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Ultimate-Bet Poker - Poker Beginner's Strategy
Whater Philosophy
by Russ Hamilton
Pug Pearson, who was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame in 1982, says that you have to be able to do three things to become a successful poker player:
- Control your Emotions,
- Manage Your Money,
- Know when you have the best of it.
- Make a winning hand pay,
- Make a losing hand win.
Pretty simple right? So, maybe now you don't need to read any further. Just go out and win. Well, Pug is right. But, to be really successful you must do what he says, and that requires many skills: judgment, intuition, determination, nerve, perseverance, savvy, card sense, experience, instinct, and on and on.
I can tell you how to play various hands in different positions, what the odds are, and how to employ tactics, but the really great poker players have something more. They have something inside themselves. They have a fierce desire to win. The money is always a primary reason, but it's not the only one. Maybe it's the competition or the glory of a championship. For many, it's the respect of their peers and the skill required to get that respect. Whatever the reason, great poker players can put it all together.
There are many pitfalls in poker. It's inevitable that you'll have a big losing streak. Sometime in your career, it will happen. We're not talking about running bad for a few days, we're talking months. How you handle that losing streak may determine your future. I know many great poker players who have crumbled under the pressure of a long stretch of bad luck.
MONEY MANAGEMENT
Annie Duke has written an excellent article about the 30-bet rule. This is great advice to insure that you don’t lose too much when you are learning. It will also prevent you from a big loss when you are steaming. But how about when you are winning? I hate to quit when I’m winning, especially if the game is good. That's when I’m probably playing my best, and others may be playing badly. The really great players never hit and run - They always stay for the kill. Sometimes, I see players quit great games because they have made a small win. Then they will come back the next day and stay in a bad game because they are losing. Don’t be the kind of player who wins nine days in a row, then gets broke on the tenth.
ATTITUDE
If you want to maximize your chances of winning at poker, then you must have a positive winning attitude. The life of a poker player has many ups and downs. You have to be able to mentally handle big swings, which are inevitable. If you have problems at home, then either forget about them while your playing, or don't play. Be objective, and ask yourself the following questions:
- Do you complain when you take a bad beat?
- Do you say, "I'm never lucky"?
- Do you ridicule bad players when they beat you?
- Do you take "shots" or shoot "angles"?
- Do you tell bad beat stories frequently?
- Are you a jerk at the table?
If you can answer yes to any of the above questions, you are not maximizing your potential. If you have a negative attitude, then it is impossible to be focused in a poker game. The only thing a negative attitude will do, is cost you money.
So, always try to play your best, have a positive attitude, quit bad games when you are losing and playing poorly, and keep playing in good games when you are winning and playing well. This will put you on your way to becoming a great poker player.
| Ultimate-Bet Poker Beginner Strategy - Articles | |
|---|---|
| Part 1: Headlong into Hold'em | by John Vorhaus |
| Part 2: What's all this Noise About Texas Hold'em Starting Requirements? | by John Vorhaus |
| Poker Philosophy | by Russ Hamilton |
| The 30-bet Rule | by Annie Duke |