Poker Winning and Losing This section is a guide how to win in poker for the long rin - for other poker tips, poker game variations Rules, and everything else be sure to check out these links: Winning Poker, Poker Tips, Poker Hands, Poker Psychology, Poker Pros and Casino

Poker Winning and Losing From time to time over the years — and against my better judgment — I have taken a player under my wing, coached him or her along, and have tried to help improve his or her Poker. The results have been mixed. Most are playing better than they would have otherwise, but not all have turned from losers into poker winners. Sometimes I wonder why people don’t listen. I sat down in a $20-$40 Poker to the right of such a protיgי-friend to socialize and see if I could help him with his Poker. He is a good (but not great) player, and has correct hand selection skills and good intuition. However, he lacks the conceptual knowledge, experience, and mental toughness required to become a great player. He had lost on the two previous days and was stuck again. Halfway through my first lap, I picked up two b]ack queens. An early-position player raised the pot and I made it $60. My friend mucked pocket sevens behind me. The flop came J-10-7. He would have flopped a set that would have won the pot. After the hand, he smacked the table and almost shouted at me, “See, you take control of the Poker and blow me out of pots.” He was right to a certain extent. Taking control of the table through aggression is a big part of winning hold’em play. I smiled and teased, “I may be your worst nightmare to win the battle, but I’m your best hope to win the war.” And there’s no question that this was true, too. His net edge against the field is significantly reduced with me in the Poker, but the knowledge that he gains in those situations should more than make up for it over the long haul. He knows this and I know this, but at that very moment, he just didn’t care. He was stuck and steaming. Hating to see my friend down, I tried to make the situation positive. “You made the right texas lottery play. You should pat yourself on the back,” I told him. Calling three bets cold with a small or medium pair is horrible, especially when the reraise is from a tight player and the pot is likely to be played only three-handed. That pot had $370 in it, and likely would have been larger had he played poker. On a three-day skid, the $500 at the moment was a lot more important to him than playing correctly. Being “results oriented” can get you in a lot of trouble. You will be emotionally affected when you lay down poor hands that should have won. Also, when you see medium-quality and poor hands taking pots, you will be tempted to play them. All of this will devastate your hourly win, and will turn a fair winner into a loser. Just this one mistake will cause problems. Having explained the wisdom of laying down the pocket pair, I expounded on the importance of always making the right play and ignoring the results. My friend didn’t want to hear it. He needed the money. The next pot, the next hour, and today’s win were the important things, so he wanted to press, and take cattis off in marginal situations. The correcthess of the play made no difference to him. My friend changed Pokers, figuring that the short- term advantage of not playing in my Poker was more important than the long- term advantage of solid professional advice. His correct play in this spot was to sit tight, play tight, and analyze situations— in short, to learn. But he was in a short-term results mood.