Secrets of Success: Read His Mind

Date: June 13, 2008

Humans are designed to think whether they like it or not. While animals live to preserve their gene pool, a huge part of being human means to relentlessly think for the sake of something larger than life, for the sake of survival.

It goes without saying that in order to be a victor and survive the game of Poker, sharpness of the mind shall be used.

Being sharp does not mean that you have to be academically intelligent, it means that you have to be knowledgeable. Sharpness in the game of player means knowing how to properly deal with your own game, your opponents and most importantly knowing how to deal with your skills.

The line that separates a good Poker player from a winning Poker player is the willingness to constantly learn, observe, and adapt.

Successful poker players survive because of self control and eyes that carefully read each opponent. Do not bother playing player if you do not have self control and is impatient. You will only lose. Self control is about the art of suppressing your emotions so you can carefully analyze the exact situation you are in, which in turn, will help you make wise decisions.

The greatest poker players are like journalists who are always eager and always on the look out for more information that will lead them to discover something big. For instance, what will you do if you are faced with a player who might be bluffing? Do not make the mistake of stereotyping that player. Instead, what you do is just observe that player until you can gradually see his intentions and his real position. When you observe, you learn. Remember that.

If you think observing is mind reading then you can put it that way. You can attempt to read or decipher the ulterior motive of your opponent by observing both his actions and expressions. Your opponent’s verbal and facial expressions can help you crack the code you are looking for. Once you have cracked his style, you can now freely anticipate each move he makes. But be careful not to draw any conclusions yet.

Though anticipation is critical in a game of player, it does not mean that you will not prepare yourself for any backfire. You have to make sure that you can adapt well to every situation you might get yourself into. Losing is not an option and anticipation does not always equate money.

The game of player, like evolution, is all about survival. In order for you to survive, you need to observe. Observing allows you to learn and be vigilant to the possible dangers around you. Keep in mind that observing is the only way to learn and learning is the only way to cultivate success.

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Secrets of Success: Manage the Pot Size

Date: June 4, 2008

Many less experienced poker players are likely to take for granted their ways to handle the pot. Though live or Online Poker players naturally do not bet a thousand chips into a hundred chip pot, they still fail to practice the fundamentals of managing the pot size and making suitable bets that will eventually lead them to success.

Reading and choosing the best tips and strategies in Poker Reviews may help you maximize your profits and minimize your losses but the trick is still about how you manage the pot size.

One will notice frequently that Poker players make large sized bets for what they want to earn, and because of this mistake, they tend to lose control of their hand. For instance, consider you are in a free game where rules are loose, and you are in possession of K-10 which is not suited in the button. A player limped before you, you called, tiny blind also called, and the huge blind checked to see the free flop.

The flop came as 10d-7c-3h. You are in possession of the leading pair and tend to be holding the best of the best hand, even if it there is a chance that a single player with A-10 would’ve called the pot preflop. The action is then to check you, what are you going to do now?

Apparently, you are going to bet. But the question is, how much? One may be tempted to place a large bet here but, considering the situation, a large bet can easily backfire. One can easily beat a top pair, if someone is holding an ace and hits it on the turn. In addition, considering that the game has been lenient, one should expect callers.

Placing a smaller bet is indeed advisable in this situation since it will make one to escape the hand cheaply if the turn card helps one of your opponents.

“Placing a bet signals that you have a hand, making it possible to take the pot on the turn if nobody improves their hand, and your bet will not commit too many chips to the pot, making it painful to let go of the hand that you have if one of your opponents shows aggression on the turn.If you make a bet near the size of the pot, you’re going to want to continue with the hand even if an ace comes on the turn and the chances become very good that you are beat, simply because the pot is large and contains a lot of your chips,” said PokeronaMac

Betting too many chips is a good example of how you are forcing yourself into making painful decisions that you could have avoided by making a smaller bet. Again, tailoring the size of your bets to your situation is what should be done.

No matter what or how many Poker strategies you employ but if you do not match your bet to the pot size, you will lose. You have to be aware of the strength of your hand compared to the likely holdings of your opponents. The game of Poker is about making wise decisions and doing the correct plays at the right time.

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Secrets of Success: Philosophy Applied to Poker

Date: May 29, 2008

In a podcast discussion, a man said that the correct attitude in playing poker – the one you should always strive to have – is that you are always even when the hand begins. No matter what has happened previously – play your hand for what it’s worth now.

