Anger bet management

A bad beat. An annoying drunk at the other side of the table. Troubles at home. They're all triggers for an anger bet. And as many of us know, an anger bet can be the most costly maneuver in poker.

Over at the RPL, we get our fair share of anger bets, although for the most part the rage tends to be directed inward toward the individual, a self-flagellation for poor play. Invariably, this behavior is exploited by other players for comedic effect more than actual financial gain.

A cash game among strangers is a different story. Angry  players don't like jokes. And more often than not, they don't like you. 

Finding the angry bettor is easy. He's the one with his chair pulled tight to the table and is hovering over his chips. He's complains repeatedly to the guy next to him about how he was wronged, and generally puts all of his emotions on display for everyone to read. He's on tilt, and poised to make his next big mistake.

Consider this recent example:

An early position player is Super Loose, playing every hand and making big raises on every flop. He's won six, seven, eight hands in a row, and many at the table are getting testy. No one has the guts to go against him, and it's clear that he's exploiting this fear.

Fear leads to anger.

A late position player, having been smacked around by Super Loose a few times, finally gets a hand and goes in hard. A monster bet clears the field of everyone except Super Loose and a strong player in middle position. Everyone at the table is thrilled to see Super Loose go down. You can see it in Angry Late's eyes; clearly, this is about more than just the money.

Anger leads to hate.

Fourth street hits. Angry Late bets hard, Super Loose calls, as does the other remaining player.

Fifth street brings nothing, and Angry Late knows he's sunk Super Loose. He bets hard again. Super Loose calls. So does Middle Strong.

Hole cards are flipped and indeed, Angry Late beats Super Loose. Only problem is, Middle Strong beat them both.

Hate leads to suffering.

Angry Late focused his game only on the object of his ire. Any reasonable player would have seen that Middle Strong was the real threat. Middle Strong knew he was playing against low cards and high emotions. His  smooth calls kept the focus on the other players. Not once did either player even give Middle Strong a passing glance. And in the end, he took down a huge pot.

Ironically, Angry Late took some satisfaction in besting Super Loose. A small consolation, I suppose.