Tyler Nals - Poker Blog

I remember when I first started playing poker. When someone asked me if I was going to play that night, Id often respond with, Yeah, Im gonna go look at some cards.

I didnt realize it at the time, but this meant that I was going to hope to see good cards and play them accordingly. This might sound logical, but nothing could be further from the truth if youre trying to win in the game of poker. Not only was I just hoping for good cards, but I was making myself extremely readable. Interestingly, there is a positive spin that can be put on this, and its a spin that can make you a lot of money at the poker table.

Think about the above for a moment. When I first started playing, I was hoping for good cards and making myself very readable. Fortunately, or unfortunately (depends how you look at it), I sacrificed several years of losing and eventually learned how to win via trial and error.

Heres the point. If I spent years hoping for good cards and making myself readable, then how many players like my former self do you think are out there? Answer: Millions! And that means theres millions of dollars out there to be won. Of course, you would need to play often and in the right situations, but these are topics well get to later. For now, what you need to remember is that you cant go into a poker game with the mindset of being excited to see a few cards. If you go into a poker game with that mindset, then you might win here and there, but I guarantee that you will be a long-term loser. We dont want that.

If youre playing your cards and better players are playing you, then you have no chance. Youre doomed. If youre just looking at the game as something to play here and there for some fun, then you might as well stop reading here. This book is for those who want to turn the tables on their poker foes and start leaving a winner (it feels a hell of a lot better leaving a winner). Will you win every session? No. But the objective is to be a long-term winner. Since only 10% of poker players are long-term winners, this will put you in an elite group.

By playing the game correctly, you dont guarantee short-term victories, but you do greatly increase your odds of being a long-term victor. You can compare it to going all-in with AA vs. 2/7-off. Sure, someone might suckout on you here and there, but you will definitely win more than you lose.

Another important point is that you need to curb your excitement when you approach a poker game. If youre going into the game with a lot of energy and anticipation of fireworks, then youre gambling. The best players say the same thing over and over: Winning poker is boring.

This doesnt mean that winning in poker is boring. Thats a lot of fun. If you pay attention to the wording, it means something entirely different. It means that when youre playing well, the game is boring. Thats because good players have seen so many hands and have played in so many different types of situations that they know exactly what to expect in each situation. Once you know what your opponents are holding, or at least have a good idea of what your opponents are holding, you can continuously put yourself in mathematically advantageous situations. Once again, you might get sucked out here and there, but you cant worry about that. As long as you keep giving yourself the advantage, youre going to be a long-term winner.

In conclusion, dont go into a poker game to see some cards. You want to go into a poker game to profit. The process might be boring, but it sure as hell beats sitting at an office desk and preparing presentations on this years quarterly report for your employer, or collecting garbage pails, or being yelled at by any boss. Who cares if the process is boring? When you stand up from the table with a ton of chips, youre going to be elated, not bored.

If you want to start playing winning poker, then keep reading. Many important tactics will be revealed.

If you read Poker Notes , then you should know that this isnt a repeat of the same information. These notes are an extension of those notes. I simply had too much information to put into one book. A couple of topics are stressed again here, but you will learn a lot of new information in Poker Blog .