Read, Watch and Practice
I agree with most of what's been said in this thread. Here's my spin.
First of all, read. Know the game. Learn the statistics and the strategies. Not necessarily because you are going to use all the strategies you read about, but because other players read and will use them and you can capitalize on that. For instance, most books I've read say to never, ever, let yourself blind out. It seems like a macho thing to the writers, insinuating that you're a wimp if you allow yourself to blind out. Kind of like better to go out with a bang than a whimper. I disagree because it depends on the circumstances.
Last night I was advancing admirably to the final table of
ignition's $2,500 freeroll.
This game is open to Ignition's chrome members. It took me a year and a half to become a chrome member while playing nothing but their micro SnGs. I've consistently placed in the coin in this weekly tournament, and I have no doubt I'll eventually make it to their final table and may even win the tournament some day. Not bad to consistently place in the coin in tournaments with almost 3,000 starters.
After making it to the coin last night, my pocket kings got cracked by an ace on the river. He called my all-in after the flop with nothing but ace high. If I had won that pot, I would have been chip leader in the tournament and would have almost been guaranteed to make it to the final table. As it was, my stack became critical. According to most books, a player should become all-out aggressive with whatever cards they hold, even 72, and accept the $.75 payout should they lose. Instead, I entered slow mode, allowing the timer a little extra time before folding. Not enough to become a major nuisance, but enough for the payouts to advance. I went all in with AJ on what would have been my last blind and won the pot, buying a little more time and a few more rounds of play. I finally finished #80 with $5.75. I'd much rather finish the tourney with $5.75, rather than $.75.
Second, watch videos. YouTube has a ton of them. CardsChat has an excellent PDF and video on how to think and play like a pro and improve your game. Utilize them.
Third, practice. Join a site like
intertops that not only has the weekly CardsChat
freerolls, as well as other affiliate freerolls, but also has daily freerolls of their own. Play them all and build winning strategies that work for you. My winning strategy consists of simple charts I've made up and use while playing. They work better for me rather than utilizing
odds calculators. And they help keep me grounded. I'm working on a manuscript to hopefully publish a book someday that describes my charts and winning strategies that work for me. Find what works for you. Maybe, I'll be starting a blog soon. I'll let you know.
Until then, keep at it and may the Poker Gods favor your play.
