become a better poker player

I finished about 20th out of about 70 people. Not as good as would have liked. I got no cards at all for the first hour so I just folded mostly I finally got a couple brought my self up to just over average chips. The turning point was when I had Q-Q. The player to my right was the first bettor into the pot with a substantial raise I called everyone else folded. The flop was a K and two under cards. He bet I called. The turn was a J he checked I bet he called. The River was a 10. He bet I called. He showed J-10. I showed him the Q-Q as he took down the pot. The next one I was Dealer there was one bettor I called, and SB called. I had Ah-Qh the flop was As-Ks-2h. The SB push all in with a small stack(about half mine) the first bettor folded I called and he fliped over Qs-Js. The turn came 9s. and there went most of my chips a the next time around now being really low stacked in the sb I pushed all in with A-9 BB called with Js-6s. The flop was x-4-4 the turn was a 6 and the river was a 4. I felt I played pretty well I managed to go Three hours in with hardly any cards. I of course could have done better but I’ve got no major complaints about my performance.

I’ve played poker for years. I grew up with my mom and her friends getting together once and a while to play, so I learned then. It’s only been recently that I have had a desire to improve my game. So I’ve been playing online at pokerstars with playmoney. I entered my first tournament a couple of weeks ago and got 4th. That helped to get me motivated to learn more. However I’ve gotten a chip on my shoulder about it that I need to get rid of if I’m going to keep improving. I’ve got another tournament this Saturday so we’ll see how I do.

It’s been a while since I’ve played. I’m known as crazy aggressive bully on the poker table. At the beginning of a tournament i will play conservatively. I love to shift gears, especially when I have the nuts. I love bluffing…I love to show my first bluff, which usually guarantees callers…later on. I like to watch my opponents face, at the first sign of weakness I will push all-in on a heartbeat…of course my good friends are starting to get a read on me, so I’m going to have to switch it up. My biggest advice is never slow play Aces…just push all-in with them.

I get very nervous in poker games and I have to avoid playing too conservatively. One of my major problems is that I’m more concentrated on my cards and I don’t pay attention to what is happening on the table. Bets and raises can actually tell you a lot of what people have in their hand but it takes a lot of practice to start figuring out. I’ve also started watching the Professional Poker Tour to figure out which hands I should play, which hands to avoid. Poker is truly a skill on its own!

I would like to become a better poker player. I am not horrible at it but i could get better.

But I’m much better than I was when I first started. I feel more comfortable, have no qualms about playing for real, and I’ve learned the important things like when to bluff and when not to. There’s always room for improvement, of course (unless you’re Phil Helmuth, just ask him), but I think this is a goal fulfilled.

I broke my number one rule: don’t play cash tables online. I don’t do well because I’m much more into the longevity strategy of tournament play. I’m much better at tournament play, and enjoy it more, because I stand back and watch everyone cannablize each other for about twenty minutes before I come in and start picking off the now cocky wannabes one by one. That’s why I finish in the money two out of every three tournaments I enter. Last night was a different story. I totally misread an obvious hand that ended with me all in with a nines over queens full house and falling victim to four nines (don’t ask). If I really want to be a better poker player I have to stop being stupid and doing things I know I’m not good at.

To quote Dirty Harry Callahan, “A man’s got to know his limitations.”

I played in my first “tournament” on Friday. I didn’t make it through the first hour. =) It wasn’t entirely my fault. My cards sucked and I wondered often if the dealer knew what he was doing. However, the main reason is I didn’t have to go out when I did. There was someone at my table who, frankly, was an ass. It was a charity tournament and he had gotten in by signing up for the charity golf tournament the next morning. The entry fee for the poker tournament ($30) was included in the fee for the golf tournament. So, understandably, he decided if he was paying for it he was taking part. The problem? He didn’t know how to play Hold Em. Not a clue. He broke about every tournament rule there is - no cursing, don’t bet out of turn, keep your cards on the table, etc. - and was quick to point out when anyone else did the same thing and demand they be penalized. He took forever to bet, wasn’t paying attention to see when it was his turn and became belligerent if you reminded him. Oh, and since I know some of you familiar with poker are thinking it was all an act on his part? He tried to steal someone’s pot. I mean that literally. He was insisting that one hand beat another (I can’t remember which because I was trying to block it out) and the tournament director had to come over and sort that mess out by showing him the rule book. My point to all of this? By the end of the first hour I was fed up. I wasn’t enjoying myself and the fact my cards had sucked up to the point wasn’t helping matters so, against my own better judgment, I went all in on suited 9 – 8. Not the strongest of hands to be sure, but I did it looking at it this way: if I win I’ll get some chips. If I lose, I get to get the hell out of here and a far away from the player from Hell as possible. I flopped two clubs (my pocket suit) and got nothing on the turn or the river so I was out. They immediately went on break. I didn’t even stay to see where out of the field of 60 I finished. By that point all I cared about was getting home.

I’m hoping my next tournament will be a little more enjoyable even if I lose. It won’t take much to improve on the last one, believe me.