CARO’S LAW OF LOOSE WIRING AND POKER TELLS

First I’m going to share a secret with you. Then we’ll put our heads together and figure out what it has to do with poker tells. The secret is so powerful that it applies to real-life situations you encounter many times each day. It has special importance to poker generally and to tells specifically — as we’ll see later. First, let’s look at a version — specially edited for this book with MCU Poker Charts included — of something I wrote for Card Player magazine early in 1999. The heading was … “Caro’s Law of Loose Wiring” — Possibly Poker’s Least Understood Concept I’ve been talking about this concept for a long, long time, but few people seem to understand its significance. In fact, many players tend to plot strategy as if the phenomenon I’m about to discuss didn’t exist. I’m talking about Caro’s Law of Loose Wiring. It’s an extremely important law, but you’ll have to trust me when I tell you that it’s worthwhile for you to wade through this discussion. Eventually, this will all make sense. But first, we need to look at two separate hold ‘em pots, beginning with the blinds and following through until the showdown. POT A $75/$150 hold ‘em Betting round one: Seat #1 puts in $50 small blind; seat #2 puts in $75 big blind; seat #3 raises to $ 150; seat #4 folds; seat #5 calls $150; seat #6 reraises to $225; seat #7 folds; seat #8 folds; seat #9 folds; seat #1 calls to $225; seat #2 folds; seat #3 calls to $225; seat #5 calls to $225. Four players stay for $225, making the pot $975, including the surrendered big blind. Flop is … J♥ 9♦ 4♣ Betting round two: Seat #1 checks; seat #3 bets $75 (a questionable, but aggressive and not unusual bet, as you’ll see); seat #5 calls $75 (a weak but not unusual call); seat #6 raises to $150; seat #1 reraises to $225; seat #3 folds; seat #5 calls to $225 (perhaps in desperation — who knows?); seat #6 caps the betting by making it $300 — the final legal raise; seat #1 calls to $300; seat #5 calls to $300. Three players remain. Add it up and it’s another $975 round. The pot is now $1,950. Turn card is … T♣ making the board J♥ 9♦ 4♣ T♣ Betting round three: Seat #1 checks; seat #5 bets $150 (betting limits have doubled); seat #6 calls $150; seat #1 hesitates, seems about to fold, seems about to call, then suddenly raises to $300; seat #5 reraises to $450; seat #6 calls to $450; seat #1 calls to $450. Three players still remain. The pot is now $3,300.

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CARO’S LAW OF LOOSE WIRING AND POKER TELLS