Online Gambling and Probabilities

About Pker Players

What makes a poker player good? It’s a harder question to answer than you might imagine.
In other games, the answer to this question is simpler. A good tennis player is someone who wins many matches and
tournaments. We can expect that such a player would have a good fitness level, would have strong fundamentals—
footwork, serve, forehand, backhand, and so forth—and would have at least a passable psychological game.
A good chess player is someone who wins many games and tournaments. We can expect that such a player would have an excellent knowledge of the game, good positional and tactical skills, and at least passable concentration and psychological control. But what makes a good poker player? Is it someone who wins many tournaments? Not really. If someone were to win tournament after tournament, this would almost certainly indicate an excellent poker player. But there’s so much luck in poker that you can’t look at the winner of any single tournament or short series of tournaments and say, “That player is a good poker player. see also Gambling Blog ” Is a good poker player one who understands well the fundamentals of the game? Perhaps, though I’d say that the vast majority of poker players misunderstand which skills are “fundamental” to poker. Most people I think would say that a good poker player is one who wins at a high rate, as measured in dollars per hour (or per 100 hands played), over a long period of time. Winrate. It’s the ultimate measuring stick of a poker player.
Here’s the thing. Most students of poker learn to play in a particular, static style that is designed to play well enough in a variety of game environments, but will rarely maximize winrate in any particular game. In other words, poker players
learn how not to lose at poker (thereby winning at a modest rate). They don’t learn how to win. Why is this? There are two reasons. Poker players are a lazy lot. Now, nearly all humans are lazy by this definition, so I don’t intend to malign poker players in particular. Most players want a plug-and-play strategy—one they can use in nearly any game type to hold their own. After all, poker is risky enough as it is. Why add further risk to the equation by making adjustments that could backfire? Specifically, most poker players look for “standard lines” to take. With top pair, I bet the flop, fold to a raise, check the turn, and bet the river for value. With a combo draw on the flop, I bet and get it in if raised. These standard lines are often designed to win in many common game environments, while also often managing variance. Standard lines allow you to play poker without fully engaging your brain. You can watch TV, chit-chat, play on your phone, or do whatever else while still playing a winning poker game. The other reason players learn not to lose is that it’s a much lower bar to reach than learning to maximize winrate. In order to maximize winrate, you have to adapt aggressively to your game conditions. Adapting requires you to do a few things right all at the same time.  You have to identify correctly how your opponents are playing. This is not always simple, as hot and cold runs of cards can skew your perception of your opponents’ play styles.  You have to identify the correct adjustment to make against your opponents.  You have to implement the adjustments. You have to have the presence of mind to identify situations that call for an adjustment, and then you have to pull the trigger. You have to identify when an opponent makes an
adjustment based on your play and readjust. This requires much more mental effort than playing not to lose. It requires much more work away from the table. And it also requires you to have very strong tilt control. But if you’re looking for a breakthrough in your play, it’s the only option. So what’s this book about? It’s about taking the first two steps toward learning to win at poker rather than playing not to lose. I will help you to identify how your opponents are playing and to identify the correct adjustments to make. I will show you example hands where the adjustment may be appropriate.
You will not be a poker master after reading this book. Poker mastery requires thousands of hours of study—and the
right kind of study at that—to achieve. My goal with this book is more humble, but it’s still very powerful. I want to open your eyes. You probably know a bit about how to play poker already. I want to show you how much more there is to the game that you aren’t taking advantage of. I want to show you the sorts of things that the players with the monster winrates are doing that you aren’t. And I want to start your journey into the unknown on a good footing. I will show you a few simple adjustments that are relatively safe and easy to apply and that will give you a taste of what it feels like to be truly awesome at poker. If you’re ready to move beyond ABC poker to see what more is out there, keep reading. 

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