$nidely's Newbie Journal

[$nidely]

Hi: I'm mostly a forum reader rather than a contributor, but it was brought to my attention that this may not be altogether fair, so I decided the most useful thing I could do would be to keep a journal of my forays into the world of Internet Gambling. I appreciate any and all feedback to these entries, and will gladly respond to all questions. Some of my thoughts will be specific to the internet aspect, and some just to poker in general.

$nidely

[$nidely]

First a little about my poker background: this will help you to see if this thread will be of any use to you. I have played poker for years, mostly draw and stud, and always live. With the rise in popularity of Hold em, I began playing that and did pretty well. A few Poker houses opened in my town and I played 2-5 times a month. I usually won or broke close to even. Not enough to quit the day job, but enough to keep it fun and keep playing for free. Then, the Stalinistic and Puritanical powers that be decided to close the poker houses. {I expect them to reopen whenever the local gov't finds a way to get their cut} I then decided to try internet poker and here we are...

$nidely

[GypsyTea]

I like this idea $nidely, I look forward to reading your journal. You do not give us any back ground on your self, How old are you? What experience have you in Poker? When did you start playing poker? Whats your favourite poker game?

Anyway Good Luck, if you need any help just shout

Playwell, Good Luck in the swamp

Regards

The Gypsy

[GypsyTea]

BTW, $nid's mate if you are opening a new computer account, please give some thought to the forums server links,on 4kingpoker.com site, Bob puts the money he gets from them into forums league's, so it helps the members out a hell of a lot, also if you read Bob's reviews he tells it as it is, with NO bull shit.
Thanks

[$nidely]

Surprized to have a reader so soon. To answer your questions I'm a 45 yr old male and have been playing poker for well over 20 yrs. I consider myself to be above average, but no pro by any means. I play mostly on Pokerstars, but also on Full Tilt and Bodog. I play Holdem for the most part, but recently won a ticket to an Omaha tourney and I find that I like Omaha. Not crazy about Hi/Lo though. I find Omaha has really helped me in my Holdem games and I recommend it to anyone. I have yet to make a cash deposit to any site, and won't until i feel i've improved some. Internet is a totally different game from real life poker

[$nidely]

My first, and probably most important, piece of advice is PATIENCE. If it seems everyone is playing fast and you're getting left behind...PATIENCE. If you're halfway through a freeroll and you're one of the smaller stacks...PATIENCE. Instead of busting yourself out of a tournament when it's not necessary to get in a race...PATIENCE. This is on of my biggest problems and I have to continually remind myself to be patient. I play a lot of freerolls on Pokerstars and I now make the payoff almost every time. There seem to be enough bad players and overly aggressive players that if you just show patience and only play good solid hands, you have a better than fair chance of making it to the end. Of course bad beats are always a part of the game, but thats just the nature of the beast. If I haven't yet made my point...PATIENCE...PATIENCE...PATIENCE

$nidely

[$nidely]

There are a few basic mistkes that I see a lot on the tables. I'm no pro, so take or leave this advice as you see fit. "Don't draw to a straight with a flush draw on the board" To me, a flush draw is Three of a suit on the board.

$nidely

[$nidely]

Give up on the Flush draw if the board pairs. There is too much chance that a full house is there.

[$nidely]

Set your options so you can show your hand if you want to. I try to establish myself as a tight player who only plays good hands. When you have made a good play with a solid hand, Show Your Cards. Don't do this often. I only do it when I'm at a new table, and then only once or twice. This makes it easier to play marginal hands and get away with it.

$nidely

[$nidely]

This is just a rule I've developed for myself since I started internet play. I won't play a marginal hand if two or more players before me have called the blind.

$nidely