Poker Strategy

Poker, Chance and Grasshoppers?

Not grasshoppers as in the little green insects that bounce around outside; grasshoppers as in students; as in you.

For this conversation lets jump back into high school, or college, math class. Picture your teacher or professor standing before you; with a piece of white chalk in his/her hands ready to scrawl notes across the ugly green board. Slowly the teacher scribbles some words down, and they come into focus.

Poker = Chance

Chance = The possibility of being wrong about the current predicament.

Being wrong = A loss.

One very important thing that all poker players often forget while sitting at a felt table is that poker is indeed a game of chance. Even a very skilled veteran can be beaten in mere seconds due to an unlucky turn of the cards. No player at the table, or even the dealer for that matter, has control over what cards are dealt or even what cards are flopped. Skilled veterans have the experience to scope out situations and decide which move is the best to make; such as fold, call or bet but they never can truly predict what cards the dealer will flip next (unless of course they are counting cards which is considered illegal in the poker world).

Many players; novice and intermediate players alike (even some veterans) , get a little too confident during a win streak. Sometimes the round in motion is enough to blur any man’s vision, but poker is very much like chess; in that if you only look at the present instead of the entire scheme of things, before long you will be broke. In chess it is very important to look at the board and anticipate your opponent’s moves; as well as plan your next few moves before you even make them. This will ensure that you don’t make any common mistakes; and reinforce your overall scheme.

Poker must be played in the same fashion as chess. Never just rely on the chance that good cards will turn up, or that good moves will open themselves up to you. Plan not only on your next move; but moves that should be made in the round’s ahead. Which opponents are the strongest at the table; and which should you focus on pushing out first? Do you have enough money to keep going in the next few rounds if you lose a large bet? Is it possible that your opponents could call or raise at their next chance and cause a loss of profit for you?

Thinking ahead is very important in the game of poker; and because the entire game relies solely on chance, always be prepared to adapt or evolve your overall scheme. If it’s one big advantage that veterans have over the rest of the players around them; it is the fact that they are able to adapt on the fly based on any situation that presents itself to them. If they sense a weakness, they adapt their game-plan and use it; just as well as if they sense a strength in their opponents; then they adapt their game to avoid whatever that strength may be.

At any moment even with the strongest hand at the entire table, the odds could be turned against any player; all it takes is an unlucky draw of the cards. There is no such thing as an all powerful god-like player in the game of poker; even the best pros out there have losing streaks which can sometimes be long and treacherous. Good luck can dry up at any moment; and one simple mistake can toss away millions upon millions of dollars.

Poker is a dangerous game yes, especially after knowing about how easy it is to lose everything. That is exactly why it is important to understand that you are not in control over the game. In a sense you are not the master but the game of poker is; you are merely the apprentice with which your job is to examine and learn.

Every game you play is a chance to learn more and more about the game of poker; even if you are the greatest poker pro in the world. The learning curve never ends, there are always more lessons, skills, strategies, and ideals to learn; there is no top tier so to speak.

So, it is time to realize that you must play the game of poker with a new understanding. The understanding that you are in fact not in complete control over the game, or in control over the draw of the cards. The only thing you can remain in control over are your emotions, and your current scheme or plan. Be ready to adapt your game strategy based on any situation that befalls you. Without a doubt, always, always anticipate the chance of a loss even with the strongest hand in the game. The anticipation of a loss will give you the chance to minimize the overall loss of profit as well.

Now go, my grasshopper; and reach a place of zen during your next game of poker. Become one with the felt.