Becoming a poker legend is hard work, and requires a lot of experience, but there’s a catch 22 when it comes to professional poker as a career. You need the cash from big wins to go full-time, but you can’t get good enough, quickly enough, simply because you’ve got to support your poker career with your day-job. Well, let’s try and help you skip all of that, shall we?
Playing smart
People who are able to play logically rather than emotionally are going to really storm a tournament. There’s a lot of probability theory involved in poker, and some of the best players in the world operate on numbers, rather than guesswork. Of course, it’s a rather fancy way of doing guesswork, but probabilities and odds are something to learn. Knowing that there’s a 2:1 chance of someone opposite you having a certain card means you can bet accordingly, and you’ll find that other players may start folding or falling for your bluffs if you’re playing like you’re psychic.
It’s a lot of effort to learn the mechanics and mathematics behind the game, but playing smart rather than playing like a monster (someone who bets aggressively, repeatedly) means that you may not always be in on every hand and it’s sometimes worrying watching your funds get chipped away at by blinds, but the end result will be infinitely more profitable. So take some time to learn a few numbers and practise with poker games against the computer or using play money online at sites like PartyPoker.com to find the best way to establish yourself as the “in-the-know” player at the table.
Learning from the best
The best players in the world all have their own strategies, and no, they’re not going to tell you what they are until they retire, and maybe not even then, because that means opening themselves up to all sorts of manipulative plays and counter-strategies by the poker-playing public. But don’t forget that you can still watch them play on television, as all World Series of Poker tournaments are covered in cameras and broadcast to channels all over the world.
Pick a good player and watch them throughout the tournament, taking notes as you go. You’ll be surprised at the amount of tricks and strategies that reveal themselves to you, simply because most players don’t have enough time at the same table during tournaments to analyse other players they’ve not faced off against before. You’ve got all the time in the world, though recording it is best, don’t pull a sickie to catch the big game or have too many late nights. Recording also means being able to skip the parts that don’t show the object of your studies.
These two aspects of the number one player are just a basic habits that needs to be established before strategy, tricks and bluffing tactics come into play, but it’s important to start with the crucial elements of a winning player, rather than just jumping in and expecting to go home the winner – sometimes it might work, but who cares when it’ll work every time for a skilled player? Exactly. Good luck.