In poker do we create our own luck?

Hello guys, I am a beginner. Honestly, I love playing this game. I need advices. I haven't playing this game with real money last 2 weeks, because I feel unlucky, i hardly see a pair on the board. I play sit&go tournaments. Currently I only have 1 tournament win 4.7 dollars =). I just can not decide when to call the flop. One of my friend said to me, if your card ranking is more than 21 call it he said. ( 10 = 10 jack 11 and so on) . however, I feel it is so strict, as i feel if the people enters the game with 10 up cards at least one of them there is more possibility that you get the other cards for the board. I am not telling, call the flop with pocket 2, 3. At every table, there are people they always calls and raises all the time, and they get huge chip advantage. I faced couple of times that i had a good hand and that player has nothing. i raise he calls all the time. and finally. when the show down , he still has nothing but he wins with a high card, because there higher pairs on the board or he keeps calling until he sees his flush i had 3 pair for example they just dont fold. Is it because, i am playing with no real money, but when I was playing with money i was in tournament some of the guys still calling and raising. I really need a basic advice that gives me very good poker strategy for playing.

So your friend folds pocket Ts preflop [(10 + 10) < 21]?

You won't get very basic advice that gives you "very good" strategy. In order to get good you must learn alot. If you learn a little, you will only play moderately less bad than before.

Also, just to elaborate, the whole "call if your cards equal more than 21" is retarded. Your friend is playing incredibly incorrect, and is trying to pass of incorrect advice to friends. Do not take his advice. This isn't blackjack.

Next, read some articles if you want to improve. They are easily one of the best resources for improving. Much better than asking a buddy when he likes to hold them, and when he likes to fold them.

We can't just give you a cut and dry, do this, and this, and you will win type strategy. Poker is much more complex than that. In order to be considered good, you must learn to interpret and understand all facets of the decision you are being faced with. You must understand what makes a play correct, and when the make that play.

In regards to luck, it's overrated. There is no luck, there is only statistics.

I would try watching some of the videos here on FTR and see how the real game is played. And yes they suck and play very weird/bad when you play for chips and not cash.

Here are some videos
http://www.flopturnriver.com/poker-videos

Originally Posted by onqun

In poker do we create our own luck?.

sacrifice a few goats, then enjoy the feast

Like Stacks said... luck is simply the statistics of small samples.

On a slightly different tack, yes we do create our own luck in poker. We create it by improving our skills, playing using those skills, and the luck will come. It is the same in any sport/competition, prepare voraciously and the luck will appear to come... of course it won't be luck at all.

Start in the beginners digest, read the documents there, absorb them, play, read them again and then re-absorb them, play... kind of like shampoo... rinse repeat, lather rinse repeat...

Then start posting hands here that give you trouble.

Originally Posted by XxStacksxX

So your friend folds pocket Ts preflop [(10 + 10) < 21]?

You won't get very basic advice that gives you "very good" strategy. In order to get good you must learn alot. If you learn a little, you will only play moderately less bad than before.

Also, just to elaborate, the whole "call if your cards equal more than 21" is retarded. Your friend is playing incredibly incorrect, and is trying to pass of incorrect advice to friends. Do not take his advice. This isn't blackjack.

Next, read some articles if you want to improve. They are easily one of the best resources for improving. Much better than asking a buddy when he likes to hold them, and when he likes to fold them.

We can't just give you a cut and dry, do this, and this, and you will win type strategy. Poker is much more complex than that. In order to be considered good, you must learn to interpret and understand all facets of the decision you are being faced with. You must understand what makes a play correct, and when the make that play.

In regards to luck, it's overrated. There is no luck, there is only statistics.

There is luck, but only in the short term. The only way to win at poker is to think long term and make the plays that are correct, i.e., that will make you money in the long term.

The reason you need to keep a large bankroll is because of luck. Even if you make the right play and shove your chips in as an 80 percent favorite, you will lose your whole stack 1 in 5 times and can even, improbably, lose it 3 or 4 times in a row. So you keep enough buy-ins that you can rebuy and stay at the level long enough to outlast the bad luck.

(Think of a coin flip. It is absolutely standard that even though it is 50-50, the coin may, if flipped enough, come up tails 6 times in a row or something. But if you are in it for the long haul-- you flip it 10,000 times-- it is likely to come out very close to 5,000 heads and 5,000 tails. Luck controls in the short term, but is irrelevant in the long term.)

Poker is a very lucky game in the short term but virtually no luck involved long term. If you play enough hands, everyone will see just about the same frequency of everything for better or worse. I've noticed the best players seem to focus on the best decisions while the worst players try to predict their luck or have a feeling about something or have to change seats because they are unlucky or ask for a deck change or a million other things that have NOTHING to do with poker.

Thank you for your wonderful advices.