I started playing Texas hold'em about 22 years ago while taking my biannual trips to Las Vegas to play the slots with my wife. At first I lost every time I played, then I started to win a few games, eventually I won more than I lost, and now I’ve come to a place where I have a good chance of winning every time I sit down to play. And just in time too! It seems like the world (or at least the USA) has caught the poker bug, and now it’s the thing to do, everyone wants to play.
I played in three tournaments this past weekend, I lost miserably in the first, won it all in the second, and placed in the middle of the pack for the third. I had a great time and did not beat myself up over the losses. I was thinking about my performance as I played a couple of quick online tournaments (won one, lost two), and finally realized what it is I like so much about the game. “All things being equal, I can beat the best in the game on any given night, if I play smart” I can sit for hours throwing in bad cards, waiting for that pair of aces, or kings, and when I’m finally set, jump in and kill my opponents, or I can bluff and achieve the same results. It is a lot like life. I can play smart and win, I can BS and win, or I can play dumb and lose; the key is that the decision on how to play is in my hands, I just have to choose to win. Now – If I can only figure out how to recognize when I’m on a bad run of cards and should just take my money and go home. I tend to want to play through the problem and wait for better cards when what I should be doing is looking for a new game.
