Well, I keep on keeping on. Received my copy of Sklansky’s “Hold’em poker for advanced players” today. A very interesting read indeed. Opened my eyes to many interesting strategy plays and such. This book is more more oriented towards limit hold’em, and many of the strategies are based on the raise / check raise / number of raises options that exist in the game. Some of the theories, especially of card play and sequencing apply in all games, and I can say without a doubt I am learning a lot from the book.

As always, there are ups and downs in any learning experience. There are many very difficult concepts in this book (I read about half of it already) and some of those concepts are difficult to put into action without tons of experience. It is also, without a doubt, harder to play this sort of game on computer, mostly because you have no physical tells from the other players to work with. The good news is that if you get really good at reading JUST from bets, then actual real world play with give you even more stuff to work with.

Daniel Negreanu is one of the top players in poker today. While I have never met him, he is Canadian like me, and seems to have a genuine nice streak through him. He has a nice little blog… Daniel Negreanu’s blog it can be a little silly at times, but it can give you some good insite into the weird world of poker.

Have a good one!

Alex

I have spent a fair bit of time playing poker in the last little while, including a few days playing live in Vegas in january, playing tournament style with friends, and such. I play online pretty regularly, not big money or anything, but a few hundred dollars a month for the pure fun of it. I make some, I lose some, and I learn a bunch.

First off, this weekend was one of the first times playing in a “more expensive” situation. Basically, I played a lower dollar sub-qualifier table, which I won handily, and that moved me on to a higher up table. That one then lead to a $300 per person deal.

Let me tell you, the cards are the same, but the players are MUCH better the further you go up. It’s amazing that these people are playing from the same situations that we play on lower tables.

Anyway, I have a book coming this week that will help me with the actual numbers of the game. I have been playing mostly by the seat of my pants plus some online learning, but I think that I can go a whole bunch better if I work on understanding the numbers and the odds. Apparently there is enough difference between one chair and the next as the deal button moves around to make some hands worth playing and some not.

On one of my amazon sites, I am going to set up a whole poker only area with books, videos, and more that have everything to do with poker. There is a bunch of stuff out there, but most of the stuff is pure junk or VERY simplistic.

I should warn you (and this is funny because this is on a website) be very careful what sort of information you take as true from online sources. I have seen a few sites that will remain nameless who suggest betting strategies most likely to drive you broke within minutes, making you an easy mark for more experienced players. Remember that many of these systems depend on a specific understanding a feel that maybe only the author has been able to master. Don’t take any one source as god on this issue!

Now, good luck and play poker!

First off, I just want to say that I am NOT a professional poker player, far from it. Rather, I just like to play cards, online or with friends, and money makes it MUCH more interesting. It really does keep people on their toes and playing well.

I play at a number of places online you can try them by visiting poker online, you will find it interesting. These places have “free play” areas where you can try out the idea and see what you think, which is all good.

Online poker is easy to start, but it isn’t all that easy to make a ton of money. If you really want to do well, you should take some time to learn and study the game first. In a future post, I will put up a list of good poker books and training stuff that will really help you understand that games and do well.

Finally, remember that gambling is addictive and can be VERY bad for you. Don’t play to kill yourself. Set limits, play wisely, and most of all, enjoy yourself. When it isn’t fun, it is time to stop.

More in a while.

Alex