Being Card Dead Isn`t all That Bad

[teaulc]

Poker can seem as if it is one of the easiest games on the planet when you keep looking down at pocket aces, kings and queens. Wouldn't it be great if these were the only three hands dealt to us? Unfortunately, poker does not work like that and you will often have to endure long periods where your hole cards dictate that you should fold, fold and then fold some more. We have all found ourselves being card dead at some point in our poker careers. Usually, a cold run of cards occurs at the least opportune moments such as when deep in a tournament or when the weakest player at the table is splashing around in pots. It seems that way anyway. During times of card deadness, - that is a real word, by the way - it is easy to become frustrated, bored and agitated due to you having to fold what feels more than your fair share of cards. But, and here's the but, you can use these periods of inactivity to your advantage and use the fact you are not directly involved in hands as a positive. Take some time out to observe your opponents When you are constantly playing hands, it can be difficult to keep track of everything that is going on around you. After all, you are mainly concentrating on winning pots. When the deck goes cold on you, you no longer have to worry about the best way to extract chips from your opponent, which gives you time to devote your attention to other matters such as observing your opponents and possibly taking some notes. Instead of sitting and twiddling your thumbs while waiting for the next playable hand to come along, why not use the downtime from being involved in the action to focus on how your opponents act, what hands they reveal at showdown and other such matters. You may surprise yourself with how much information you can pick up from players when you do not have to consider your own hole cards. Are you playing too tightly? Some players are never card dead; can you imagine Phil Ivey sitting for longer than two hands without getting in on the action? The reason these players are never card dead is that they have loose starting hand requirements. While I am not advocating playing 85% of your hands and pretending you are the legendary Ivey, you could consider widening the range of hands you play when a bad spell kicks in. Again, do not go too crazy because seven-deuce is a pathetic hand regardless of who you are or where you are playing, but maybe consider playing one-gap connectors or two-gapped suited connectors so you have more starting hands in your arsenal. Use your tight image to your advantage Last tip for this article, but certainly not the least, is you can use the cold spell to build an image of a tight player. The beauty of Texas Hold'em is your opponents only get to see your cards if and when there is a showdown. This means you can bluff until your heart is content, even during a bad run of cards. Your opponents do not know that you have been sat folding junk for the past 15 hands, they could think that you are a very tight player. The odd opening raise or three-bet should see you take down a pot or two uncontested and keep your head above the water until the good cards start coming your way again. taken from Betfair.