On-Line Poker A Snap…so they THINK!

On-Line Poker A Snap…so they THINK!
By Al Spath

You can be teleported to hundreds of cyber-portals with a click of mouse, you can download a poker site and register within minutes with DSL, you can be playing poker as fast as you can validate an email, and you could be losing your shirt inside of ten minutes if you have no clue about poker or worse yet, think you do have a clue.

Most of the "newbies," as referred to by the veteran players on-line, arrive with fresh bankrolls, with the idea they are going to make a million dollars in a short amount of time, and will be seen on the World Poker Tour along with Mike Sexton and Vince Van Patton, within 6 months. Well, one out of three are right anyway, they did bring in always-appreciated new money! Of these newbies, a majority of the players have played in some sort of home game, played video poker in Vegas, or recently started following the game of hold'em on ESPN or the Travel Channel. Some have recently bought and read several quality poker books (while others purchase a book and wind up using that it to prop up their desktop monitor), a few have discovered and now read Cardplayer Magazine (or a rival poker magazines like LiveActionPoker), and some are just now finding the multitude of archived articles at various poker bountiful sites such as PokerPages.com. On the flip side, a good number of them are new to "hold'em" poker and will learn, as they say: "on-the-job!"

The most common mistakes "newbies" make are playing way to many hands, chasing with anything from bottom pair to a three straight (wrong end too), or continuing after the flop with only a long shot three flush. They may totally disregard or be unaware of pot odds, fear no raise (scoff at a reraise), have no idea what position betting might be or indicate, and have yet to understand or embrace the other (significant), and sometimes subtle nuisances of the game (defending blinds, stealing, bluffing, noticing opponents chip stack size, or heaven forbid, laying down a hand). A good example of poor beginning play is watching them continuously "limp" into pot after pot, continuing to reduce their stack size while just hoping to occasionally connect. What they fail to recognize is that limping (in most cases) is not a positive or rewarding action at a full table and they will be donating far more often than scooping pots. On that note, I'm often asked to discuss my own catch phrase: "Raise More than Call, Fold More Than Raise," and why I believe so strongly in this notion. I tell anyone that will listen about a fella who gave me an unmerciful 4/8 ring game beating one day when I was about 6 months into playing live tables, and then proceeded to lecture me (away from the table), when my ineptly played session was done. He said, "Son, life and poker offer choices so you got to be ready to seize the opportunities presented and go big, or don't go at all." I looked back at him puzzled, and as if to say, HUH, when he blurted out one more nugget of advice: "Play solid and be aggressive whenever you play." Now that second piece of wisdom sounded like great advice and something I could readily embrace, and from that day forward, "Raise More Than Call, Fold More Than Raise," became my tag line and is a constant reminder for me to be aggressive with great starting cards.

What I find mind boggling is viewing the same post in a variety of frequently visited internet poker forums.

It goes something like this: "I had a reoccurring low-limit bad beat last night. I had pocket rockets, flopped my set and was cracked by some yah-woo playing 34os in middle position who called my pre-flop, under-the-gun raise, and proceeded to stay all the way to the river, catching a deuce on the turn, and his 5 for a Wheel, on the river."

I normally reply with something like this: "Get used to it! At low limits, with the influx of new players, some who don't yet know any better, some who could care less about losing another buck, and yet others who play strictly for the annoying entertainment value, this is going to happen way to often. So, at showdown, with an increased number of players still in the hand, you're surely going to get run-down a greater percentage of the time. We all know pocket aces hold up anywhere from 35-38% of the time (according to various sources), however, without the ability to thin the field with a well placed raise at these lower limit tables, the percentages will be skewed in a negative direction. Don't get me wrong, give me pocket aces ten hands in a row and I will gladly take my chances in any game, but I have to be a realist and anticipate them being cracked often, in fact, on average, an unsettling two out of three times.

So what advice should someone entering the virtual poker room be taking with them as they make their way to your waiting list and table? How about this:

Play when your not sick or depressed; play at the stakes you can afford; bring ample ammunition to the table (you don't want to run low with a monster hand); play to win not to lose; turn off any distractions (TV/radio), pick a cyber table that suits your game (you can tell on-line real easy; check the average pot size for that table posted in the lobby and note whether the table is passive or loose by the average size of pots compared to the maximum bet allowed); play solid-aggressive poker (raising with big cards, minimal draws); watch the betting patterns of others; note position betting (UTG, middle, button and blind action); be very reluctant to call or reraise a pot that has been raised once or twice before it gets to you unless you have the absolute goods; be aware of the board (flop, turn and river texture) - noticing the possible straights, flushes and full houses (when the board pairs) that are out there; defend your blinds when you have cards to do it and not just because you had to post money and feel you now have to protect it; and finally, be willing to adjust your own play, not give information to the table (don't show cards), and muck those cowboys when you just know that when that river ace hit the board and that once checking, (solid) opponent to your right, starts firing right into you!