Mark 'The Beast' Labbett has shared his top tips for winning at poker, revealing that it's all about the thrill of the chase. The 60-year-old Chase star said you don't need to be a mathematical genius to play your cards right, but learning a few simple sums can make a huge difference when deciding whether to stick or fold.
Basic maths and the inside straight rule
Speaking to the Daily Star at the Goliath poker tournament, Labbett said: “You don’t need to be a great mathematician to be a great poker player, but in the same way that all the chess masters and grandmasters have done their book work on the opening gambits they use for chess, because you’d be monstrously unprepared if you didn’t, I suggest all half-decent poker players need at least the basic maths.”
One of his golden rules is knowing when the odds simply aren’t worth chasing. He joked: “The obvious one: don’t draw on an inside straight unless you’re tired of living that night. It’s not worth doing.”
Calculated long shots and pot commitment
But he said there are times when taking a punt on a long shot makes perfect sense – particularly when there is a mountain of chips already sitting in the middle. He said: “This is what the true serious pros do. They work out when it’s pot committed, and you’re going, ‘It cost me 1,000 chips to stay in, but there’s 10 grand in there. I’m probably not going to win, but I’m going to chuck it in.' And then when you do win, everyone accuses you of being lucky, but you’re playing a calculated long shot.”
The telly star admitted there is one traditional poker skill he doesn’t have – reading his opponents. Instead, the Chaser prefers to play cautiously and wait for the cards to fall his way. He said: “I managed to stay a long while in tournaments, the few I play, by being a chicken, and I wait until hopefully I think I’ve got the best hand”.
Fighting another day and fellow Chasers
And when things aren’t looking good, he said his advice is simply: “Just give it up. You can always fight another day.”
Mark also revealed he wouldn’t necessarily fancy himself as the best poker player among his fellow Chasers, saying: “I’ve got some insider knowledge that two of my colleagues have gambled quite a bit in the past. So I think that would give them a huge edge. Mind you, they’ve also won a lot, and they’ve lost a lot.”
Unlike the world of professional quizzing, Mark said poker always gives the underdog a chance. He said: “With poker, you can win by playing rubbish. You can also lose despite doing everything right.”
