See http://www.nopaypoker.com/articles/index.php/article-1-of-10-a-prerequisite-for-poker-venues-involving-real-money for article 1 in this series on how to graduate from free poker to live card room cash game $5/10 play.

Little doubt exists on my part that you’ve noticed, throughout this series of free poker Articles, throughout all of the preceding series of Articles (if you’ve read them), that I fundamentally adhere to a very ‘conservative’ style of play. And, I’ve yet to find any reason to remove myself from what is an exceptionally rewarding approach to the game. After all, it does produce an average monthly Return on Investment of 65%.

But, how does it do so well? And, why does it do so well?

The answer to both of these questions reside in a very simple fact. One that should be easily understood by all of us. We don’t gamble, many others do.

Not everyone, but countless numbers of players that we end up competing against do gamble.
And, these gamblers are completely unaware of the long-term negative consequences associated with the way they play. Therefore, as long as these players remain a constant at our table, and they will, we’re going to regularly strip them of their cash; large amounts of cash. Plus, our standard method of winning their cash will be founded in the conservative poker play that we bring to every one of our B & M sessions at the felt.

Now, this being so, I’ll wager that most of you have no idea how many of these types of poker players…the gamblers…fill the seats at the B & M tables. As an example, I often play with an Orthodontist; he’s not a friend, just a poker table acquaintance.

He joins a ‘private’ $5/$10 No Limit table every Friday. He’s a gambler, he buys-in with $2,000 every week, and he rarely leaves the table with any money. If the truth be known, I want him around. He’s the source of a lot of cash regularly flowing in my direction. And, again, it’s my conservative play that is the principal cause for the movement of his cash to my pockets.

He’s a gambler…and, I guess, he should be on my ‘I love You’ list (it’s a figurative list; not a literal one). Or, for his benefit, he should be on the ‘I Need to Read Fyodor Dostoevsky’ list (the author of ‘The Gambler’).

And, if, by chance, you too have not as yet picked up this classic piece of Russian literature, you’d be well advised to do so. It won’t take more than six hours to read the book in its entirety.

Where, you’ll discover, that the contents of the book get you inside the gamblers mind. Once immersed, you’ll be shocked to learn that the subconscious goal of just about all gamblers is to lose. That’s right! To lose!

Conversely, I compete with two extremely good players in the very same ‘private’ game, both of whom have become close friends; we’ll often end the day at a dinner table with one another. Each of the two of them know full-well exactly what’s happening when, for example, I’ve flopped a ‘low pair’ set.

Obviously, they say or do nothing while the hand is being played. But, when the hand is over, they’ll often shift their eyes in my direction, and offer up a discretely veiled congratulatory grin. Additionally, as you might expect, It’s rare for any of the three of us to be in the same hand together at ‘post-flop betting’ or ‘post-turn betting’.

In essence, why should any one of the three of us compete against each other when there are ‘Farm Animals’ filling at least half the seats at this cash game table. And, since it’s a weekly private game, it must be obvious to you all that I am in possession of extensive notes on all fourteen of the groups members; eight of whom have got to maintain full-time residence in a pasture…their play stinks; much like manure in a sweltering sun.

Yet, weekly, eight to eleven players show up for the game, and, four to five of them wouldn’t be able to win money if they were competing against a table full of imbecilic, ‘anal-facial’ inverted, tiddly-wink players.

Now, inversion aside, it’s necessary for me to point out a few things to avoid...or, a few things to be fully aware of while you’re at the tables with other players.

• The first item of note has to do with gender. It is infrequent, indeed almost non-existent, to ever find a woman who is a gambler.
• I don’t know why, but I do know that I have yet to encounter one.
• Possibly, as a byproduct of their innate patience, they maintain a ‘wisdom’ about their play that often escapes their male counterparts.
• Of note, this ‘wisdom’ may also be the case in every day life.
• Think for a moment, if you’re male, about your life-time tally of large mistakes, versus the life-time tally belonging to the female who shares your abode. No comparison! Right?

Additionally, make note of the fact that there aren’t a whole lot of females in my sample. On average, at least nine out of ten participants at just about all B & M tables are men.

As evidence of this proportional statistic, visit your local poker room…then count the women you see who are playing at cash tables. Your eyes will quickly validate the statistical veracity mentioned in the preceding sentence.

In fact, when you count heads, when you separate by gender, you’ll discover that approximately nineteen out of twenty players in the card rooms are men. And, rest assured, the lone female in this group of twenty players is not a gambler.

Also, with gender as a non-issue, toss away any attempt to make a gambler the victim of your deceitful plays…all three of them.

• The gamblers don’t bring anything but ‘reckless abandon’ and aggression to the tables.
• They’re simply not attentive enough to pick-up on the ‘deceits’ you would like to implement.
• Save the well-intentioned, profitable, and deceitful set-ups for the players who possess some degree of comprehension about how to play the game.
• Then, at ‘deceit success’, stack their chips at your small space on the felt.
• Additionally, use the serendipitous occasions of holding non-deceitful ‘nut’ hands to relieve the gamblers of their money.

