The Evolution of a Poker Player
Disclaimer and qualifier: I have played well over one million hands of online poker, and almost that many this year alone. I’ve just recently started to reflect on my career in poker, and I was able to find the points in time in which I really had epiphanies. I remembered that was a question that is asked in most “wells.” I was asked more than once in mine, and right now jman is doing a great well in HSNL in which people are asking him the same question. I’ve decided that I’ll take the time to answer it comprehensively, since I haven’t made a serious post in MSNL in a very long time- this is my Christmas present. I’d appreciate it if HSNL people read it and expounded upon it (and the future- most notably) and if SSNL and MSNL people would ask questions related to this thread that others could help them answer. The goal of this ‘essay’ is to expedite the education process of all those who read it indirectly.
(would also appreciate if someone who visit SSNL would link it there, thanks)
The Evolution of a Poker Player
by aejones
Poker is discovered differently by many individuals. Clearly, if you’re reading this, you’ve received it a specific way. This essay is designed to describe a successful way to go about educating yourself about this game (a ‘method’ that many of you will be able to identify with), the pitfalls to avoid along that path, and what you can expect in the future.
Although there are a variety of ways to go about discovering the game, including dreams of wanting to become the next half-witted accountant from Tennessee with a weight problem to make seven figures, there are specific channels to go about educating yourself on it. After many of you found poker and decided you wanted to get better at it, you picked up a poker book at your local bookstore. This book was in all likelihood terrible (with the exception of Super System), but nevertheless an integral part of your poker career. You learned about pot odds, or how to squeeze out an extra bet with two pair playing 3-6 limit, where the only person who can beat the rake in that game is Jerry Yang. Basic concepts, but fairly important ones nonetheless. Through these books, you learned to play tight. Tight was right. It worked. You might have won some money in home games or online- it seemed fairly simple enough, no one else was folding enough, so by folding a lot and only playing strong hands, you would have an advantage.
If you really got more hungry, you searched Google for poker articles, or read excerpts by Phil Hellmuth or Daniel Negreanu from their websites. For me, Daniel Negreanu was my most important teacher before I was any good at poker. He was one of the few people 3 or 4 years ago that actually went through some thought process fairly publicly, and I benefited greatly from knowing how he thought. To this day, I believe that if/when I play with DN, I’ll have a huge advantage recalling his thought process from hands I read over and over back in the day (without him knowing the information I’m using). These kinds of things will help the average railbird, and might even assist you to winning low stakes NL online, or even tournaments, but it’s not nearly enough to win online. Thus, you reach the first milestone in your poker career.
Source: 2+2 Forums
