What does it take to be a winner at the poker table?

My grandfather, Nels, God rest his Norwegian soul, told me in clear terms that winning is just one hell of a lot better than losing. Now any old farm boy can sit down at the table and win once in a while. My grandfather was quite clear in saying that it takes a heap of work to become a consistent winner. There is a lot of learning that will have to take place. The question becomes, "Are we willing to pay the price of success?"

What Grandfather Nels was telling me was to "take the game of party poker seriously." "Work at it, think about it, develop a game plan." Many people play poker like they drive a car. Once they learn how to drive it, would never occur to them to attempt to improve their skills. That "once learned, always learned" approach to poker is expensive. In poker, the more we know, the more money we make. The more we study and think about the game, the greater our reward.

Another similarity between poker and driving is that there are slow drivers, fast drivers, and the solid drivers who change speeds because the conditions warrant it. They slow down when the roads or traffic are tricky. They speed along when they have clear vision on good roads.

The same is true for poker players. There are slow, patient players. There are speeders who love the thrill and danger of playing. There are solid players who can change speed (or gears) as conditions change.

One of my goals in writing the books 1 write and the teaching 1 do is to help people develop the ability to recognize what is going on, and adapt (change gears) to the situation. For instance, George had played bonus code poker for forty years when he took my class. He had a tremendous fast gear. At the end of the term he thanked me for teaching him the slow conservative gear to use when the cards are running bad. His comment was, "I have lost money for forty years playing poker. Now 1 am confident 1 can slow down and protect my winning streaks."

TWO LEVELS OF LESSONS
can be described as consisting of two things: the basics and the nuances (the subtleties). The basics of poker (hand selection, position and preliminary play) can be learned from books. The nuances (clever plays, reading opponents, betting philosophy) generally can be learned only by observant play and thinking about the game. Only a few nuances can be learned from books and classes. Most of the knowledge comes from hours at the table.

I have come to agree completely with my grandfather.
Winning does beat losing. 1 have a lot more fun when 1 am ahead than when 1 are stuck. So, invest a few bucks in good books, take a class if you can. Learn the basics of which hands to play and the power of position. Most important, think about the game. Study your opponents and yourself. Develop a game play, a betting strategy, and work on the nuances of the game. You will have more fun and have more money in your pocket.

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