Poker Tips from George Costanza

The actor Jason Alexander, best known for his role as George Costanza in the successful television series Seinfeld, has been seen around poker tables in past years, playing cash games, celebrity tournaments, even at the World Series of Poker invitational. Mr. Alexander, however, admits his best games are in front of the computer.

His round face, beard and bold head, an eternal smile and coy behavior, Mr. Alexander tells the story of how he started playing poker. Like everyone else, he played the game already when in high school and college, but in his acting career he found himself engaging in poker games during downtime on sets he was filming on. Everyone in the business plays some, he says.

C Level Player
From cash games he moved to celebrity tournaments eight years ago, although he still plays more cash games and on the computer, admitting he is not at a professional level, yet. Perhaps for his high profile celebrity status or his acting skills, people give him credit for being better than he is. "Acting," he says, "is lying," hinting at the secret to his poker success.

In fact, Mr. Alexander believes he is no better than a c+ or b- player, on his way to become a b+ player, at the most. Wittily and humbly, he said having cards in his hand is half way to winning; they could win.

Tips from George
With tips from American poker player Phil Gordon, Mr. Alexander has had a good teacher train him for his first WSOP appearance this summer. Perhaps we can learn a thing or two from George.

Mr. Alexander says he is not great at reading people at the poker table. Nor is he any good at doing the math that the pros do in calculating their opponents' hands and their chances to win the pot. He can calculate his own hand, position and basics, but when it comes down to it, he goes with the hand that he thinks can win. Simple as that.

Another trick he acts, er does, is making players lay down winning hands by confusing them with a constantly changing style of play. At times he will get aggressive early with a good hand. Other times he will change his approach and then again, on 15-30 minutes cycles.

Aggressive or not, winning or losing, he remains George to all of us.