Now there’s probably a whole bunch of stuff that we could tell you right now – what instructional manuals to read – what forums to hit – who to ask – what to ask even but what would be the point in the first article? All that stuff: pot odds, implied odds, reverse triangulated pot odds (we made that up), check raises and value bets will come later…they have to; you simply can’t win without them - but for now and perhaps for the next week – what you need to understand is what your getting into and by that we mean the scene. I guess the key to understanding what’s meant here is that by scene we mean the poker scene…pub poker, regional, international, online…and what we think is best is to have a little perspective on the people, their motives, their expectations and of course your part in all of that.
The fundamental point here is this: you have to decide what you’re approach to the game is going to be. No amount of reading, persuading and crap TV poker shows will do this for you. It’s a decision based on what you want, what you think you can achieve and the way you want your poker life to pan out. Sure, you can carry on reading this piece if you’re not going to change. Go ahead, spend the time critiquing the grammar – of which there is little – we don’t care – enjoy it for what it is… some punk waxing lyrical. On the other hand, we may just be talking from experience and what we have to say may just twig something in you that changes your approach to the game and ultimately your bank balance.
You’re either going to continue playing when you’re pissed, donking off your hard earned cash in some juvenile attempt to pyramid up twenty quid into enough money to buy a Ferrari. You’re either going to play late at night, when you’re other half is asleep (and this is true of both men and women) with the volume muted because you can’t really find the words or the reasoning to explain what you’re doing is skill based and you feel ashamed and can’t be bothered with the hassle of explaining what you’re doing and why. You’re either going to continue repeating the same mistakes over and over and over again, supplementing a decent player’s hourly rate and contributing to the profits of an online card room. Or you can do this: adsorb the scene your playing in, maintain an overall perspective of your game and your skill level, study, practice, read and learn. The choice really is yours.
