Learn Texas Holdem

Good poker players weren't always good poker players. At some point everyone learns. And despite this common path that we all follow, poker literature rarely mentions it. When did Phil Hellmuth play $2/4? How quickly did he progress through the limits? Did Gus Hansen ever give up? I bet there are a lot of interesting stories about how people became serious poker players but no one ever shares them.

One particular area of interest for me is the mistakes people have made on their way up the stakes ladder. What is normal? What is expected? Besides my own experience I really have no idea.

I'm writing this little article for two reasons: first, it's helpful for me to formalize thoughts about my game; second, I think it will benefit new players to get a birds eye view of someone who has been playing for a while.

I've been playing poker for about eight years now, since I was 18. Back then poker wasn't as popular as it is today and I didn't have a home game to learn in. I just took the plunge and went into a casino and played $2/4. It was terrifying but I quickly picked up on how everything worked. Now days you'll find a lot of kids playing poker but back then I was definitely the youngest in my games and it stayed that way for a few years. I'm now a much different player then I was a few years ago, or even last year. I'm evolving as a player but it hasn't been easy. I've made lots of mistakes and here are some of them:

Ignorance

My definition of ignorance is assuming whatever you don't understand is wrong. To think that you know everything about something is usually a sign that you know very little. It is very hard for an ignorant person to learn something knew because there mind is closed to any kind of new info they encounter. In poker, you can learn a lot by just watching other players. It is pretty rare that a player does everything wrong. You can learn something from everyone. If you have that state of mind you'll do well in a lot of things in life. You'll never be trapped into one way of thinking.

Lack Of Bankroll

This has been a big problem for me over the years. Time and time again I have built up my bankroll and then played in too big of games and lost it. You would think I would learn after a while but I don't seem to. My philosophy before was to try to break into a bigger game but I think that is wrong. I think a better way to go about it would be to wait till you have earned enough at the smaller limits to have the correct bankroll for the larger ones. I remember I would play 10/20 all the time and do fine and then occasionally they had a 25/50 going. I was so anxious to play the bigger game that I would even play after doing a 12-15 hour poker session already in a game with only 4 people (who were all good at short handed play). More often then not I would get my butt kicked and lose thousands, which took me a long time to earn at the smaller limit. You definitely don't want to take your losses at the big games and your wins at the little ones. That's why I really think you should just stick to limits your bankroll can afford. You'll move up when you're ready, don't force it. If you were ready for those games you would probably already have the money.

Reading Books

You should read any and all poker books you can get your hands on but don't do what I did. When I first got into poker I read tons of books and decided that I had the game figured out and anyone who wasn't doing what the books said, were just playing wrong. That was a huge blunder. It took me years before I realized that there was more to learn then just hand grouping tables and playing tight. That is a very early stage in a poker players evolution. When you read poker books try to see the underlying concepts and not the details. For example, instead of reading in a book that suited connectors are to be played in late position, understand why they say that. And if you know the "whys" you can adapt. Application is the highest form of learning, that's your goal, not to do rote memorization.

Not Controlling Emotions

This is another big problem that I've faced over the years. First of all, you can't let the cards dictate your mood. If you are getting beat badly over and over but are still playing well, you shouldn't get upset. Remember you don't deserve to win for playing the best hand. There is no justice in poker. It isn't fair, it just is poker. One of the hosts of the WPT said that holdem is a schizophrenic game and that's the truth. If you let the cards take you on a roller coaster, they will drive you insane. When you let the game decide your emotions you'll lose your edge which can lead to more frustration. Secondly, you can't let a win or loss define how you feel outside of poker. This has been a really hard one for me. It just seems logical that after I win 5k in a day that I feel good. And the opposite is true too, if I lose 5k in a day then I'm feeling horrible. You just can't do that though or you aren't going to make it in poker. You have to separate your play from your outside life. Playing in games that your bankroll can afford also takes some of the craziness out of the equation. You have to play in your comfort zone to play well. The chips shouldn't be an issue.

