Nice guys finish third

Slept in even later today thanks to that harshest of mistresses - Texas Hold 'Em poker. My mate LA organised a swanky game in a function room above a pub. We had our own staffed bar, there was a Thai restaurant just down the hall (excellent ginger king prawns) and two casino-style gaming tables.

There were 12 players, so we split into two groups of six for the first four games ($10 or $20 buy-in - I opted for the former). The fifth game ($20 buy-in) involved everyone, with the top three from each pod combining to fight it out.

My results were: 3rd/6, 2nd/6 (my best chance to win; I went all-in with two picture cards and he flopped two low pairs - a "bad beat"!), 3rd/6, 3rd/6 and - would you believe it? - 3rd/12. Unfortunately, it was winner-takes-all, so those minor placings count for zilch.

In the eight to nine hours it took to lose my $60, I can remember only one hand where I definitely shouldn't have folded. The real problem was that against decent players, unless you get consistently great cards, you have to be able to bluff.

Due to my risk-averse nature, I find this terribly hard to do. If it's down to me and one or two others who aren't looking confident - and I have an OK hand - I might exaggerate my bet in attempt to buy the pot.

However, I can't bring myself to push a fat stack of chips into the centre, daring the rest of the table to take me on when I'm holding nada. It feels like too big a lie. And nice guys don't tell lies.