What is Angle Shooting?

What is Angle Shooting?

Using underhand, unfair methods, trickery, speech play, etc to exploit other players or gain information. It is not exactly illegal but it is unethical and ungentleman-like and very much frowned upon and even despised. Yet many people do it.

In the latest WSOP Main Event, the player with the big beard Keating tried to get his opponent to call by saying "good call" while he was in the tank then said that "oh I thought you said call". By doing this he implies that he was bluffing and any call would beat him when in actual fact he had a monster. Check out the video here.

(credit to PokerXpress.net and the WSOP)

A while ago a friend of mine was all in on the river. While the other guy was tanking he said "straight" and then quickly went "opps, you haven't called yet". The other guy folds and he flips over a bluff. I didn't like that move at all. Poker may be mind games and trying to outplay the other guy but it is called bluffing not lying. Lying straight in someone's face is bad enough, he had to show that he was indeed angle shooting!

Here's another example Ivan Freitez (one of the most hated guys in poker) says raise but just put in calling chips and pretends that he made a mistake. It looks like he is forced to raise but in actual fact he has a monster hand and wanted to get extra value by acting this way.

(credit to Pokerstars and EPT)

There's winning and there's winning with integrity. Sports athletes resort to illegal drugs, politicians resort to dirty tactics, dictators resort to killing innocent people and poker players resort to cheating or angle shooting. You might still win in the end, but you lose your integrity, credibility and respect.

I am in this APT video (sick hand)

Wow, didn't know I was on the APT video. Those who know me will know which one I am. Anyway, the ending part of the video where there was a lot of screaming, where Maria Carmen "Menchu" Esdaile (Sam Razavi's wife) was screaming "no heart" and "no pair", Simba (Korean pro) was screaming "heart", I was there screaming "pair the board" in a 5 way all in hand. (details about the hand below.



At this point I was the chip leader with about 30k chips, the closest stack to me on the table was like 10k. Blinds were 300/600, 75 ante. I was under the gun with KK, made it 1500 to call. Shortish stack next to me just called, black guy from Okinawa calls, Menchu calls on the button, Simba thought about jamming I think but just calls on the big blind.

Flop was 789 two hearts, pot was about 8k. Simba first to act had 6k+ left and he jammed. I was thinking yeah maybe some one had JT but I was still ahead of many possible ranges. Flush draw, T9, T8 kind of hands, AT possible and I didn't know what was going to happen behind me. I had everyone covered and biggest stack was probably around 7k. So I shoved too.

Short stack next to me tanked and called. Black dude called and Menchu was like what the heck is going on and then calls. Simba shows Ace high flush draw, I don't mind that. I forgot what the short stack had, black dude had KQ of hearts, so far so good but Menchu had the dreaded JTo. Damn, so close. I still had 24k in chips (400 bbs or so, so I wasn't too disheartened).

Then turn came the case King! My goodness I suddenly have outs! I screamed "pair the board" one time! River came the 9 of spades and I made my runner runner full house. Sorry Menchu. I felt I was good against Simba's jam. I didn't think anyone behind would have me dominated. ;P