Knowing When You Are Beat

Knowing When You Are Beat A Conversation with Hasan Habib

Hasan had an extraordinary year in 2004, with 14 final-table finishes and three firsts, one of them being a WSOP gold bracelet in 7-card stud eight or better.

Question: How do you know when you are beat?

Answer: Knowing when you are beat is probably one of the most important things in poker, yet you can never really be sure unless you are a psychic. You can only guess. But there are certain indications. Pay attention to the way the hand has been played out, to what kind of person the player is, and to whether he is a tight player and doesn't make too many bets. If you don't see him bluffing too much, then you probably know. You have to take more chances with somebody who is loose because he tends to bluff a lot more. Sometimes you might need to call him down with second pair or third pair. I think it involves analysis of the hand and the players.

Question: Do tells come into play?

Answer: Tells are important, but the person has to be playing at a level where he actually gets nervous. In tournaments, it's easier to pick up tells because people really want to go for the big money. The higher the money is, the more you can see nervousness. Some people just try to act nervous, so you have to distinguish between them and the ones who really are. The way to do that is to try to observe people and see what they look like when they really have a hand. If they look nervous, then you can probably pick up some tells.

Question: How hard is it to lay down a good hand?

Answer: That's probably one of the toughest things in poker, to lay down a big hand. In limit hold'em, my rule generally is that I pay it off because it doesn't really cost you that much, but in no-limit hold'em, that can be one of the toughest things to do, to lay down a big hand. I wish I were better at it than I am right now. It is absolutely one of the toughest things.

Question: Do you think you call more than you should?

Answer: I think I am happy with the way I play no-limit. I think I am laying down the correct number of hands and calling down the correct amount of hands. You can never be perfect, and you can never be right all the time. There is always room to improve. It is really tough to play perfectly. You have to continue to observe yourself and see how you can improve your game.

Question: How do you recover from a bad beat?

Answer: Personally, it depends on how I'm feeling that day. If I've had a bad day or if I have emotional problems, it's much tougher. Often I need to take a walk if I am in a side game, or even if I am in a tournament. Yet some days, when I am having a good day, I don't need to take a walk. The main thing is, if it bothers you, I think it's important to take a walk, have a glass of water, call a friend, whatever helps. Do something to relax before you go back. It's worth losing a few hands in tournaments to not be agitated and playing at less than your best.

Question: What is the best lay-down you have ever made when you knew you were beat?

Answer: In a tournament one time I had K-9 and the flop came 10-J-Q. I laid it down. I didn't pay the other guy off. He turned his cards over and showed me that he had A-K. I went on to finish 2nd in that tournament, so it's probably one of the better lay-downs I've made. I just felt that I had a good read on him, and it turned out to be right.

Question: How did you know to lay it down? What was your decision based on? Instincts? His tells?

Answer: That guy was a little nervous. He wasn't a strong tournament player, and he was also a little bit tight. So, all those factors combined helped me. I don't think it was a very easy decision, but those factors did help me out a lot in deciding.

There are many important aspects of poker, and knowing when to lay it down is unquestionably a crucial one. Remember to look for tells, recognize your opponents strategy, and rely on your instincts, because they just maybe correct.