Plus, you need not exclude any of the ladies from the ‘deceit’ tactics that you’ll regularly put to use at the tables.

• Frankly, since they are so observant, since they are so patient, since they are so non-forgetful, and since they bring ‘wisdom’ wherever they go, they will often fall victim to the deceit shows you stage.
• And, Lord knows, there’s nothing wrong with stuffing your pockets with the cash that once existed in their purses.
• Remember, gender does not exist at a poker table. A woman can take a man’s money, a man can take a woman’s money…no sexism; it doesn’t exist.

Next, now would be an appropriate time to render some clarity to another statistic.
One that may have buried itself into your thoughts, but escaped definition. It has to do with ROI.

Where, frequently, throughout all of my poker ‘writings’, I have mentioned a sustained 65% Return on Investment (ROI) regarding my years of B & M play.

And, should you not have done the arithmetic tied to a 65% ROI, should you not have calculated the amount of money tied to a 65% ROI, take a moment to allow the explanation contained within the next two paragraphs to introduce you to the potential effects on your wallet’s contents.

Paramount within the introduction is the very simple formula used to compute an ROI.

• Do not use your buy-in amount as the basis for arriving at a Return on Investment Percentage.
• You can only use the largest amount of money that you have put into play during any one hand…on any one day that you have played.
• If you bought in for $1,500, but never put more than $1,000 into play, then your basis for computing an ROI is $1,000 (not $1,500).
• And, if you ended the day with winnings that totalled $500, you would have experienced a one day ROI of 50%…where $500 in winnings, versus $1,000 put into play, equals 50%.
• Pretty simple! The amount you won expressed as a percentage of the amount you put at risk.
• If you never used your original $1,500 buy-in as an ‘all-in’ bet during play, you never put your $1,500 buy-in at risk.

Then, game day after game day, maintain a journal where you record the day’s ‘at risk’ money, and the day’s ‘money won’ or ‘money lost’.

• At month’s end, total up all of the ‘at risk’ money, and total up a net of ‘money won’ less ‘money lost’.
• As an example, let’s identify the monthly total of ‘at risk’ money as $20,000.
• And, let’s identify the net total of ‘money won’ less ‘money lost’ as $13,000 (in winnings).
• OK! Done! You’re looking at a 65% Return on Investment…where $13,000 in winnings, versus $20,000 put into play, equals 65%.

However, considering the preceding, it’s important to note that the numbers I just used were hypothetical…they were only intended to clarify the process of calculating a Return on Investment; they were not meant to convey the monetary results that I may, or may not, experience during my play at the tables.

Those results, understandably, are personal to me. And, my goal here was not to toot my own horn, or to highlight my own stupidities; no, the goal here was only to get each of you to understand how much money can be accumulated as a result of playing with a 65% Return on Investment (ROI).

In candor, my play, my 65% ROI, is a byproduct of the two most valuable words in the English language. Those two words are ‘How’ and ‘Why’.

I know of no other words, when properly used, that will yield more information…more knowledge…and, more benefits.

The word ‘How’ permits us to dig…to uncover.

The word ‘Why’ permits us to understand…to reason.

In their absence, we’d be blind at a poker table. And, none of us, not if winning money is our goal, not if a 65% or more ROI is our goal, should ever look to sit down at the B &M felt without having mastered the use and effect of the words ‘How’ and ‘Why’.

In truth, even with our comprehension of the power of these two words, nothing to follow will be easy…actually, it’ll all be very hard. Yet, nothing to follow will be as difficult as the really, really, really, hard stuff…like, “What does a woman want?”. Go ahead! See if you can bring forth an answer to that question; it has essentially puzzled men for thousands of years.

And, if you were to commence a research effort in an attempt to answer that very question, you’d undoubtedly spend thousands of hours performing the task. Plus, in the end, you’d likely come to an erroneous conclusion.

So, suffice it to say, that the work involved in the task of properly utilizing your ‘player notes’ will pale in comparison. But, it’s your choice. Take up the task of trying to answer a question that is no more than an exercise in futility, or, take up the task of productively utilizing player notes that is no less than an exercise in success.

The latter will stuff your wallet with $100 Bills and make you pretty damn happy, the former will deplete any and all of your energies and make you pretty damn frustrated. A no brainer? It sure appears to be!

Moving forward…at least for those of you who chose the cash and happiness….we need to fully involve ourselves in the utilization of player notes.

And, as stated above, while the task will be an exercise that both culminates in success and fills your wallets, it’ll also be a task that challenges your ‘Hows’ and ‘Whys’, tests your perseverance, and strains your memory.

• You’ll not successfully conclude this effort without complete determination
• Without a continual attentiveness to ‘How’ and ‘Why
• …and, you’ll not successfully conclude this effort without making full use of all your abilities related to the process of memorization.

