Real poker vs Book poker

I saw an article in one of the recent Card Player magazines that I thought would be good to share. I think a lot of the online beginners may find it interesting.

"A friend of mine learned to play, like most of use, by following the content of a basic book. On occasion someone made a play that he did not understand like 3 betting k-9 or raising from the big blind with pocket fours. When he saw this, he naturally assumed that these players were making significant errors because they were not playing the way that he was taught.

Luckily, he was insatiably curious and had some excellent mentors. When he described these plays, usually in the context of how stupid the perpetrator was, he learned that these plays are in fact legitimate under some circumstances. As his understanding grew he started incorporating these plays into his repertoire and is now a feared high limit player."

A lot of you will find that as you move up in limits players will make plays that you don't think are good plays, or that you don't quite understand. Before instantly thinking of them as donks, try to understand why they are doing what they are doing. Try to learn more from the game by playing then by reading. Watch what the other guys are doing and take things away from their games.

Welcome to the world of Street Poker.

we run people off the streets

I wonder if the $ used for books would be better spent on a mentoring/tutor? The interactive (question and answer) options would lead to a more complete poker education.

I read several books when I was starting, harrington on holdem, mcevoy and cloutier's tournament poker, Sklansky, phil gordon's little green book, These opened up my mind and took a little bit of each player's view to build my own style, cloutier was good for tightening up my game, Sklansky helped me with starting hands in position, but there is no substitute for the 10000000+ hands I've played live and online

There's a difference between playing cards and playing poker. Most level 1 and 2 players play cards... level 3 players play poker. The only way to win big is to be unpredictable... it's those unconventional plays that are often the most profitable.

I always equate it to an organized boxing match vs. a dirty knife fight in a back alley.

... but you'll find that all too many online players bring automatic weapons to that knife fight, carelessly spraying deadly bullets everywhere.

Throw everything against the wall ... something has to stick ...

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