Some players learn the basic mechanics of playing poker by reading a pamphlet or watching others play. Then they sit down at the table and jump into the game. Some of these players may get lucky for a while and consider themselves to be savvy poker players. You will see many of these types at the low-limit tables and some at higher limit games as well. Sooner or later reality kicks in for these players and their lucky winning sessions turn into losing sessions as they find themselves outplayed by more skillful players.
If you want to be successful, you need to learn a little more than just the basic play of the game. Successful poker players are constantly learning. Seasoned pros will tell you that they still learn something new with each session they play. Most successful players started with a strong foundation and built their game from there.

When I made the decision to learn Texas Hold’em, I wanted to make sure that the method I used would give me the best chance of success when I played in the casino. Since two of the most important traits necessary for winning in poker are patience and discipline. I decided to practice both of these as I learned the game. I did this by setting a target date for my first match that was a little more than a month away from the day I started to learn the game. By choosing to do this, I would force myself to be patient and not hurry into a game before I was ready. I set aside a minimum of an hour a day for study and practice and disciplined myself to stick to my schedule.

It’s human nature to want to jump into the action of playing poker, and some may feel that the guidelines I set for myself were a little obsessive. I disagree. I plan to play winning poker for years to come. I felt that spending a month or so learning the basics of the game and building a strong foundation was a minimum investment for the rewards I plan to collect in the future. Furthermore, this was not some boring subject that I was trying to sift through. I was learning to play Texas Hold’em, which I soon discovered is one of the most exciting games I have ever played. My approach to learning the game was not only educational, but also fun. When I finally sat down at the poker table for the first time I found that it was also profitable.

In the beginning of this book I told you that I usually recommend three essential items to anyone wishing to learn a casino game. They are a book, software program, and videotape. My training got under way with these items I had purchased from the Gambler’s Book Shop. I soon discovered that I would need to do just a little bit more to make myself ready to play Texas Hold’em. Since poker is more complex than other casino games, it would require more than reading a single book and playing a few hands on the tutorial software.
What follows is the training program I used before I sat down in the casino for the first time. I will also detail some of the ongoing methods that I am still using to improve my game. I realize that studying, practicing, and learning more in conjunction with live play is the only way to improve my game.

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Whatever you choose to do in life you will need knowledge to succeed. In order to gain that knowledge, you need to participate in some sort of training process. Unfortunately you can't learn by flipping a switch or swallowing a magic pill, but there are many ways you can choose to learn about your given area of interest. You obviously need formal education for some professions, but other subjects can be learned through home study, reading, on-the-job training, or spending some time at "The School of Hard Knocks."

No matter what you chose to learn about, you will need patience and discipline. Learning is an ongoing process that does not happen overnight. People who only learn the minimum about a given subject usually find themselves on a fast track to disaster. This was borne out in January 2000 when many people learned how to open an online brokerage account and suddenly considered themselves to be savvy investors. They started investing in the latest hot stock without regard to PE ratios or other financial indicators. Reality kicked in when the market took a downturn in April of that year and their financial gains turned into losses. The same thing happens in the casino and poker rooms.

I use the stock market analogy because playing poker is similar to investing in the stock market. You invest your money in the pot and you are looking for a return on that investment. When choosing a stock you are looking for solid companies that have a good business model and thus the best chance of returning a profit on your investment. In poker, you want to start with solid starting hands that have the best chance of winning you the pot. Many investors gamble on penny stocks. Occasionally, they will find one that makes a huge profit, but most of time they lose money in the long run on them. This can be compared with the poker player who constantly plays any two cards as a starting hand. Occasionally the player will get lucky and win a big pot, but this will not offset the losses from continually playing poor hands.

Many other skills and traits of a successful investor can be found in a winning poker player. A poker player must have the patience to wait for a strong starting hand and the investor must patiently wait for his investment to show a return. Discipline is needed to be able to refrain from jumping into speculative investments or playing marginal cards. It is also needed to be able to bail out when the investment goes bad, or fold the cards when the hand is beaten. Being properly capitalized is also required in both endeavors. Some good stocks are too expensive for your portfolio and some good poker games have limits higher than you can afford. Money management is a factor, as you don't want to invest all your money in one stock or risk your entire bankroll in one playing session.

To be successful in both poker and investing, you need knowledge. Investing and poker require making the correct decisions at the right time. You need an understanding of all the principles involved in order to achieve this.

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One day I played against a Hobbit, a president, and Walter Cronkite. No, they weren't really sitting at my table, just people that made me think of these folks. One player was the spitting image of Richard Nixon and sitting next to him was a funny-looking guy who brought to mind Bilbo Baggins from The Hobbit. Joining us at the table was a fellow who looked like Cronkite. I can't always get the names of the people I play against so I often use some sort of association to help me remember them. I keep notes on different players I have met at the tables and I can identify them with the names from this association.

I put these notes in my logbook so I can remember how they play or any tells I may have discovered that they have. I make a note if a certain player is a maniac, tight or a calling station? You can write down any information about them you think will come in handy when you play them again. Spending a few minutes making notes about players can reap big rewards the next time you face them.

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You want to record the length of time that you play. This is one of the equations used in figuring your hourly win rate. It will also be important in evaluating your level of stamina and concentration. You may find that you get better results with shorter sessions than you do in marathon games.

Money Won or Lost
Record the money you won or lost for each session. This is easy to do. You know how much money you bought in for and you write down the difference at the end of the session.

