Today’s date is 5/5/05, That’s trip fives, so I’ll celebrate by giving up one of my poker strategies.

One of my favorite hands in Texas Hold-em is pocket fives, a.k.a. “Presto.” If I look down to find those in my hand, I will absolutely, positively raise without hesitation every single time. It’s superstition that makes me do it, mostly. It’s not that strong a hand, after all, but for some reason I just love it. And this could just be me rationalizing my love for a low starting pair, but I think it’s called “Presto” for a reason: because it’s a magic hand. It seems to me that more often than not, pocket fives will hold up — I’ll either make a set (3 of a kind) with them or they’ll just turn out to be the strongest hand. They just win, baby, so I always raise them pre-flop.

And I’ll admit, I’m a little crazy with them, too. If I don’t make a set on the flop, I’ll chase with them anyway, and maybe even raise while I’m doing it. Because, again, more often than not, it seems to me that they come through — if I miss the set on the flop it’ll come on the turn or the river. Or, like I said, even without a set they frequently turn out to be the strongest hand anyway. So I chase, even when chasing with a small starting pair is stupid.

But — and here’s the tell — if I have Presto and make a set, I will absolutely, positively, without fail go all-in every single time. And because it’s “Presto,” because it’s magic, it usually wins. So if there’s a five on the board and I’m pushing my stack, now you know why.

Today is 5/5/05: Presto. I’m going all-in.