In this free online poker coaching strategy lesson we’re going to look at the specific gools you have to reach in order to achieve free online poker success and outline some of the major errors that can derail you.

So, super free poker coach DM, take it away

We are five lessons into our ‘Building a Bankroll’ series of Articles, and, if you haven’t noticed a somewhat sizable increase in your account balance, I’m left to conclude that you’ve either opted to ignore the scribblings I’ve put forth, or you’ve decided that your involvement in the game is only about free poker games online for fun and entertainment, not money.

If the latter is true, allow me to share with you a reality: about 95% of all poker players see the game as no more than a form of entertainment; an opportunity to immerse themselves in a gambling environment, a little fun, a bit of social interaction….possibly nothing harmful.

And, in the real world, I would never label many of these ‘good and decent’ people as anything other than fun seekers. In the poker world, however, you’ve often been exposed to my rather descriptive branding of these folks. I call many of them ‘Farm Animals’.

Conversely, if the former is true, you’ve certainly noticed that you’re in possession of a much larger bankroll, and, I would like that bankroll to continue its growth. Plus, I would like to know that you’re intent on staying with me….all the way to free poker strategy lesson 11 and beyond. In the end, you will have constructed a foundation that could take you just about anywhere in the poker community.

Although, I will readily admit, in order for you to attain a statured position in the world of poker, there will be so much more required of you than just the comprehension of the brief tutorials available to you here, through these free online poker instruction Articles, at NoPayPoker.

And, with that thought in mind, I will ultimately provide you with a ‘Must Read’ list of books, and a ‘Planned Approach’ toward any further advancement in the quality of your play. It’s a great journey; and it traverses streets, roads, and highways lined with money….lots of money.

You needed to start somewhere, and the countless private messages I’ve received to-date have led me to believe that many of you have chosen to begin with the free poker practice games offered here at NoPay….plus, many of you have chosen to begin with this introductory series of free poker strategy lessons.

Which, by the way, were intended to be exclusively written for NoPay members, and, to-date, are exclusively written for tournament play. I’m happy you’re here, I’m happy you’re with me, and I’m even happier that you’ve started the task of ‘Building a Bankroll’.

Moreover, I’m awed by the fact that so many of you have been regularly adding FreeD’s to your individual accounts. I truly look forward to the continuation of this accumulation process.

So, we began here, we’ll learn the fundamentals here, and then we’ll move on. Yet, if you were to re-read all of the preceding Articles, you’ll not find any mention of our goals. Therefore, now would be as good a time as any to introduce the chronological order of the stepping stones that form the basis to our poker future.

Here are the goals:

1. To survive the opening 20 minutes of the Farm Animal’s chip flinging in every tournament.
2. To play ‘solid’ and ‘fundamentally sound’ poker so that we reach the money payout level.
3. To maintain a post-bubble ‘quality of play’ causing us to garner a seat at the final table.
4. To capture the tournament title, and, in so doing, add the first place prize to our Bankroll.
5. To intelligently manage our Bankroll and continually build it’s size on a week-to-week basis.
6. To progressively attain a full command of the multi-dimensional aspects of No Limit Hold-Em.
7. To reach an understanding of the 100% level regarding our individual skill sets.

Can we really accomplish all of this through a simple set of brief tutorial articles? The answer is “No”!

Yet, the free online poker coaching lessons, in combination with the ‘Must Read’ list, in combination with a good deal of practice,in combination with the ‘Risk Tolerance’ assessment (to be described in a subsequent Article), will, in fact, make it possible for many of you to advance to the level of ‘winning poker players’….not for pennies, but for hundreds and potentially thousands.

How do I know this? Well….I’ve spent a good part of the past six years teaching more than one thousand individuals to become ‘winning poker players’. And, I’m often updated regarding their progress and their respective amounts of monies won. Candidly, if many of these players were able to do it, then a reasonable number of you will also be able to do it.

Of note, you should know that we’ve already accomplished goals 1 and 2 as listed above. And, we’re currently in the midst of accomplishing goals 3 and 4. How have we done this? With ease, I think. Patience alone has put goal 1 behind us.

 The Playable Pockets Matrix has put goal 2 behind us. And, the proper use of both Pot Odds and Implied Odds has placed goals 3 and 4 within our grasp.

 Thus far, we’ve reached the point where just about 80% of all the skills and assets we’ll ever need at a poker table are at our disposal.

Surely, over the past few months, we’ve used these skills and assets to allow a consistent stream of FreeD’s an easy entry portal to our account balances. And, while it may not need repeating, I’ll do it anyway; winning money while playing poker is far better than simply flinging chips, begging Lady Luck, and eventually discovering an empty wallet or purse.

Winning money is the central theme of the game….nothing else, other than ethics, should matter.

This, the concept that the game is only about money, is paramount to your future growth in the poker community. As is a 100% command of the requisite skills and assets you’ll need to bring to every table you sit at. And, of consequence, by the time we reach Article 11 you’ll have that 100%.

The above being true, let me now get us to 80%. Here’s how.

A command of Pot Odds and Implied Odds brought us close; it took us from approximately 70% to approximately 77%. Strange? Isn’t it? With something as powerful as a complete command of Pot Odds and Implied Odds, why did we only go from 70% to 77%? Especially when something as simple as Patience originally took us from 0% to 50%.

