A Cautionary Tale by Brad RandleMeet
"Q", my neighbor Quincy. Last Winter, Q decided that he wanted
to join the fun and play Texas Hold’em regularly. Q is a bright
guy – completed his MBA at the Kellogg School of Management and
earns an impressive salary with a leading consulting firm. After
listening to my stories of both triumph and horror, Q was
entering the world of competitive poker with his eyes wide open.
At the risk of meddling and becoming the dreaded “over-coacher”,
I gave Q two books that are essential to the novice player:
Ken Warren Teaches Texas Hold’em
and Internet Texas Hold’em by Matthew
Hilger. Warren’s book is concise and an easy read that does
not get overly technical, which can be overwhelming for the
beginner. Hilger’s book is worth its weight in gold – he offers
superb examples of starting hands and how to play them. Hilger
also includes The Chart, a guide to starting hands in limit
holdem and when to play them that, if followed, builds a strong
foundation for any player, but especially a beginner.
I told Q that if he had no intention of reading the books, to at
least make a copy of Hilger’s chart and have it on hand when he
played – if Q had "The Chart" nearby, I was certain he would
learn, gradually improve and limit his losses. Q agreed and
showed me his copy – he even visited Kinko’s and had it
laminated! Q is nobody’s fool.
Q fell in love with single table no-limit “Sit And Go”
tournaments on
Party Poker. Each night he would wait for his
family to get settled and fire up a $20+2 tournament late in the
evening to relax and enjoy the serenity while his wife sat next
to him and watched one of the endless CSI shows (probably CSI
Toledo).
Everyday, I would listen to Q’s recap of his previous night’s
play. Q’s an interesting and truthful guy, so I enjoyed the
stories and would offer advice when asked. He also amassed an
impressive record and would “cash” in of roughly 33% of his
tourneys – enough to make a little money if we was placing first
with any regularity. At every opportunity, I would ask Q if he
was using The Chart as a guide and every time he would give an
emphatic thumbs-up. For a beginning player, you really couldn’t
ask for more – learning good habits from which to build while
making money!
After a few months, a funny thing happened to Q – he began to
think he was “different”. Intoxicated by his consistent success,
he strayed from advice of the experts and started playing many
more hands than was smart, particularly in no-limit holdem. Q
was playing marginal hands in early position and didn’t yet
possess the skills necessary to buy pots or steer clear of
trouble. He had lost all his profits and was back to square one.
He even contemplated "retirement" from the game. After I
asked him if he was continuing to follow the advice of the The
Chart, he admitted that he would lose patience during a
tournament and play more marginal hands.
All of the great players and poker experts will tell you that patience is
a key
virtue to becoming a winning player at any level. In Q’s case, he forgot that patience is
critical and was soon exposed to stronger players who would
quickly separate him from his tournament chips. Hold 'em poker
is an easy game to learn but it takes loads of experience to
master and Q, thanks to his early success, thought he had the
game all figured out, but Q was no different than any other
player as far as lady luck was concerned. Over the long
haul every player will get the same cards dealt to them the same
amount of times and it is the skill with which they play them
and their opponents that separates the good poker players from
the bad. A string a good luck is no reason to stop your
study of the game. Eventually, the luck will turn around
and if you are not equipped to handle it, you can quickly become
a former poker player.
Once Q faced this realization, he
asked for advice, read the books
I provided him, made the necessary adjustments and enjoyed an immediate uptick in his game.
I am happy to report that, a year later, Q has advanced beyond
“beginner” status and now participates in tournaments for higher
stakes -- and has increased his “cash” percentage to nearly 40%.
For any player starting out, make sure you read, heed, and take
no shortcuts! You are no different than any other player
as far as the cards are concerned. Those players that
constantly look at ways to improve their game are the ones who
win in the long run.
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