Everyone assumes he's a pro these days. I've been struggling with and playing Texas Hold 'Em for years, and when I see two poker experts waiting for a seat, trying to impress each other with their vast poker skills, it never fails to make me laugh. They have no idea what they're doing more often than not - they simply repeat things they've learned as if they're original ideas, without even knowing the concepts behind them. I would like to take a few basic, well-known principles today and explore why they are essential:
1. Place. All who has learned something about policy knows it's important to have that position. But do you understand why, really? Poker is all about making sound choices that are reliable. To do this, you don't need a position; it just makes life easy for you. This is a game of imperfect knowledge, and it is difficult to process minute data - but when you question how your adversary would respond, it's a lot harder to do. When he behaves after you, at best, you presume. If you ever play out-of-place against a tough professional contesting the pot, and you have a "great-but-not-best" side, then when you sweat bullets for your next pass, you'll really realize what position is all about.
2. Standards for starting. The paradox of starting hands is this: you can only play decent cards while you're new to the table. Since the flop, playing bad cards places you in tough positions - as a beginner, you can focus on polishing the basics so that you do not get in over your head. If you've mastered - and I mean mastered - solid games, however, you can and SHOULD start adapting slowly. Because after the flop, most players make even bigger errors, the aim should be to be there when it happens. This means more than your fair share of being involved.
3. Just bluffing. Although it shouldn't be overdone, the repertoire should contain bluffing. The key thing to remember is that telling a good lie is like a good bluff - you can't just do it impulsively, you have to think it out from the outset. By putting yourself in the shoes of your adversary, make sure your bluffs are believable. Have your past behavior been aligned with the side that you are representing now? Don't be daft, if not - wait for a better spot.
The evolution of an expert player must come about through processes, like any abstract idea. You must first understand them fully in order to veer from the basics.
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