He made sure to make a mental note to follow his own advice. It is sound advice – one of those things that’s easy to grasp intellectually, but damned hard to put into practice as players unconsciously and constantly struggle with the concept.

It’s never easy to see your play as one long poker game. Engaging in some deep poker pondering this week the speaker put all his efforts to understand game theory,

He said that he was re-reading a discussion of applications of game theory and ended up pondering Emmanuel Kant’s categorical imperative which states:

“Act only on such a maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law”

While the intention behind the imperative is aimed at the principles of morality, it got him to wondering what would happen if it was applied to the decisions we are faced with when playing poker. Was it even applicable? The following example of Kant’s imperative he mentioned further intrigued me.

“Always borrow money when in need and promise to pay it back without any intention of keeping the promise”

If you try to follow this maxim logically, you will discover that, whereas this maxim is beneficial to the individual, it cannot be regarded as a universal law – everyone would then be insincere that people would break promises, making them irrelevant, therefore they’d cease to exist. This maxim is nothing but a contradiction since, ultimately, it’s not in an individual’s best interest to break the promise. If you can keep a promise, why will you break it?

But is there a dictum for a poker player to act on that given that he is willed, could become a universal poker law? For the poker player it’s naturally his individual interest to try to make the correct decision on each hand. It is not in his vested interest for his opponents to do the same. Success in poker is dependent upon making wise +EV decisions while your opponents make -EV mistakes. If everyone is making the “correct” play all the time then, theoretically, at best you will break even over the long term. Right?

Poker, then, i assume, would seem to require a little chaos and unpredictability in order for the individual to achieve ongoing gain. Therefore, Kant’s categorical imperative isn’t applicable.

Even so, if you think about how far you have reached when it comes to playing poker, philosophizing the events and strategy you employed will really help since thinking deep about it will not only motivate you more to do well in a game, it will also help you understand your who or what you are in relation to poker.

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Secrets of Success: Poker Strategy Forums

Date: May 17, 2008

Don’t you know that by being active
in a Poker Forum, you are improving
your Online Poker strategy? Well,
now you that you know there won’t
be any reason for you not to win.

Many Poker players, especially those
who are just starting to know what
Online Poker can offer, do not
know that Poker Forums are home
to a treasure trove of Poker strategies related information. Poker Forums allow you to speak your mind and exchange ideas with fellow Online Poker enthusiasts. Some of the best Poker Forums, usually have discussions about Poker math topics like EV (Expected Value), calculating outs, and pot odds and the difference between implied odds and reverse implied odds.

To maximize the benefits of Poker Forums, given the fact that you are already a member, you should be willing to share some of your ideas, Poker strategies, and Poker tips to other members. If you give quality advices, expect that other members will also share some of their best Online Poker practices.

For example, if there is a great article written on how to play 7 card stud this would be a great topic to share in a Poker Forum because it is very topic specific and provides clear, solid advice that most beginning to intermediate Poker players would find very beneficial.

Again, for the nth time, the higher uality advice you give, the more likely other members are to provide quality poker advice also. That is the secret everyone wants to know instead of throwing huge dollars on a private Poker coach, or losing a massive amount of hard earned cash jsut because you think that experimenting with new plays and ideas will make you a pro. You do not need to waste away more money. You can learn from the mistakes of others and also from their successes and from there you will enhance your skill and hopefully win the money that you truly deserve.

PokerStrategyForums.com is among the favorites of many Online Poker enthusiasts. The forum has a very Web 2.0 look and feel, the members are friendly, the forum is moderated, meaning spammy posts and rude members are not tolerated, and best of all it is run by experienced professional Online Poker players who provide high quality advice to improve your Online Poker gaming experience.

Some Poker Forums have also partnered with some of the best web sites on the net to provide you with other Online Poker related information like Poker Reviews, Poker Rooms and updates on High Stakes Poker players who are winning or losing hundred thousand dollars on any given day playing just by playing Online Poker.

Poker Forums, are just there to guide you. Even if you have the best resources an Online Poker player can have, but you if lack the focus and the determination to seize what you know is yours then maybe, you really deserve to lose. But for those few who really have the drive to win, not only money is waiting for them, but also the glorious feeling of being celebrated because their efforts have finally paid off.

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