Think of Each Spot in Poker as "Unique"

I've lost count of the number of times that I've picked up my phone and been greeted by a hand history and a couple of words asking me, “is this a fold?”, or “do you call here?” My default response to this kind of question is usually something along the lines of “it depends” – because it does! Like in many scenarios, context is everything. Take punching someone in the face for example, generally, this is unacceptable, but in the melee of a boxing match, the harder the uppercut the better.

Sometimes the context of something is so bizarre that ignoring it could make something that was perfectly justified at the time seem insane. In fact, the more unusual the context is, the more important considering it becomes. If I simply told you that my girlfriend was delighted when I told her, her suit made her looked like fugly, you 'd probably call BS. However, if I was to add context to the mix, and explained that we were on our way to a Halloween party, where she was entering a Fugliest Gnome competition, her delight at what would usually be deemed an insult, becomes much more understandable.

In all honesty, I can't think of a game that highlights the necessity of context better than poker. Each hand can have one or more of an infinite number of variables which could completely flaw a decision. Do we have any reads? Are we playing a regular tournament or a satellite? Perhaps we would prefer to hang on for a min cash? The list is endless; context includes and changes everything!

Only Raising River with the Nuts

There's an infamous hand which shows Mabuchi running Quad aces into a Royal Flush at the WSOP Main Event a few years ago (I know, live poker is so rigged!). The hand is super standard, and as expected, they end up all in on the river after Mabuchi yells “gambol” and shoves over Phillips' raise. Now obviously this is a super-cooler, but let's throw a spanner in the works here and add some context. Supposed we are Mabuchi, and that we know our opponent only raises the river with the stone-cold nuts – hugely unlikely here I know, but hypothetically, let's suppose this is a fact. We should fold our quads to Phillips' re-raise because we know that he he only raises a Royal flush here, and we cannot beat his hand.

Delusions of 'Standard' Play

Of course, I'm exaggerating and most of us will probably never be involved in this kind of hand in our lifetime, but the notion that some people do (incorrectly) only raise the river with the nuts isn’t that far-fetched – don't believe me? Keep an eye out for how many times you see someone simply calling with the second or third nut flush, you'll probably be surprised. Having a read like this is one of the numerous contextual variables that should impact our decisions, and if we didn't mention it when posting a hand history where an opponent like this raises our river bet, we would be neglecting this importantly element of context, and as consequence we would receive inaccurate responses based on the falsity that this opponent could be raising worse in this spot. Poker is a game of incomplete information, and the more information you can use to make your decisions, the better they will be.

The next time you share a hand history, try not to look at it in a vacuum or be lulled with illusions of what is “standard” because every spot is unique – this complexity is part of what makes poker beautiful. Instead, post as much information as you can provide, not only will you yield more accurate results as bi-product, you will also find yourself paying more attention to context in game, and will ultimately be making better, more informed decisions at the poker table.