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Paul Phua spends much of his time playing Texas Holdem poker with some of the best players in the world. And though they spend most of their time together at the poker table, they also chat about the game during downtime between hands. We wanted to get those conversations on camera, so Paul’s fans and poker players at home could pick up some tips from Paul and other pros. You’ll find them as part of a regular series called “In Conversation”, and they’ll feature Paul chatting to some of the best known poker players in the world, people who Paul plays against regularly and are also his friends. You won’t find these films anywhere else apart from on Paul Phua poker.
At a recent casino tournament in Manila in the Philippines in aid of a cancer charity, Paul Phua met up with his old friend Tom Dwan, one of the best Texas Holdem poker players in the world. Tom has been spending more and more time in Asia playing tournaments there. In the first of our “In Conversation” series where Paul chats to some of the best poker players in the world, Paul talks to Tom about the art of “trapping” in poker.
Trapping isn’t a word you hear talked about much if you are a beginner to Texas Holdem poker. You might not even know what it means if you are just starting out in the game. Indeed you hear its opposite number “bluffing” being talked about a lot more. Bluffing, (as you’ll know since the word is common in the English language relating to all sorts of situations), is when you pretend to have better cards than you actually have, in the hope that you will force people to fold their hands, and you win the money or chips in the pot. Watch Paul Phua’s video on bluffing here [ Ссылка ]
Trapping is the opposite. Trapping is when you pretend to have worse cards than you actually do, in the hope that more people (or one particular opponent) will stay on in the hand, so you can beat them with your good cards at the end of the hand.
So how do you make it look as if you have worse cards than you actually do? There are a few ways of doing this. You alter your body language and expression to present yourself as unsure, indecisive, about whether your hand is any good. Maybe you play cautiously – so in the early stages of the hand you only put in the minimum stake that allows you to stay in. You can also play slowly, to give the impression of not being too impressed with your cards, though it’s worth remembering that playing slowly is frowned upon by other Texas Holdem players. It’s against good poker etiquette. So you need to judge that carefully.
Paul Phua doesn’t always think trying to trap opponents is the best idea [ Ссылка ] . As you’ll see in that video, Paul reckons a strategy of keeping lots of players in the hand on purpose can sometimes backfire. Because an average set of hole cards in the hands of your opponent can soon become a good hand after the flop. For example, two low hearts, which can seem pretty unexciting, can become a flush if three more hearts are dealt by the dealer in the flop. So Paul advises caution on that front. Make your mind up for yourself.
Here are Tom Dwan and Paul Phua talking about whether “trapping” is a worthwhile strategy for beginners in Texas Holdem poker.

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