To answer this inquiry, we need not look any further than our expected Flops Seen Percentage. When we are properly using the Playable Pockets Matrix, we’ll not see more than 15% of the flops; or, about 85% of the pocket cards that we are dealt will be discarded long before the flop hits the board.

Thus, while Pot Odds and Implied Odds have become the key to our post-flop play, given the fact that we’re only going to be involved in the arithmetic associated with Pot Odds and Implied Odds on a fairly restricted basis (about 15% of the hands we’re dealt), the proper use of both can NOT possibly have a larger impact on our skills and assets.

If, by chance, a small level of confusion exists, try to visualize this in a literal sense. Deal out ten pockets, then do it ten times, and then recognize that you’re only going to be involved in the post-flop action about fifteen times (out of the 100 pockets you dealt during the literal exercise).

The other eighty-five times, you’re almost robotic in tossing your pocket cards away. Importantly, while you’re performing this exercise, be certain that you use the Playable Pockets Matrix.

Now, let’s proceed to 80% by identifying the biggest mistakes made by entry level players, and many experienced players as well.

• First, and foremost, No Limit Texas Hold Em is NOT an ‘all-in or fold’ game.
• All too often players delight in seeing premium pockets, or low pocket pairs, and immediately shove all of their chips into the pot. I beg you not to do this.
• This type of play is, and should be, reserved for the dumbest of ‘Farm Animals’. And, I’m very happy to say, you are so incredibly distanced from that level….or, you should be.

Why? Articles 1, 2, 3, and 4, or your own self-education, have placed you on a hilltop overlooking the grazing herd of dumb critters who are not removed from the ‘dummy’ level. Don’t descend the slope to join in their stupidities. If you ever chose to do it (other than as a low-stack in late tourney play), you should go directly to the pasture and initiate a game of ‘who can sniff the most backsides’.…forget about playing poker for profit; the profit aspect will never come to fruition.

With regret, like you, I have made note of about four or five very active NPP freerollers whose only play is an ‘all-in or fold’ bet. And, like you, I’ve seen them ‘cash’ in a number of tournaments.

To their credit (or, to their obvious lack of talent), these individuals play only premium pockets, and when their ‘all-in’ bets are called by one or more other ‘Farm Animals’ they sometimes double, triple, or quadruple up. However, you are NOT to emulate their one-dimensional play.

True….their play occasionally earns them pennies here at NoPay. But, they are not advancing their playing abilities, and they will stagnate at the “I’m winning a few cents because I go all-in with great cards” free online poker level.

They, quite literally, are clueless as to how far they might progress in the poker world if they were to learn the multi-dimensional aspects of the game. Clearly, I can’t put their screen names in this Article….I’d like to, but I can’t. Yet, if you have not done so already, you’ll recognize their imbecilic play in the shortest of time periods.

I will, however, do the opposite. I have no problem in letting you know who the ‘good’ freerollers are….and, there are quite a few; some of them will be named in Part 2 of Article 5. (Which, by the way, was posted at the very same time as was this Article (Part 1)).

Plus, as is the case with most endeavors in life, if you want to get better at what you’re doing, do it with the people who are already better at it. And, when you’re with these people, make sure that you go out of your way to learn from them.

Their game play is ‘solid’, they have much in common in terms of their respective playing skills, and they’re each ‘winning players’ here at NoPay; just about all of them maintain a fairly high, and expanding, account balance.

At this point, allow me to return to the all-in bet.

• Keep in mind that any personal use of this action should almost always be restricted to the times when you’re holding the ‘nuts’, and an opponent has initiated the bet.
• Plus, your use of an ‘initiated’ all-in wager should be confined to post-river betting.
• Please, make a serious note about the last sentence.

Especially because you’re required to maintain an eye on the prize (1st place in the tournament), and you don’t win a tournament by chip-flinging at post-flop and post-turn intervals. ‘Farm Animals’ do the chip flinging at those intervals, and you’ll only call when you possess a hand that can’t be beat….again, you’re only calling an all-in bet when you hold the ‘nuts’.

When you are not guaranteed a winning hand, just step aside….let the dummies wallow in the dung heaps.

Remember, you’re only guaranteed a winning hand when you hold the ‘nuts’ post-river; or, in rare instances, post-turn. And, on the rarest of occasions, post-flop.

The fact of the matter is, more so at NoPayPoker than possibly any other place, if you want to win money, you’ll need to maintain a very conservative style of play….at least for now. In time, we’ll learn to vary our playing style.

Don’t worry! We’ll get to the viability of ‘Aggression’ in the not to distant future. Moreover, when we get there, we’ll learn what an integral and rewarding part of the game ‘Aggression’ truly represents.

Then, once we’ve incorporated ‘Aggression’ into our free poker playing style, if you mistakenly attempt to emulate the Vince Lombardi coached Green Bay Packer’s infamous ‘Reckless Abandon’, your rear end will feel a moderate stinging sensation….that mild pain will be the end result of my having gently placed a cattle prod on your backside. And, while the ache may well be short-lived, the memory of it will not escape your thoughts for some time to come.

*****(THIS ARTICLE WILL BE CONTINUED NEXT MONTH)*****

Best of Luck at the Tables

Michael

(c) copyright 2008; no reproduction, all rights reserved by D. M. Vadnais

Next in the free poker coaching series you’we’ll do part 2 of Goals, Bets, Blunders, and Calamities

See: free poker lessons strategy for all the NoPayPOKER poker coaching lessons series and see the home page to access practice games in free poker against other people