Things you wish you knew from the start

I wish I knew that I didn't have to win every battle to win the war. It would make it so much easier on my earlier years playing poker to know that I didn't have to go crazy to try to win every pot. That I had time to grow as a poker player and I could take it easy and built slowly instead of trying to rush everything.

What's something you wish you knew from the start as a poker payer?

I can list several things: good bankroll management, how to fold big hands including AA in unfavorable situations (like you said, that I didn't have to win every battle), being able to deal with bad beats and avoid tilt, and just the amount of discipline and patience it takes to succeed at poker. Its a marathon not a sprint.

You see you said it there things you wish you knew from the start is impossible as it was only by learning playing and making mistakes that you can gain experience as this takes time I would not beat myself up over this.Experience only comes with time I wish I knew how long it would take me to win that big tournament and now am starting to think that if I win Sunday million or similar tourney in decade or 2 time I will only break even lol keep dreaming the dream but living the nightmare good luck.

I just wish I could go back in time when holdem started.

It's very hard for me to build stacks these days. People are either playing the nuts or folding the junk. which makes it very hard to build stacks.People were not very knowledgeable at the beginning of holdem or so I'm told. Wish I had just what I know now when it all started.

I was playing online around the boom and watched it grow into a situation that I was in the final table of a lot of tourneys just by paying patient and catching people who bluffed and try to squeeze and play aggressive. Now not a lot of player do that in mid to high stakes, and the low stakes are just as big of a crap shoot as they ever where.

bluffing is actually an advanced concept.

I find with small stake or freeroll poker is that players and thats a nice term for these people will go all in with anything and even if you have a premium hand you can still easily get out drawn. I try to be patient but as the blinds rise you are forced to play these coin toss hands or just be blinded out anyway, you need to have luck on your side and not so much skill at the game, It's a shame that these game are like this as i still want to "play" poker otherwise i'd just play the slot machines. Here's to being lucky so that i build enough stake to avoid playing in these type of game's but i will keep trying. If anyone has a magical way of getting through this early stage of a real players journey i would love them to share it here. Thanks Brianj

mjarom21 said:

I wish I knew that I didn't have to win every battle to win the war. It would make it so much easier on my earlier years playing poker to know that I didn't have to go crazy to try to win every pot. That I had time to grow as a poker player and I could take it easy and built slowly instead of trying to rush everything.

What's something you wish you knew from the start as a poker payer?

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I have same kind of thoughts as you do. You could almost say that I felt ashamed if I didn't win every pot I was in. That of course didn't end up well so I would definitely told myself now that it's okay to give up and lose the pot, and that it doesn't make you a bad or weak player.

I also wish that I would've known more about bankroll management, pot control and that patience is the key. That pocket pairs don't make you invincible and that someone CAN indeed have a better hand than you do even when you are holding something strong (but not the nuts). I wish that someone would have also said that bluffing is actually not that big of a deal because I first thought that poker was all about bluffing.

Man, there are so many things I didn't know back then that I can't even list all of them. Basically everything I'm just glad that I started to study the game more. All that losing made me eventually think that I must be doing something wrong. Luckily I was smart enough to realize that poker is a game of skill and that means that you can become better at it.

i wish i started when it was the poker boom. i think it would have been better in term of opponents in those periods

Without question: Bankroll Management as #1.

I have played for years and have seen my fair share of wins and losses. What has made me different is literally playing within my bankroll. I used to make money quickly in cash games and think that I can just put it all out on the line. It works and you're doing well then, BOOM you crash on a hand even if you had them beat when you have your money in. It is something that I take very seriously now and is my objective in playing poker for now on.


You can win as much as you want but you if you don't have funds when you lose, you're bust!

Everything is an advanced concept when done right. But back in the boom days people saw their favorite pro bluff so they bluffed away most of their chip stacks, just to do it, with little to no thought on what they were even rapping. Now people bluff with a little more intent behind it, in situations where it makes probable sense.

As we all no freeroll poker and small stake is a bit of a mine field so i love to hear peoples opions on what stake or type of poker do players games become more serious or played with skill and not blind luck. Thanks brianj

"I wish I knew that I didn't have to win every battle to win the war". Reminded me of "Napoleão Bonaparte". You are right! What’s the good of establish hegemony quickly growing up? The fall can be more painful... GL

mjarom21 said:

I wish I knew that I didn't have to win every battle to win the war. It would make it so much easier on my earlier years playing poker to know that I didn't have to go crazy to try to win every pot. That I had time to grow as a poker player and I could take it easy and built slowly instead of trying to rush everything.

What's something you wish you knew from the start as a poker payer?

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I wish I knew that poker was going to be loose cannon game because it is so difficult to play tight and conservative when players are calling stations.

we all get better if we focus. My lessons are many. However, I am more patient now an win more often.

That `bad beats` happen,,,,and take even the best of players out of games.We need enough chips to sustain those to play on and get deeper in tournaments.

I asked this because if you can look back and wish you knew something that you didn't know at the beginning, than that means you have learned something and grown as a player. Lessons that are told and lessons that are learned are not the same. I know that everything, not just in poker, I've had to learn myself through trial and error, sticks with me a lot harder than thinking I was told or just heard from somebody.


And yeah Terryk: All in all, poker is a game of luck, but with more chips one can always survive without it.

I can't describe definite things. I consider myself as a novice so every day I cook it mistakes. And fortunately I notice some of them. For example, I called where I shouldn't have needed, or the opposite I didn't call where I could win.

the beginning of the way

I started playing a couple of three months ago, and could not boast of a single victory ... Until now. Let not the first but the big one! (I hope not the last one) It's possible to consider that it was with her that my poker life began.

I agree with most people here, that number 1 to really take care of is one's bankroll management. Sure you can win at cash games if you have skill and luck, but you don't have to always go all in every time after you win some, this is what happens to many who are just beginning to learn the game. Second for me is to have lots of patience. Without it, you will always rush yourself to make unsound decisions you may regret in the end. Third, learn the art of bluffing - like Phil Ivey. I love that man's backstory!

I wished to know that you dont need to every you lose to quickly return your invested money.

I would like to know from the beginning that your first goal to win in poker is not to lose ... you should not rush to win because you end up taking unnecessary risks and therefore you end up losing ...!

One of the things I learned was to play online with a mirror within looking distance. When I transitioned to live games I had developed a few tells due to being by myself. When in a group I was telegraphing certain cues regarding certain hands. Now I am more self aware since I placed that mirror nearby. I'm wondering if there is any AI software out there that can capture my mannerisms in real time as I play online...

The idea is to build your own style of play by watching others and taking something from everyone.

Biggest things I wish I knew from the start were bankroll management, position and starting hand selection.