Not against me. They're just not, especially when there's a draw out there and I could be on the draw. You have to play the way people are playing against you."

TABLE TALK

Button: The last betting position in all betting rounds after the flop; a powerful spot because you get to see every other player act before you.