Roy Cooke’s second book is – like the first one – a collection of articles he wrote for the Card Player magazine over the years. It deals exclusively as the title implies (“The Play of Hands”) with actual hands he played in middle limit games. The book is subdivided into five sections (“Protection: Let ‘Em in or Move ‘Em Out?”, “Reading Hands”, “The Price Is Right”, “The Situation That Is Current” and “Miscellaneous Topics”). Each chapter is devoted to one single hold’em hand he played (usually at The Mirage or Bellagio). Roy Cooke gives us the circumstances, a profile of the players that are involved in the hand, the action, his thought process, the outcome and his conclusion. Especially his decision finding process is fascinating and enlightening. It shows you how a professional poker player thinks. If you want to become a successful poker player you have to ask the same questions before you come to a decision how to proceed with the hand. The drawback of this book is that much of the material has already been published in the first book. If you buy both books you only get one and a half, so to speak.

One might wonder if Roy Cooke really makes all the reflections he gives us in his articles. I think he does. He might add some of the finer points and recalculate the math when writing the article but basically what you read is what he thinks at the table. I think there are two reasons why this is true. First, there is no doubt that Roy Cooke is one of the best middle limit hold’em players. To be successful at the sometimes though (sometimes not too though) middle limit games in Las Vegas you have to have a clear understanding about the situation you are in and why you do what you do otherwise there is no way you can win. Second, Roy Cooke is the slowest player I know. It often takes him a long time to make his decision. I still remember the first hand I played against Roy. It was in a $10 – 20 game at the Mirage. Roy was in the one seat and I was in the nine seat. There were several limpers in front of me. I called in the cutoff seat. Roy in the small blind raised, the whole field called. Though I never had played before with Roy I had read his articles and observed his play. I knew he must have a premium hand to raise out of position. I put him on a big pair or A-K suited. We took the flop seven handed: T-J-3, two hearts. Roy bet, two callers in front of me, I raised, Roy reraised immediately. The two callers dropped and I raised again (remember in Las Vegas it’s a bet and four raises so this is not a cap). Now Roy thought for a long time. This was good news for me because it was an indication that he could not have the hand I feared most: A-K of hearts. With A♥-K♥ there is nothing to think about, it is an easy call. So he must have a big pair, that’s consistent with the way he played the hand. When I raised him the first time there was not much to worry about. People raise with top pair, second pair, a draw, all hands, he could beat. Actually he welcomed my raise because it helped him to drive out the other players and to protect his overpair. But when I raised again the picture changed. Now he had to give me credit for some sort of a hand. I could see how he tried to figure out what I might have. The problem for Roy was that I knew exactly what he had, but it was not easy to put me on a hand. Because there was no raise preflop I could have a wide variety of hands: a set, two pair (Js and Ts), a flush draw or a straight draw with a hand like K-Q. Finally he called, very reluctant. I still see in my mind how the turn card, the eight of clubs, landed on the felt. The board now looked like this: T-J-3-8, two hearts. Roy pondered for a while and finally checked. I bet and again Roy thought for a long time and then he tossed his hand in the muck. Maybe you are curious what I held. It was the Q-9 of hearts. The flop gave me a straight and a flush draw. With 15 outs I’m a favorite even against an overpair that’s why I reraised again. In my opinion Roy played the hand great. He realized that the eight of clubs on the turn decreased the probability that he was holding the best hand. It was a tough but correct laydown. How many players do you know who would give up an overpair in this situation?

Roy Cooke is the only player I know who is allowed to think a long time before making his decision (I’m not talking about high limit games, that’s a different story) without being criticized. Dealers and (usually) all the players calmly wait for his decision. If an ordinary player like me thinks more than three seconds the dealer gets worried. He/she points at you, taps the felt and says things like “It’s up to you, Sir”, “Thirty to call”, “What you wonna do?” or if it is a nasty dealer “Don’t hold up the game, buddy”. Well, this is all very helpful when you have to think about a tough decision. I never observed that Roy Cooke had to call for “time”. If he ponders every dealer is quiet as a mouse. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not jealous of Roy, on the contrary. He worked hard to be where he is and he deserves the respect he gets. I just wish the dealers and some players understand that it’s our money that is at stake. Sometimes you have to think a while otherwise you come up with the wrong decision. Here is an example of a hand I misplayed because I played too fast. It was a $15 – 30 game. Several callers in front of me. At the button I look down to see A-Q. I call. We take the flop about seven handed: A-7-7. Everybody checks to the lady to my right. She had informed the whole table what a good tournament player she is, that she won a big tournament not a long time ago and that her name appears in the current issue of the Card Player magazine. Well, all I could see was that she was very live. She bet, I raise and the under the gun player, a loose Asian guy who played nearly every hand, calls the two bets cold. The lady raises again, I call as the Asian player does. The turn card is another seven. The lady indicates that she doesn’t like the turn. That makes no sense to me. She three bet the flop and doesn’t like the seven? Anyway, it was checked to me, I bet and the under the gun player raises, the lady folds and I call. The river is another ace. This looks like a good card for me, but actually it doesn’t improve my hand. If the Asian player holds an ace we chop the pot because my kicker is of no use. If he has the case seven the ace doesn’t help me anyway. He bet, I call and he shows me 9-7 off-suit. The point here is not that you can be unlucky and lose with aces full but that I played the hand horrible. Of course the preflop and flop play were correct. On the turn I should have checked, there is no point in betting. The moment I bet I realized I made a terrible mistake. If somebody holds an ace he/she will call. Because we will split the pot in this case my EV is zero. But if somebody is fortunate enough to hold the case seven, he/she will raise me and my EV is negative. Of course there is a slight chance that the loose player holds a pocket pair in which case he would probably give me action. But if you look at the whole picture it’s obvious that the correct play is to check the turn. The way I played the hand it cost me an extra 60 bucks. Without a doubt Roy Cooke would never have made such a blunder. He would have taken the necessary time to think the situation through and then he would have drawn the right conclusion. If you want to avoid such mistakes, read Roy Cooke’s book, it will prove helpful for you and your game.

(Tristan Steiger)

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