Every March along comes some young upstarts and young bucks. These are the college kids in town watching and betting basketball. They are sharp and frisky. Some play a mean game and some think they know all about poker but have no clue. But every young buck must first learn from the older generation valued principles. This is where my story begins as well as my poker career. When I was twenty-four years old I met a valued and trusted friend a professional gambler. He was not a master at poker but had studied the game. He advised me that with hard work you can make very good money at the game. So I went back home and studied over six months. Working on the odds reading all the books I could afford I slowly started to put a game plan together. But all plans have to be eventually tested. So one weekend we made plans. My game plan would be tested in La Center Washington that Sunday. This was it I was going to play my first hands. Walking into the small card room at 2:00pm in the afternoon, we asked the house what limits they were running that day. They were running two 5-10 and a Sunday afternoon old lady’s game. The Sunday afternoon lady’s game was restricted to ladies only and it was .50 cents and 1 dollar. Being apprehensive I put my name on the 5-10 list but walked around the room. Upon viewing the ladies game I noticed that most of them were in their 60’s. A very nice lady called out to me”you ever play holdem young man?” “No”, I responded. “In fact I have never played a hand at a table in my life.” “Ladies this young man has never played a hand of Slot Online poker can we make some room for him.” All the ladies quietly nodded their approval. But then I started to think this was to be a ladies only game why would they want me to sit down. They figured they had a bad player on their hands. These little old ladies new the valued principal. Find bad players and try to beat them. That was the only reason why I was in that game. They knew how to spot an edge. You must spot edges in order to win. Edges come in various forms. They come from unknowledgeable players, players not concentrating, drunks, people that over play hands and a multitude of other edges given away by opponents. Your job is to spot edges or make edges. These ladies spotted and edge and made and edge that was me entering the game.
Every day I watch opponents some to be considered the best in the world. I spot an edge in almost 95 percent of the players. The 5 percent for which I cannot spot an edge are usually the best players in the world and are considered that by their peers. You as a player should be trying to get into that 5 percent.
Now what does it take not to give up edges. A strong starting hand strategy, excellent blind play, good board reading, correct strategies verses opponent and proper betting according to odds on each street (this includes bluffing strategies). It is your job to eliminate edges in these areas that opponents can spot. If your starting hand strategy is not correct for the game rework it. If you are missing bets or calling bets because your reading ability is weak work on it. Decide how you want to play the blinds. If you lose track of the pot recalculate it. What ever edge you are giving away solve it. This includes going on minor tilt. You should strive to see all opponents mistakes that they are giving away. When you see mistakes in all players and do not have them in your game you are probably the best in your game.
By the way back to my first hands. Yes, I won that day. I won 18 dollars and have never looked back. But those little old ladies taught me a lesson for which I will never forget and I thank them all where ever they may be. Someone has an edge or is giving an edge in every game. It is up to you to limit the opponents edge while increasing your own.
When the site administrators asked me if I’d like to write a monthly article, immediately my brain was flooded with 1001 different ideas on what I should write. But as I sit here now facing the computer my mind is shooting blanks!
I suppose for the first article I should tell you all a little bit about myself and my intentions for writing this article.
When it comes to poker I certainly do not make any claim to possess the skill required to be a professional poker player. I have been playing this game (Hold’em in particular) for over 3 years. If I were to categorize myself I guess I would consider myself to be a serious student and competitive recreational player in the game of poker. At no point in my life do I wish to be a professional poker player. I simply don’t think I’m good enough, and even if I was, I don’t think I could handle the stress that would be associated with such an occupation.
So what are my intentions? Glad you asked! While you already know that one of my passions in life is poker, the other is teaching. I love to teach others. I love to see how others learn and develop new skills, especially if I had anything to do with the growth process. And finally, I have noticed that as a teacher you are always learning and always being challenged by students, and new issues or concepts for any subject matter.
After having read this much of my first article you have probably already come to the conclusion that I am certainly not an English teacher! This is true. I am not. In fact writing has to be one of my most challenging tasks. So for now, and forever on, I sincerely do apologize for any misspelled words or grammatical errors in any of my articles.
As many of you know I frequently reply to several posts made at the poker forum. And I will continue to look to the posts as a source for information and inspiration for upcoming articles. So please keep up with the great posts!
Well… I think this will do for now. I’m due for a nap.