Rigidity/Mechanical

Because no one wrote it in a book, it took me years to realize that one type of play doesn't win in all games. There are loose games, tight games, passive games, aggressive games, tough games and everything in between. A good starting hand in one game my be just an ok one in another game and a totally horrible one in another. If you play the same in all games, you won't win. It's that simple. Compare the starting hands in a low limit $2/4 holdem game compared to a regular $15/30 game. In most $2/4 games you have five, six or even more people seeing the flop while in the $15/30 game most flops are two or three handed. If you play the exact same way in both games, you won't win. Good plays in one game are totally wrong in the other. If I knew this before, it would have saved me so much time and money but no where did anyone mention it. I had to learn the hard way by putting my money in the middle.

Only Playing One Type Of Game

I suggest that everyone learns how to play both limit and no limit holdem. You'll be a much stronger player in both. I've spent the majority of my time at limit tables but I also play no limit. I'm not sure which one I'm better at but my nerves definitely prefer limit. I go in phases where I'll play nothing but no limit for a few months and then come back to limit. It's really refreshing and each time I switch back and forth I feel like I've improved.

Analyzing Losses

For years if I lost in a game, I just assumed it was because I was getting unlucky not that I was playing badly. Me play badly? Of course not! Why would I even entertain that idea. Eventually I stopped kidding myself and I took the time to seriously look at how I played and if I was the cause for a losing session. That's not easy, especially if you hold your poker playing skills highly (as most people do). That's probably not helpful though. Being humble and open minded is much more profitable in the long run.

Pride

Religion aside, the bible has a lot of little jewels like "pride goeth before a fall." That's the damn truth. The sooner you can learn that the better. I still haven't. Pride has been a big stumbling block for me in poker. First of all, thinking that you are a better player then other people doesn't serve you any purpose. If anything it gets your into more trouble because you think no one else could possibly beat you. It gets in the way of your learning. It gets in the way of your reason. It even gets in the way of the size of the games you should really be playing in. I remember that there were times I wouldn't call people down even though I had a hunch I had the best hand just because if I was wrong I thought people would look at me like I was stupid and a bad player. They would have been right, I was stupid. I was stupid because I let pride get in the way of my game. I was more concerned with being seen as a good player then being a winner. Leave your pride at the door and you'll have a much more rewarding time playing cards.

Slave To The Odds

This error ties in with the mechanical play error. For most of my poker life I've been a slave to the numbers, the odds in the hands. If I didn't have the correct odds to call for a hand then I wouldn't. When I saw someone else doing it then I would secretly laugh at them thinking they were stupid and didn't realize they were losing money in the long run. What an idiot I was. Poker is supposed to be fun people, allow yourself to gamble now and again. So what if occasionally you don't have the correct odds to draw, big deal. So I lose $15 in the long run, I think I'll live. I'm having some fun, mixing up my play and making playing winning poker more palatable. Like anything, moderation is the key. Don't take this concept too far but do give yourself some slack.

Playing Too Much

What is playing too much poker? Playing too much poker is when you've been up so long that you begin to see patterns in the cards (or you think you do at least). Playing too much poker is when you aren't living a healthy life, you aren't doing anything but playing cards. Playing too much poker is when you are taking time away from your friends and family to get in another session. Playing too much poker is when you haven't taken a couple days off in months. To play well you need your rest and your time away from the table. I've found that my emotions are way harder to control if I'm playing too often. I need a break after a couple long days. Just listen to your body and if anything, play less instead of more. You'll be sharper and probably make more money in the long run. I know I do.

Taking Poker Too Seriously

It's a game for God's sake! You started playing poker for fun so relax and enjoy it. There are enough stressful things in the world that you don't have to make your hobbies stressful too. Relish the little things in the game that use to make you happy and not just how much you won that day. Don't so quickly take for granted all the hands that you have won only to focus on the hand that you just lost.

