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That guy who’s better than you? He’s not your friend

Everyone has that friend that’s dying to get them to play poker with them. They’re very good, and you’re…passable. They’ll sweeten the deal by offering handicaps, rule changes, anything to get you into a heads up matchup with them, because they know that no matter how much of an advantage you think you have, the end result will be all the chips in his pocket.

Think a one-on-one basketball matchup between you and anybody in the NBA. Game to 11, winner’s out. They could spot you 10 every time, and you might think that one hail mary will win it for you, but the odds are stacked heavily against you.

What do you do in poker, though? It’s one thing to go up against a pro, but John C. Cockyballs from your office? Trust me, don’t underestimate him. If he’s pulling at your leg for a game, even with all the handicaps in the world, take a step back and think why. There’s got to be a reason – he has to have an angle. Don’t buy into it – don’t be the sucker.

One crazy (desperate, really) scenario I heard revolved around the good player and the fair player squaring off in a game of 9 hands. The good player on AbsolutePoker.com only had his 1 hand to play, but the fair player got to play the other 8 hands, and of course see all the cards at the same time.

Sounds sweet, right? How could the fair player lose? Well, first of all, he had to put up the money of 8 people vs. just the 1 of the good player. That right there is a dicey risk/return proposition.

Even if you get over that hump, though, what’s your best-case scenario playing against someone who is top to bottom better than you? Honestly, the only thing I can see is trying to bleed him down by forcing folds off blinds and early raises. You’re putting your faith in the fact that one of your eight hands will beat him every time.

The danger there being if he does win one, he’s right in the game. And if he happens to knock 2-3 of your hands out, then it quickly becomes a 6 on 1 where the 1 now has some muscle in front of him. And if he manages to methodically get it down to 2 or 3 on 1, you’re finished.

So avoid the trap. If he wants to play with you, tell him to meet you in a public room online or head to a casino together.

I do believe the only way to get better is by playing someone better than you, but there are other, smarter ways to go about that.