Hmmm - lightbulb and an apology

[andy334]

Hi Guys,

For any of you that have read my previous posts you will have grasped my drift that on-line poker sucks. God - I love the game - I just find on-line poker the most infuriating thing going.

On numerous occasions I have criticised everything from other players, the dealer, the gods and even, on really bad occasions - my mother for giving birth to me (yeah ok - I know some of you will agree with the latter!).

Anyway - I recently came on-line to 4KP with the intention of posting a thread asking advice on exactly what "position" means and how it influences the game as, to be honest, I just did not get it. Having played on-line for over 6 years now I was a little embarrassed by this admission so I did not post the thread but went on-line to look up the answer.

I read an article by a guy who explained exactly what it all meant and how "position" could be used to good effect. He also posted several items relating to "best and worst hands" and how to generally play the game - something I have never really bothered with before.

I think I took on board most of what he suggested so last night I entered 2 games to try out my new found skills with the following results.....

PokerStars Tournament #183606596, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $10.00/$1.00 USD
1835 players
Total Prize Pool: $18350.00 USD

6: Andy8334 (Gillingham), $734.01 (4%)

PokerStars Tournament #183606574, Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $4.00/$0.40 USD
605 players
Total Prize Pool: $2420.00 USD

5: Andy8334 (Gillingham), $127.06 (5.25%)

Just made the money in a game this evening as well so showing a good profit overall. And this comes to my "lightbulb" moment.

How on earth did I play poker before?? Now I actually understand some of the abuse I used to receive "How could you play in that position" etc etc.

Bottom line - could I please apologise to anyone that I may have upset previously with my comments. I totally accept that, afterall, it was not the dealer, the cards or even my mother that was at fault it was myself.

I appreciate that the 2 games above included a lot of luck and it may have been that, rather than my improved game that was the difference but, at least at this moment, I am feeling a lot more positive about my game.

Anyway - as I have always said - willing to learn - probably now more than ever.

Regards - Andy

[villaridge]

Nice post Andy. Hey, the good news is that you are learning. The bad news is knowledge will still not help at times (see varience.)

But it is great that you have had an "A-Haa" moment, that any winning poker player gets to. It is NOT about the site, It is NOT about the other player, It is NOT about the cards, It is NOT about tilt. IT IS ABOUT YOU. What YOU know, What YOU Learn, What you do after a bad beat, What YOU do after donkeys rape you, What mental state YOU play with, What YOU do to learn higher theory, What YOU do with BRM

Poker is a YOU against the world game. Poker is variables/luck/skill/hunches/knowledge thrown in a blender (varience again, beware of it).

But one of the first major hurdles to pass in poker, is realizing, it's not about the other guy. Congrats on that!!

[scrawnybob]

hi

yep understanding position is definately one of the most important things to get to grips with playing poker either online or live

here is our article on 4kingpoker ...

simple guide to understanding position in poker

which is very short - the concept is really simple but will IMHO be the single most effective way to improve you game and starting hand selection

here is an article from one of my other sites which illustrates starting hand selection based on your position at the table

ie. late position - wider range of hands / early postion (in blinds etc) - narrower range of playble hands

starting hand selection and position (badbeatornot.com)

as villaridge pointed out - sometimes things just arent going your way ... this may help

Tips for dealing with variance in poker

we have over 50 strategy articles here ...

poker strategy

cheers scrawnybob

[nb1961]

yep in tournaments variance is a bitch Like you I won about $700 odd one night at Pokerstars I thought great I'm sorted, do this once a week and I can give up work Now I haven't cashed in a game since at Stars. Lately I've been spacing out my tournament play with double or nothing SnG's to keep a flow of money coming in while I wait for the next big win

Having said all that congrats on your wins and good luck with the next one. Playing tournament is still a whole lot more fun than grinding out cash tables.