Posts Tagged ‘poker’
It is always easier to learn something new if you have someone you can ask for advice or someone to share ideas with. I sought out my friend and co-worker Jack when I made the decision to learn how to play casino poker. Jack is an excellent Seven-Card Stud player, who has over six years experience playing winning poker. I asked him some questions about playing in the casino and poker in general. I told him I had decided to learn how to play Texas Hold'em. He said that he had just started learning the game himself. He wanted to expand his horizons and have another game to play when the waiting list for stud got too long. The timing was perfect, as now we both would have someone to discuss the game and strategies with.
I attribute part of my early success with the game to the discussions that we had. I learned that some of the situations I encountered at the table were not unique, as Jack had similar experiences as he was learning the game. This is one of the advantages to having someone you can talk with honestly about the game.
In the poker room you will meet many different people. If possible you should try to strike up a friendship with other players. Since you already have something in common, it will probably not be too difficult. Some will only be looking out for themselves and will be trying to get an angle on any player they may eventually be playing against. However, many of them are nice people who you will become friendly with if you become a regular at your local cardroom. If you can cultivate a friendship with someone you trust and can share ideas with you, you will both benefit. Some friendships will develop under strange circumstances.
During my first tournament win at Foxwoods, the match was down to me and three other players. The gentleman I knocked out in fourth position before winning the match was a player named John. He was a true gentleman and was the first to congratulate me after the match was over. We began talking and I explained that I had been learning to play the game and writing about my experiences for my About.com Web site over the last few months. I gave him my card and he e-mailed me the next day to compliment me on my poker articles.
We met at the tournament the next week and, after it was over, John and his son, Dan, and I held an extensive conversation about Texas Hold'em. It was easy to tell that we were both serious about improving our games. We started sharing strategies and had discussions about the game via e-mail. A few months later at the WPO held at Foxwoods, John introduced me to a few of his friends, one of whom is a professional poker player.
Over the next year I met several more players as John had started a little e-mail group. We participate almost daily in discussions about the game through e-mails and ICQ chat. We all became close friends even though some of us did not meet face to face until months after our group had formed. None of us were hesitant about sharing our strategies with each other and we all benefited from our combined knowledge.
Networking is a word that is sometimes used for developing professional contacts that can be beneficial to all parties involved. When you try to establish friendships in the cardroom, you are in essence "networking." In the poker world, the biggest network of players is the Rec. Gambling Poker Newsgroup on the Internet. Thousands of players share ideas daily via e-mail and network amongst themselves. In a way, our little group could be considered a smaller private network of dedicated poker players. That's the way it started but it soon became a group of trusted friends who have all helped each other to improve.
It just goes to show you how friendships can develop under strange circumstances. John was a gracious loser and our conversation when he congratulated me after the tournament turned into a winning situation for both of us. Don't hesitate to talk with other
players or congratulate a winner. You may just make a friend or two who can help you improve your game.
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Tags: casino poker, learning the game, poker, poker room, stud player, winning poker
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I entered the tournament on Saturday June 17, 2000. There were 78 players with 74 re-buys. The total tournament chips in play, $152,000.
I started the tournament and won a small hand in level one. When we started level two, I made a re-buy giving me another $1,000 in chips. I had awful luck. I raised with pocket Jacks only to get beaten by Kings. The next hand I had pocket 7s and lost that one. I also raised with pocket Queens and had those beaten. At the end of level two, I had only $700 left. I thought I would be lucky to make it to the first break.
I did nothing in level three, but came back with a big hand before the break. I had $2,175 in chips at the break. I was moved to two different tables after the first break, I held my own in levels 5 and 6 and 7. My last move was to table one where I had $8,000 right before the second break. At the second break there were 12 players left. Nine would make it to the final table. The blinds were $1,000 and $1,500.1 stole the small blind. Two players were knocked out the next hand and the final table was set. We drew numbers for seats. I drew the five seat. I had $9,000 starting the final table. I was number seven out of nine for chip position. The chip leader was a woman who had stacks of $1,000 chips. I honestly thought she had a lock on the number one spot. I remember thinking I would play tight and hope the two players with fewer chips would get out before me. A funny thing happened.
One of the players with fewer chips was named Phil. He had $3,000 and drew the number one seat making him the small blind. He had to post $1,500. He folded the first hand and I did the same. The next hand I looked at my cards and found Pocket Rockets staring at me. I thought to myself, this is it. I'm either going out with a blaze of glory, or taking it to the bank. The player under the gun called all in and I raised. Everyone folded to Phil who went all in. The small blind called and John the big blind re-raised me. I capped it all in. The flop was Ah-7c-8c. The Turn was Jack of hearts. The river brought a Ten of hearts. John turned over pocket Kings. I had three Aces to take the side pot. Phil turned K-Q of hearts for a Royal Flush. He won the smaller original pot and got a free Foxwoods jacket for having a Royal Flush. I was lucky that Phil was all in otherwise I would have been eliminated. This was the turning point of the game for me.
I got a few powerful hands in a row. I played them aggressively and started hitting the flops. As the blinds went up the players all became more cautious. I was accumulating chips and started to get more aggressive. As I did I was winning more hands. I was in the zone, because all of a sudden I remember someone saying, "Looks like a new chip leader. I looked down at my stack of $1,000 chips and realized it was I. One player made another comment about me grabbing all the chips. I smiled and said I must be a "Chip Magnet." That moniker stuck with me the rest of the match. Being the chip leader wields a certain amount of power. I was able to take a lot of hands by bullying my way with raises. I did use a certain tactic. I made sure that I would occasionally show my big winning hand after everyone folded. This way they were never sure if I was bluffing or had the power to back up the bets. Now I was able to coast a little and let a few other players knock each other out. When we started the final round I was hoping to be able to outlast a few of the players to gain more of the prize money. By the time we got down to four, I had only one thing on my mind: winning! At this point I did not care about the prize money I did not want any deals cut. I wanted to be able to walk away with the win.
We were finally down to three players. I had six or seven times more chips as the woman who was the original chip leader when we started the final table. Dale, the number three player, was a little behind her and asked her if she wanted to chop the money for second and third. She said no way. She eventually lost to him. Now
there were the two of us. Dale asked me if I wanted to make a deal— I said, "No thank you." I had him by a substantial lead and I had to see this through. We battled back and forth but the cards were holding out for me. The blinds were $5,000 and $10,000.
On the final hand I posted the small blind and Dale posted the $10,000 big blind, leaving him with $4,000. I was dealt pocket 8s. I called and he raised all in, and the dealer dealt the final cards. 4-4-2-T.
He flipped over an Ace and 6 and said, "You better be able to beat this." I turned over my pocket 8s. I extended my hand and said, "Nice match." He shook it and congratulated me on my win. It's hard to describe my feelings at the end. The adrenaline rush and excitement of my first tournament win will stay with me for a long time. It is definitely one of the most memorable experiences I have had in the casinos.
I have the utmost respect for all the players who competed in the tournament. I did not see one incident of poor sportsmanship. I also have a great deal of respect for the staff and dealers at Foxwoods. They run a first-class tournament.
I took the next week off to fly to Las Vegas for vacation. I returned two weeks later and repeated my first-place finish. Two first place finishes in a row added to my desire to play more tournaments. Since then, I have made many more final table appearances, and have had many more tournament wins.
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Tags: blinds, cards, pocket rockets, poker