"Don't be a Poker Pansy." Apparently you can't make a post in the Beginner's Forum without attaching some cheesy phrase to it. That's probably because most beginners are slow thinkers and incapable of comprehending anything beyond basic ABC poker...

Ok, that's not true. New players don't need to be baby talked or otherwise have strategy presented to them in a patronizing manner. If you want to read a story then go find some Dr. Seuss. You can't play winning poker over a significant amount against thinking opponents if you're relying on charts, tables, graphs, recipes, cheat sheets, etc. So, if you want a cookbook, I'd suggest you then find your way to the kitchen instead of a poker table.

I've observed that the vast majority of information and strategy presented to beginners is in a "how to" format. How to play AJs from middle position. How to play a flopped set. How to tie your shoes. How to bake a cake.... I think the reason for this is that it is easy. Yes, it can be very effective as well. It is a shortsighted approach to the game though. It's in essence a get rich quick scheme in that it offers the potential for immediate profits. Such strategies fail to maximize these profits though and are rarely successful beyond the lowest of limits. More damaging is that these strategies, although effective initially, hinder the long term development of a player. Many players that follow such advice have difficulty progressing to higher stakes. They're rigid in their play and don't find success against the thinking players that become more and more common as the stakes increase. They lack the understanding to recognize these changes and how to appropriately adapt to them. They find themselves caught in a cyclical up-down-up-down pattern as they try to move up in stakes. It's a very frustrating experience and a major reason why many people quit playing.

New players need a strong foundation to build their game upon. For the sake of a player's development it's not so important that they simply be told what to do. The crucial aspect is that they understand the reasoning behind their actions. This is the harder route to take. It requires more time and patience. Because of that, short term profit may be less. If you're taking a long term approach to the game though you'll often find that after a slow initial start, the progression to higher stakes can be quite rapid.

If you make an active effort to really learn the game you'll also find it more enjoyable. When you first begin playing it's often all about making money. Ok, that really doesn't change as you become better and move up in stakes. What does happen though is that you'll find the game to be more intellectually stimulating. Following charts and playing ABC poker becomes boring rather quickly. As you start to add additional levels of thinking though the game takes on an entirely different dynamic. It becomes a mental exercise. It becomes poker.

If you're a new player and have any aspirations of playing beyond your current stakes then I encourage you to be a student of the game. I encourage you to study poker theory, play, ask questions, play some more, discuss situations with other players, and then play even more. Poker is like anything else: you get what you put in.


* My intention is to provide information that is less "how to play" and more "how to think." There is a lot of information about how they should be playing (ie. play aggressively), but little on the reasoning behind playing in such a manner. Using this approach, immediate results are of less concern than the long term development. The inherent problem with such an approach is that some of the information may not be fully understood and a lack of experience may cause it to be misapplied.

Although some of the concepts may have less importance at certain stakes, they're certainly not irrelevant. I think it's also important to remember that as one moves up in stakes, these concepts start to become insreasingly more important. Regardless of a player's skill level or the stakes they play, I believe that everyone should at least be aware of them. My ultimate goal is to help ease the transition as one moves up in stakes and to help a good framework for them to become competent, thinking players.

I'm not a theoretician, but I hope some of what I have to say may be of some benefit nonetheless. In addition to essays I'll also be posting hand histories that illustrate certain concepts. I will discussing my thought process through out these hands.