A Pay-It-Forward blog

When I first arrived at Railbirds I was probably a 4 on a 1 to 10 scale. I tried to play only good hands but ran into a (dare I say THE) problem. After a while I would begin to lower my standards when impatience set in. I have since solved that problem and now , out of say 10 freerolls, I'll make the money 3 times and the points 5 times (yeah I have good stretches and bad stretches). I am currently (the last time I looked) 76th in the yearly freeroll ranking.

Here are some tips for new players or players that want to improve their game. NOTE: I have intentionally NOT read any other Pay-It-Forward blogs. If any of these ideas appear in other blogs it is purely by coincidence that they appear here. I belive strongly that playing a tight game will get you far. The less experienced you are the tighter you should play. AA, KK, AK, KQsuited maybe QJ suited as pockets. Add a few more of your own choosing and don't go crazy. In this vein I would like to add that AK, in my opinion, is way over played. Its a minor underdog to a pocket pair which will occur 50% of the time on an 8 handed table. Not advising you fold it, just don't over play it. Speaking of overplaying, JJ is not nearly as pretty as it looks. I'll call a BB with it but a raise and a reraise and its in the muck. Yeah, you kick yourself when one comes on the flop but compare that to the times one or more overcards come. Again, you might call a standard raise with it but "don't get cocky" (Han Solo). Another point that I'd like to make, Don't EVER give up! I see it all the time that someone will take a bad beat for most of their chips and immediately go all in the next had with nothing. Depending on the blinds and your balance you usually have the opportunity to look at several hands. I not saying that things aren't bad but don't stop playing. Just a couple of weeks ago I took a hit in the first hour of a tourney and had less than 100 in chips. I wound up 11th in the tourney. Yes its a long shot but if you give up its a no shot.

Now, let me elaborate on a subject touched on earlier, patience. I recently watched the WSOP main event where one of the announcers indicated that Mike Matasou hadn't played a hand in a number of hours. Most of us got started watching poker on TV after Moneymaker won the WSOP main event (why all anybody seems to want to play is Hold'em when there is so much more than that to poker). The way these are edited, one tends to believe that its non stop action. It isn't. If you have trouble being patient (and I'm referring to an almost Zenlike patience). Do something to distract yourself. Play a second table for play money, or, as I have been known to do, play solitaire.

Lastly, let me say this patience, Patience, PATIENCE!

Good luck on the tables.

angster