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I was just like everyone else I jumped on the poker bandwagon after Chris Moneymaker the amateur accountant defied all odds and became the World Series of Poker champion. Watched the movie Rounder’s several times and thought wow this could be an easy way to make money. I read all the books Doyle Brunson’s Power Poker, David Sklanksy’s Theory of Poker book which I highly recommend, probably the best book on poker I have read.
I have played in tournaments in Tampa’s Hard Rock casino, Derby Lane Poker Room in St Petersburg and many Las Vegas poker rooms. Have played online poker mostly at Full Tilt Poker and Poker Stars. At the peak of poker’s popularity thought I would never lose the desire to play it. I never made it to a level that I could even come close to making a living so I can appreciate the Poker pro’s who play poker for a living. it really is a tough way to make an easy living.
The biggest reason I lost the desire to play poker was all the wannabe poker players that thought they were pros and watched and try to emulate the Poker Pro’s they would see on ESPN. I just want to shake these people and say dude wake up man you are getting mad because you lost $100 to someone that should have not called you and now you are throwing a Phil Hellmuth and chastising the player for calling.
You know what buddy your playing in a low limit game you should expect people to play loose, if you expect everyone at a low limit game to play like Johnny Chan and Daniel Negreanu it ain’t happening. The reason you are also playing in a low limit game just like everyone at the table is because you are not Daniel Negreanu so don’t act like you are.
That is another thing that drives me crazy, He is chastising a bad player. Heck that is exactly the kind of player I want at the table. You need to know you are going to lose some pots and take some bad losses against a bad player but in the long run if you play good poker you are going to come on top. It is the same as playing against the house(casino) at a table game in the short term you may win but if you play over the long haul the house is always going to win, the math is on their side.
Finally the biggest thing that drives me crazy about poker are all the bad beat stories I hear from players, I wouldn’t mind if they were really bad beats like having 4 of kind and losing to a straight flush but these are stories of how they had a straight and got rivered and lost to someone who got lucky and pulled a flush, heck that ain’t even close to a bad beat man.
However for all the things I hate about poker, The love of playing the game trumps all the bad things and although I don’t play as much as I once did I really have the bug to play again. So I would love to hear from my audience what do you love and hate about poker.
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{ 25 comments }
Nice post, i like watching poker, but like you said there are tons of wannabes out there that just want to pretend to be big shots when they are a dime a dozen. Love rounders though, that is a classic.
Yep it seems like there is a lot less class in players thats for sure. Tantrums of “how could you call that” or “I’m the superior player” or my favorite is a player who sucks out on a hand and then tells you how great he played it and hoe bad you dif even though he was the under dog all in.
i hate poker, because my brother is very fanatic, and then I really tired of seeing Poquer..and he is all the day playing poker online..is annoying
I enjoy a good game of poker, but I’ve never competed in any tournaments. I’m glad I’ve only really played with friends, because it’s more enjoyable; but playing against the type of players you described could only be more… “rewarding.”
lot’s of people that i know is really addicted on online poker. they said they making a living from it.
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i suck at that game, could’ve lost millions of dollars if i play for one night. are there any tricks on this? or just pure luck?
Great blog man. Check mine if you want, let me know what you think of it.
If it wasn’t for bad players good players couldn’t make money. Thank god so many people watch a little poker on tv and make it so easy for people with half a clue.
Lennyp´s last blog post..Full Tilt Review
A lot of the pros get frustrated with all the newbies too. It’s harder to predict what someone who doesn’t know what they are doing is going to do but in the end, you are right, keep at it and play well and you’ll make some money. It’s like everything in Vegas, when they had that amusement park at the MGM a lot of serious players would get upset when little kids were running through the casino so they went and played elsewhere. And now the amusement park is a convention center and timeshares
Mark´s last blog post..First time to Vegas
I love poker. But not so much as to join tournaments or play online. What me and my buddies do is play poker once in a while.
Although we’re no pros, we had so much fun even with small bets. I guess it’s a good way to kill time.
Hi
I do admit bad players make the good win players win. Sometimes I win and sometimes I loose but poker is just great game that I couldn’t resist.
Poker is just game of chance. But I always like to play with good players, because that way I can improve myself. With bad players, it is just fall of a dime, nothing special.
Sherry!
It really is hard to understand how some people can get so upset over losing a hundo or so. For many of the players at the table, this is less than a days pay on their day job. Large amounts of money are not being risked, so people don’t necessarily need to play carefully. When I take my wife out to dinner and a movie, I expect to lay out somewhere in the neighborhood of $100 by the end of the night… and no I don’t get that money back when the date is over! How enjoyable would my marriage be if I berated her in a “Poker Brat” fashion every time I “lost” a hundred bucks on our date? Here’s a tip for thsoe flipping out in low stakes game: Enjoy life. Enjoy poker.
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I agree. Unless I am playing in Vegas I don’t want to be playing with a bunch of guys thinking they are pros. One thing I have noticed that really bugs me is guys who show up to charity events such as festivals and play super serious. Unless you are playing for thousands of dollars, just have fun people!
Honestly, I don’t play cards that much. But, it’s good to have on a boy’s night out or a for killing the time. I don’t like spending much money on gambling.
Poker is a game of chance just like the lottery. Well maybe you have better odds at poker. If your skilled that is.
I played for a living for just over a year and a half and I have to say that it’s hard to stay focused and motivated.
The games get harder every day and the only way to stay ahead is to continually work on your game.
What really made watching poker on TV blow-up was the introduction of the table cameras. If you think about it, the only reason poker has any entertainment value on TV is because the viewer can see everyone’s cards. If we could not see the cards, it’s excitement would not be there.
It’s all about the camera.
I love playing poker online. I was really addicted to this game and sometimes you can hate it and get pissed because of some stupid plays of some rookies who don’t know what they are doing. But the thrill, excitement and suspense poker generates makes the cons trivial. I’ve calmed down now on this and only play occasionally. But I still feel the adrenaline with poker and enjoy it a lot.
Playing poker really is enjoyable, after you rake some cash, you will lose them eventually… you never know what may happen.
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Well those wannabes in poker are helpers to my account. I enjoy a table of wannabes it is pocket money for my trip back home.
.-= Sam@Poker Strategy´s last blog ..Hands and Combinations =-.
True. Strategy is massively important in the game of poker, and should be adapted according to the people on the table. Playing like a pro on a newbie table is just as bad as the opposite.
.-= Sam@online poker´s last blog ..Hands and Combinations =-.
Nice post! I love to play poker but always end up empty handed. I don’t know if it was my strategy or lady luck just ain’t on my side.
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Professional poker players getting frustrated by newbies and aspirants are quite common and I have even seen a very bad tussle between them once directly
But I always wondering how to learn the act of being professional without bugging them. I am sure playing lot of online poker will help to get rid off it. Several times I have ended up with empty pockets but ironically I had very little before in them. I strongly believe this a learning process and will never give up.
Regards,
Mack!
.-= Mack@Las Vegas Real Estate´s last blog ..Commercial Real Estate Bubble =-.
I find it surprising that the pros would act this way. Surely an attitude of fostering and building relationships would pay off more in the long run. Or perhaps the focus is too much on the immediate returns!
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