My First Week in Poker

Today completes my first week playing poker in a casino and I'd like to recount my exploits as a method of therapy and study.

Before going into the casino I had read The Theory of Poker, Hold'em Poker (both Sklansky), and Winning Low-limit Hold'em (Jones). I've been kind of torn between some apparently contradictory strategies between the two authors, but I felt I understood the gist...play tight, play aggressive, pay good attention to your position.

So last Tuesday I walk into the Normandie Casino in Gardena with $120 in my pocket. The casino is pretty ghetto, it's not in the greatest part of town nor is it patronized by the most wealthy, or well-groomed, individuals. Of course I'm nervous, I'm worried about the protocol and things like that. I figure out that I have to give my initials to a girl with a microphone who then marks me down on a dry-erase board for the 2/4 HE game. In a few minutes I'm seated with 8 other players and a nice old lady to my right helps me out with when I should come in (after the button passes). (At Normandie they don't rake the pot they make you pay $2 every time you're on the button).

Anyhow, I was nervous, did I say that already?

True to the descriptions on this board, these low-limit SoCal players are extremely loose and most of them are passive. I get comfortable pretty quickly when I notice that most of these players are playing almost everything dealt to them. If they've got an ace or king they're playing, any two suited they're playing, any two connectors they're playing, they have a "feeling" they're playing. It amazed me at how bad these players seemed. I figured anyone who was going to spend money on poker would surely invest in a book to teach them how to play solidly, but apparently not. It was by no means odd to see players call something like 10 3 off all the way to the river with only a pair of 3's or less! I didn't figure players to be THIS loose!

Regardless I went through over $80 before I actually won a pot. I don't remember what I had exactly, all I remember is my heart pounding in my chest as I bet and get called all the way to the river. The relief of winning your first pot by showing down the best hand is great. It was a nice size pot and I went from less than $20 to about $80. By the end of the night I'm up $73 to $193 having (in my last hand) cracked pocket aces making two pair (KKQQ) on the river. Boy, was that a feeling! The guy I beat got so mad! He had gone all-in and had just sat down at the table.

The next day I went in again and was much more comfortable, perhaps too comfortable as I learned many lessons in the process of losing $134.

Lesson 1: King high flushes are not as great as you'd think. I lost a lot of money betting into an ace high flush and learned to tread carefully if you don't have the nut flush.

Lesson 2: Don't bet high pocket pairs if an overcard falls. It's obvious enough I know, but I learned the hard way betting queens after an ace came on the turn.

Lesson 3: This is related to lesson 2, don't get blinded by flopping or being dealt a good hand. I bet my flopped straight all the way not paying much attention to the board as it paired and gave someone a full house.

Lesson 4: Tread carefully when the board pairs.

Lesson 5: Don't loosen up just because you're ahead. I found myself guilty of this many times. I would play and call hands I wouldn't have if I were down or even.

Lesson 6: Be aware of how well you're concentrating. Poker is an endurance game as well as everything else. If you're not concentrating, or if you're distracted, or otherwise not paying attention to the players and cards, leave and/or get your head straight.

It was a bad night, I went home doubting myself, feeling bad for having lost all that money, reprimanding myself for betting that damn king high flush and those queens, and sulking about losing a few tough hands (I thought).

Day three I come back having taken another $100 out of the bank to play. This day I learned and understood the golden lesson, lesson 7, TABLE SELECTION!!! I only won $22.50 on day 3, but learned that it is much easier to grow, protect and preserve your money with a bunch of passive players than with even 1 or two "maniacs" or aggressive players. It's all about staying with your draws cheaply and making others draw expensively.

Day four I'm feeling OK, I only stay for 2 hours, but I'm concentrating on every hand, am much more comfortable with the procedures and feel like I'm getting a "feel" for the game. I'm real proud of myself when I fold top two pair (QQ66) when someone bet a 3rd spade on the turn. My first good but kinda tough (at least for me) fold I think. I was seeing the best possible hands and figuring out who was likely to have something playable. I felt kinda in a zone. I left the table up $115.

Day five and six I'll group together as they were played mostly the same. I didn't concentrate very well, I loosened up when I got ahead, I was distracted thinking about my g/f who I had been arguing with lately, couldn't find a table that was consistently passive, and to my mind wasn't dealt much. I lost money by not paying good enough attention to what was on the board and who was betting and when. I played too long given how poorly I was playing. I ended up down $140 after both days.

I've been tracking my progress in a spread sheet and so far I'm down about $80 in 27 hours. I was shocked at first at how wildly my bankroll fluctuated. +$70, -$134, +$22.50, +$115, -$80, -$60! I've learned to expect this, but it's tough to throw money into the game and trust that in the long run you'll be a winner with such wild variations! I also noted how much my mood for the whole day was affected by whether I won or lost. I think that if I want to be a player I need to be able to take daily results in stride. I hope my experiences are par for the course and that I'm headed in the right direction!

I've estimated that I pay about $8/hour to play. The button seems to come around about once every 15 minutes or so. Taking this out of the equation I'm actually up! But of course, to be a winning player you've gotta beat the rake too. However, this is encouraging as it indicates that perhaps at limits where the rake is a smaller percentage of the bets I might do a little better. Would it be better to play 4/8 with a $3 rake or 2/4 with a $2 rake? I would think 4/8 if the competion isn't much better. Is it?

Gabe

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