James Jr. - Automatic Poker: A Short Stackers Guide To Winning Poker

Any intelligent fool can make things bigger and more complex It takes a touch of genius - and a lot of courage - to move in the opposite direction.
-Albert Einstein
Everyone wants to be a winner. Pick any competitive game or sport, and I will show you thousands who are dedicated to getting better at it. Poker is no different. A multitude of people now play with the hope of being the next poker star. So, with all the interest, why do only a modest percentage of poker players become winners over the long term? There are many answers to the question, and all are partially correct .

No-Limit Holdem is a complicated, multifaceted game that is easy to learn but extremely difficult to master. It is unique among strategy games in that it can be fun for long stretches of time, even if a person is losing. And the fact that a complete novice can sit down with the best player in the world and win over the short term makes the game especially seductive.

In my opinion, the principle reason it is so difficult to improve at poker is primarily due to a lack of sound information and structured learning processes. That doesnt mean there is a lack of authorities in the poker world. There are many books, articles, websites, and forums out there that discuss strategy. Some contain decent information, but most are pure rubbish, poorly articulated and lacking in clarity.

Currently, the best way to learn is through one-on-one teaching. There are hundreds of poker coaches ready to offer their services to players wishing to improve, but as the old saying goes, those that can do And while this is not always the case, most of the teachers who actually know what they are doing charge so much for their assistance that only the very rich can afford them.

There is another hurdle that many people, myself included, face that is almost insurmountable, and that is a lack of time. It is no wonder that the majority of players who dominate poker today are in their early to mid-twenties. They typically have little responsibility and an infinite amount of time day and night to work hard on their games and improve, while the rest of us get left in the dust.

I paint a rather glum picture for an aspiring poker player with other responsibilities besides his or her poker game. The fact is, the entire reason I am writing this is to give inquisitive players of all ages a fresh avenue for learning the game. And while this is not entirely a beginners book, those fairly new to the game are given the chance to get started on the right track as winning players by using my strategies. Additionally, more experienced players looking to try something different can benefit from short stacking, as it offers them a chance to rebuild their game from scratch.

My teaching style may be a bit different than what you are used to seeing. It is my philosophy that one should take a simple and uncomplicated approach in the beginning and then steadily build upon a solid foundation. Forcing a beginner to start off by playing a deep stack against skilled players seems ridiculous to me. Its like handing a seven-year-old a baseball bat and telling him to learn how to hit by facing a major league pitcher.

It seems much more natural to learn poker by starting off with a small stack until the basics of the game are mastered. My totally chart-based beginner strategy eases you into things by teaching a simple and repeatable blueprint for playing winning poker. By following the charts verbatim, a complete novice can begin playing stronger poker today without any knowledge of advanced strategies.

Once the basic system is mastered, you will be ready for the intermediate strategy which builds upon what you have already learned by showing you how to adjust to table dynamics. You will learn to read what other players are doing and adapt your game accordingly. The rest of the book will then be spent adding to your poker repertoire by covering all aspects of every street through practical explanations and examples.

I will show you how to play a virtually unexploitable pre-flop game and skillfully navigate every post-flop nuance you will face. You will learn how to think systematically through the merits of checking, calling, raising, or folding. By using my methods, you will rapidly learn to think on a higher level than most of your competition.

Beyond strategic considerations, I will also cover every intangible necessary to succeed as an online poker player. I will show you how to use software to obtain reads on other players, how to set up your computer for efficient sessions that maximize hourly rate, and how to adapt your play for a variety of different poker games.

My ultimate goal is to provide a progressive way to become better at no-limit cash games with the least amount of risk possible. My strategies are proven in actual play on real money poker sites. Only a minimal investment is needed to employ the concepts I will lay out for you to potentially grow a bankroll into a substantial side income. After reading and mastering the strategies in this book, you will have a solid foundation based upon fundamental poker concepts and will be well on your way to building your game into a force to be reckoned with as either a full-time or part-time player. The sky is the limit, and your success is only limited by your willingness to work on your game .