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Joining a Poker Table
- Poker Betting Limits
Pick a poker table that you can afford. Remember that you'll be
posting blinds in at least 20% of the poker hands if the
poker table is a 10-seater and more often if the poker table
seats less. If your bankroll is $50, you wouldn't really want to play at a $5-$10
poker table.
- Poker Limit vs No-Limit Tables
Getting sucked into a drawing poker hand can be devastating to your bankroll at a
no-limit poker table. If you're drawing to the nut flush holding the Ace and
another suited card against someone on a set, you can end up calling some expensive poker bets
only to miss the flush on the river. You may even end up having to go all-in - and bankrupt. At a
fixed limit poker table you're protected against this.
- Poker Table Texture
Before you sit down, take some time to watch the action and learn about the poker players. Try and
spot the really loose poker players, the poker maniacs, the tight aggressive poker players.
Knowing whom you're up against can prove invaluable in a showdown.
- Poker Seat
Once you've got an idea of the poker players at the poker table, try and get a
favorable seat relative to the different types of poker players. You'll want the unpredictable,
wildly aggressive poker players on your right, so that you can get out of a marginal
poker hand before it becomes too expensive. Timid and passive poker players are
great to have on your left, as the former will fold when you bet aggressively as a bluff
and the latter will call anything, but will seldom raise.
- Poker Time - Have Time on Your Side
Don't rush in for a quick half-hour poker session. You won't have the time to study the poker
players before joining the poker table and, if you play a tight
poker game, you'll probably end up posting a few blinds, maybe having a look at a
few flops and possibly winning a poker hand. More often than not all you'll be
doing is adding to the poker pot for others to win. Budget on at least an hour.
- Poker Attitude
Be positive - but be prepared to lose. There's an old poker truism: "You can't play with scared
money." Before you go join a poker table accept that you may lose the money you
take with you. If you can't accept that, you'll end up playing a more timid
poker game than you should and if your opponents pick up on this,
they'll regularly drive you out of poker pots you could win by intimidating you with their
stacks. You need to play poker sensibly, but in order to win you must not be afraid to lose.
- Poker Mind
Your greatest ally at the poker table is discipline. Conversely, ill discipline
will separate you from your money faster than anything else. If you've taken the trouble to learn
about starting poker hand standards, you'll know that you'll be folding the
majority of poker hands you are dealt. Nothing is more frustrating than throwing
away a poor starting poker hand only for the flop to bring a pot-winning set
had you held on. What you have to remember is that this will happen less often than not -
statistically you will lose money by holding on to poor starting poker hands in
the hope of catching the flop. You need discipline to stick to your poker game
plan, so prepare yourself for this before you join the poker table.
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