Hourly Win/Loss
Figuring out you hourly win or loss rate is just a matter of simple math. You divide the amount of money you made or lost in a session the number of hours that you played. If you played and won $28 after four hours of play your hourly win rate is $7 per hour (28 divided by 4 = 7).

Total Win/Loss
You should figure your hourly rate for each session. If you play more than one session during your visit to the casino or cardroom, then record each one as a separate entry. You can now add all your sessions together to get your total for the week, month, or year.

Fluctuation and Standard Deviation
It is only normal that you will have winning and losing sessions. This is a normal fluctuation that is measured by the standard deviation. The average wins for a good player is about one big bet per hour. In a $3/$6 game you can figure about $6 per hour as the estimated value or EV that you expect to earn. Some session you make more than $6 and some you make less. The difference between the actual amount won or lost and the $6 is the standard deviation. If you have large wins and then large losses your deviation will be high. You will need a big bankroll to handle the big swings. Your goal should be to cut down on the gap and bring your variance down to a small amount.

Additional Notes
Your log is your poker diary. You should write down any other information or events that occurred during the session. I printed my log on only the front side of the sheet that I keep in a notebook. On the back side I record any information that may help me in the future.

My Play
After each session I try to critique my own play as objectively as I can. If I made a loose call or stupid bet I would note my mistake in my log so I won't repeat it. I also make a note if I was too passive or too aggressive. Anything that can affect my future game will go into the log. Whether it's a great play I want to repeat in the future, or a situation where something caused me not to play my best game, it is written down.

I found that when I write something down it has a much greater impact on me. Write down how you felt after the match. Did you play your best game? What contributed to the results you had during the session? Was the game loose or tight?

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Record the date and the cardroom where you played. You may find that you play better in certain locations than others. This could have to do with travel time or just the fact that you are more comfortable playing in certain locations. It could also be that the competition is easier in one place than another.

Limit
You may have several limits that you play. One casino may offer only $3/ $6 games another could offer a $2/$4 or a $4/$8 game. Since your goal is to win at least one big bet per hour, you need to know what limits you are playing. You might find that you are more confident at the lowest level or you may do better against players at the higher limits. This will be one of the factors you evaluate when you look at your results.

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One of the most informative reference books you will read about poker will be written by you. It is your logbook where you will record the results of all of you poker sessions. If you are serious about your game it is imperative that you keep a log. Only by keeping records will you be able to tell if you are a winning player or not.

Many players don't feel that it is necessary to keep records. If you ask these same players if they are winners, they will usually answer in the affirmative. The truth is that without records, there is no way to be certain. Many players have selective memories. They tend to remember the big wins and will tell you that they occasionally lose "a little." It is possible that these little losses, when added together will offset the winning sessions that they remember. The only way to be sure if you are truly a winner is through honest and meticulous record keeping.

Keeping records is a matter of being truthful with yourself. Your log is your own personal record. If you fudge it, or put in false figures, you are defeating the purpose of keeping the log. If you aspire to be a winning player you need to know if your game has leaks so you can plug them and get back on a winning course.
You log does not have to be fancy. If you have a computer you can use a spreadsheet program to keep track of you sessions. You may want to print out a log sheet similar to the one at the end of this chapter and keep it in a notebook. There are poker diaries you can purchase, made specifically for players, which also contains some tips and what method you use there is some information that should be put in all logs.

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Since most casino games have a negative expectation, players are advised to set a win goal and stop loss. This ensures than that they will not go broke during any given session and will hopefully not give back all the profits if they do win. Some argue that the concept of money management is nothing more than smoke and mirrors because if you play a game with a negative expectation you will lose in the long run.

I'll admit that in my weekly gaming column and magazine articles that I do recommend setting loss limits and win goals for casino players. The win goal is on a sliding scale and increases as the winning continues. This way players can continue to win without having to stop at predetermined figure. The stop loss is to ensure that they do not go broke too quickly and is also on a sliding scale if they have been winning. This is to ensure that they walk away with some of the money they have won. Again you can argue the merits of such a system but the main reason why I advocate money management is discipline. It takes discipline to be a winner at any casino game. This is especially true in poker where you have to wait for the right starting hands.

Poker has a positive expectation for good players and most of the pros and experts will tell you that any money management system is worthless. Poker is one big game with a few interruptions to eat, sleep, and work between hands. It doesn't matter if you quit when you are ahead or losing, as you will be coming back to the game eventually. They say that if the game is good it doesn't matter if you are down because you will win money back in the long run if you are a good player. I agree with this up to a point. I still think that you should have some sort of stop loss for each session.
I advocate a stop loss for psychological reasons. If you are losing and suffering bad beats or just being dealt rag hand after rag hand, there will come a point where this will start affecting your mental game. When this happens, you are no longer able to play your best game. You may find yourself making poor decisions or playing hands that are below your standards. When this happens its time to quit.

I suggest that you buy in for a reasonable amount of money. In a $3/$6 game I will buy in for a minimum of $100 which is equal to 16 big bets. If I lose this, I will usually call it a night. If the majority of the loss came from losing only one big hand then I will evaluate the game and my own state of mind. I might take a break if I am going to continue playing.

Another factor I consider when deciding to quit is the length of time that I have been playing. When I first started playing, I found that I could not keep total concentration on the game for more than a couple hours. I then would limit my sessions to a certain time period and then quit whether I won, lost, or drew. Each of us has our own endurance level. Some people can play at peak performance for hours on end. Others might lose concentration after an hour. You have to decide what is best for you. One way to determine your performance level is to look at your logbook. Compare your win/loss record with your playing time and see if the amount of time you spend at the table is having an effect on the outcome of your play.

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