kentucky_jim
06-01-2008, 03:07 PM
I think its time for us to sit down and have one of “those” talks. You know what I’m talking
about: You’re dad thinks you should understand the birds and the bees and he stumbles
through trying to explain the facts of life, while you aren’t paying attention but roll your
eyes the entire time….. Yeah, one of “those” talks!
I am going to bestow a couple of words of wisdom on you boys and girls today, and possibly a
couple of bits of information. Please take the time to listen openly, and roll your eyes if
you will, but absorb the information anyway. You can choose to do with it what you wish once
you are done reading.
So here goes:
1. Online poker sites don't hate you!
2. Poker is easy to play, but HARD to master
3. You cannot win all of the TOURNEY chips before the (last hand)
4. You don’t have to win every hand to be successful!
5. You WILL take bad beats, take them like a grown up, contrary to popular belief online
poker sites love you, because you are there sole source of income. You will take numerous
beats during your poker career, and some of them will be downright brutal. We all get them,
and most of us want to quit this game at one time or another.
Do you see how easy that was? We covered 1 and 5 in the 1st paragraph.
2 Should be self explanatory, but it isn’t.
You will not be (and I mean me as well) a poker pro after one year of play, or a quick
flipping through of Super System. The mastery of this game takes years and years of constant
play, study, and more play. The pro’s take beats just like the rest of us, but most of them
are stacked so high for the games they play, that losing a 10K buy in tourney (while it
pisses them off too) won’t really hurt their feelings that much. STUDY, STUDY, STUDY…..ask
questions, STUDY some more and over time you will get better. You have many leaks in your
game right now, and unless you address them, you are doomed to continue making them.
3 and 4, While occurring in different games are actually quite similar.
Don’t try to win the tourney in one hand, especially not in the 1st level. I know you
flopped the nut straight, but the guy sitting next to you with 27OS can catch runner runner
to kill you, and he will a certain % of the time. This is a game of skill, and luck will
help you once in a while, and kill you quite a bit more often. Try to slowly build your
stack in a tourney, by looking for the nuts “on the river” and punishing your donkey
opponents. There is only one nuts….find it each hand, and use it. This doesn’t mean you
should play a flopped straight weakly, but understand that it isn’t the stone cold nuts….not
yet anyway.
These exact same principles apply to ring games, both limit and NL. Your raise will abuse
your opponents more often in NL, but your aces will still get cracked sometimes. Win $$$
over time, play within your stack, and you will be successful. Win the most pots over one
session, but get unlucky once and you could get broke.
Finally…..the moral of the story. This game can be fun. Treat it as it should be treated. If
it’s a business for you, then play within your stack (and your stack probably isn’t big
enough even when you think it is). If this is fun, then let it be fun, and don’t throw your
laptop out the window over a $1.20 tourney beat.
Best of luck at the tables boys and girls…..I wish you all the best!
about: You’re dad thinks you should understand the birds and the bees and he stumbles
through trying to explain the facts of life, while you aren’t paying attention but roll your
eyes the entire time….. Yeah, one of “those” talks!
I am going to bestow a couple of words of wisdom on you boys and girls today, and possibly a
couple of bits of information. Please take the time to listen openly, and roll your eyes if
you will, but absorb the information anyway. You can choose to do with it what you wish once
you are done reading.
So here goes:
1. Online poker sites don't hate you!
2. Poker is easy to play, but HARD to master
3. You cannot win all of the TOURNEY chips before the (last hand)
4. You don’t have to win every hand to be successful!
5. You WILL take bad beats, take them like a grown up, contrary to popular belief online
poker sites love you, because you are there sole source of income. You will take numerous
beats during your poker career, and some of them will be downright brutal. We all get them,
and most of us want to quit this game at one time or another.
Do you see how easy that was? We covered 1 and 5 in the 1st paragraph.
2 Should be self explanatory, but it isn’t.
You will not be (and I mean me as well) a poker pro after one year of play, or a quick
flipping through of Super System. The mastery of this game takes years and years of constant
play, study, and more play. The pro’s take beats just like the rest of us, but most of them
are stacked so high for the games they play, that losing a 10K buy in tourney (while it
pisses them off too) won’t really hurt their feelings that much. STUDY, STUDY, STUDY…..ask
questions, STUDY some more and over time you will get better. You have many leaks in your
game right now, and unless you address them, you are doomed to continue making them.
3 and 4, While occurring in different games are actually quite similar.
Don’t try to win the tourney in one hand, especially not in the 1st level. I know you
flopped the nut straight, but the guy sitting next to you with 27OS can catch runner runner
to kill you, and he will a certain % of the time. This is a game of skill, and luck will
help you once in a while, and kill you quite a bit more often. Try to slowly build your
stack in a tourney, by looking for the nuts “on the river” and punishing your donkey
opponents. There is only one nuts….find it each hand, and use it. This doesn’t mean you
should play a flopped straight weakly, but understand that it isn’t the stone cold nuts….not
yet anyway.
These exact same principles apply to ring games, both limit and NL. Your raise will abuse
your opponents more often in NL, but your aces will still get cracked sometimes. Win $$$
over time, play within your stack, and you will be successful. Win the most pots over one
session, but get unlucky once and you could get broke.
Finally…..the moral of the story. This game can be fun. Treat it as it should be treated. If
it’s a business for you, then play within your stack (and your stack probably isn’t big
enough even when you think it is). If this is fun, then let it be fun, and don’t throw your
laptop out the window over a $1.20 tourney beat.
Best of luck at the tables boys and girls…..I wish you all the best!