Not Seeing Enough Turn Cards

For years I was such a tight player that if I didn't have top pair or better, or a flush/straight draw with the right odds, I wouldn't call. The turn card in limit holdem is such a factor and it usually only costs a small bet. In no limit holdem things are different but in limit holdem if you are playing in a smaller game then most pots will have multi-way action (lots of people in) and you will be getting the odds to call to see fourth street. I remember how frustrating it use to be for me to raise my Kings or Aces preflop, get a lot of callers and then have someone catch two pair or a gutshot straight on the turn card. The fact of the matter is that they have the odds to call and I use to just see them as idiots who didn't know what they were doing. In loose low limit games the turn card should be your best friend.

People Don't Play How You Do

One thing that took me a long time to understand that is that people don't play the way I do or how I think they should. There are a lot of reasons people play poker and winning is just one of them. If you want to play good poker you need to understand the people you are playing with instead of just assuming they are there for the same reason you are. A raise doesn't always mean the same thing, a call doesn't always mean the same thing and a bet doesn't always mean the same thing.

Losing Is Part Of Poker

I don't care who you are or how good you may be you are going to have losing hands and losing days. Sometimes it is just in the cards to lose and there is nothing you can do about it. This point eludes me still. I still get annoyed when someone bad beats me in a hand that I should have won but it shouldn't. Logically thinking, I'm going to see a lot of crap. I'm going to see just about every bad beat you can imagine and that's normal considering I'm playing so many hands. There is no reason for something as minute as a losing session to get me down. Like I wrote above, poker is a game of relatively small edges and you make your money in the long run. It is expected to lose a fair amount of the hands you are in.

Playing Badly After Winning

One thing I just became aware of in the past few months is that I play really badly after clocking a big win. Just recently when I started playing limit holdem again after a few months of only playing no limit I won a little over 4k on my first day back. That's a really nice win for a $15/30 game. The next day I played the same game again but found myself down a bunch of money after only a few hours. I had to pull myself aside and give myself a little pep talk. The previous day I was playing really well, getting value on my good hands and picking up quite a few pots that were tricky. I think the next day I just remembered all the good hands and expected to win in the same way. You can't rush a win in poker, especially limit holdem. You have to go at the rate that the cards allow. I often forget that and get too ambitious hoping to have another big win. Then I spend half the day just winning back what I stupidly lost before I can even be up a dollar.

Don't Listen To Other People's Table Talk

When you play poker at a casino you constantly have people complaining about hands they have lost. Most of the time they are complete hypocrites and bad beat someone in a worse way within the next hour but they consider that decent play. You'll hear people talk about flush draws and straight draws as "chasing" when you have legitimate odds -- it's a good play. You'll also hear people complain to no end about people hitting two pair, overcards or gutshot straight draws on the turn card. In most limit games, calling to see the turn card if you a piece of the flop is fine. They won't agree though so don't listen, just play your game and let them mumble and gripe. It was a long time before I would actually call for a gutshot straight draw now and then just because I didn't want to hear anyone chastise me for hitting it. Now I have no problem (as I shouldn't).

Changing Your Style

Evolving as a player is a good thing but changing your game play every time you lose isn't good. I went through a phase when my regular tight play wasn't working so I tried to play more like a guy I saw who did pretty well. That didn't work out but I learned some new things by playing differently. I do think you should experiment early on but don't second guess your play just because you lose a few times or if you see some whacko stacking a bunch of chips.

Getting Pissed Off At Poker And Quitting

I've done this probably three or four times. I tell myself "I hate this *$#@ing game, I'm never playing it again" and then I quit for a few months. If you get to that spot then most likely you don't have an appreciation for the game, you may be playing too much, you maybe playing in games too large for your bankroll, or you may just need a change in environment. Poker should be fun and if you aren't having fun anymore then by all means stop. In my situation though, it isn't poker changing, it is me changing. Poker is a lot like life: you are going to have ups and downs and sometimes it is your fault and sometimes it isn't. As long as you respect yourself, the other players and the game there is no reason why you can't make poker a part of your life until you are an old man (or woman).