To begin with, when you’re first seated at the table:

• Recall that you’re going to say hello to all the players you know, you’re going to re-introduce yourself to all the players you think you know…but have managed to forget their respective names,
• You’re going to hand over your buy-in money to the floorman.
• Then you’re going to excuse yourself from the table. And, during your brief absence, you’re going to hide yourself from the table, and quickly research all of your relevant player notes.
• Once done, you’ll need to commit all of the player notes to memory, return to the table, apologize for your ‘phone call’ absence (or some similar white lie), and commence play (obviously, waiting to start until you’re the Big Blind).

Or, if it’s your plan to start play with a ‘false presentation’ that is intended to let people know that you’re a loose player, you’ll need to ignore the normally accepted principle of waiting for the Big Blind and put out the BB so that you’ll be dealt pocket cards on the first hand.

Yet, don’t be foolhardy in putting out a BB if most of the table’s participants know you. I mean, if the bulk of the players at the table know full well that you’re both a conservative and very good player, the charade of suggesting to the table that you’re loose is meaningless.

Second, pre-flop, you’ve got notes about tells and betting habits.

• As an example, I’ll use my ‘AR’, ‘SA’, and ‘CB’ notes.
• The ‘SA’ note tells me that this player always shuffles his two pocket cards when he has seen that the first card he looked at was an Ace.
• The ‘AR’ note tells me that he’ll call modest raises with Ace/Rag
• And the ‘CB’ note tells me that he’s a Calling Station once he’s participated in a BB raise.
• Plus, two other notes, ’8A’ and ‘RP’, have told me that he’d have been an eight times the BB raiser if he were holding pocket Aces (’8A’)
• Or that he’d have been a re-raiser if he were holding Ace/Paint (‘RP’).
• So, when he calls a three times the BB bet, after displaying his ‘shuffle’ tell, I can now play the hand with almost total confidence that he is holding pocket Ace/Rag.

No doubt, I’m in an ‘advantaged’ position. I know his cards, an Ace with either a 2 through 9, but he doesn’t know my cards. Granted, I don’t know if his cards are suited…mostly because I’ve never had the opportunity to record an ‘ARs’ note; it having never been shown to me at the conclusion of any one hand.

However, if, by chance, I’m holding Ace/Paint+ (K, Q, J, 10, or 9)  in my hand, I’m about a 7 to 2 pre-flop favorite versus this player.

Yet, I still need to take an accounting of the notes that I have for the player who made the original raise to the BB. And, in this case, let’s just label him a pre-flop ‘LA’ (loose/aggressive) and ‘FB’ (chip flinger who likes to bully the table).

Also, to make this example a bit simpler, let’s assume that my notes contain the very useful code ‘FQ’ (folds to quality players). Plus, the two players to my left are both coded ‘ET’; this code tells me that they are both Extremely Timid.

Now, with the knowledge that there are two Aces out, and the fact that the chances of the ‘ET’ players holding a pocket Ace are approximately one in ten, I’d like to isolate myself against the Ace/Rag player (keep in mind the ‘CB’ note).

And, since the original raiser is a ‘LA’, ‘FB’, and ‘FQ’ noted player, it is more than likely that a pot size raise will get rid of everyone except Mr. Ace/Rag.

So…my best play is to put out the three times the BB of $30, announce that I’m going to raise, and then place $100 in additional chips onto the table. In candor, when all of the above is true, I will experience greater than a 90% success rate with this play.

However, at this point, pre-flop, the 90% only relates to the mission of getting to an ‘isolation’ versus Mr. Ace/Rag…it has nothing to do with the number of times that I’ll win the hand. But, we already know how many times I’ll win the hand when I’m isolated with this A/rag player….it’s about 77% of the time.

Remember, I’m close to being a 4 to 1 favorite…my A/Q against his A/rag has put me in a considerably advantaged position.

Then, we need to know, and use, our player notes post-flop, post-turn, and post-river. Clearly, no easy task. Yet, when done properly, the rewards far outweigh the discipline, effort, and mental challenges that are the identifiable obstacles in our path.

• Think of them as ‘one foot’ high hurdles…possibly as many as 300 of them.
• In the aggregate, they may appear to be insurmountable.
• Individually, however, each of them is merely a single step.
• This being so, each of them becomes passable, attainable, and surmountable.
• Plus, having triumphed over my 225 hurdles, my 225 player note codes, I can’t bring myself to believe that many of you can’t do likewise…or, can’t do better.

And, while I would like to go much deeper into the subject matters relating to ‘Player Note Utilization’, there is a restriction placed on me that I am currently unable to navigate around.

In a general sense, it has to do with my ‘publishers legal authority’. They own the publishing rights to my 225 player note codes, and they own the publishing rights to my book: ‘A Journey Down the Brick and Mortar Road’.

In return, I own the money they paid me, and I own a ‘royalty contract’ that they, my agent, and I have signed. In the end, the bottom line is that I am prohibited from publishing anything more than a ‘sampling’ of the codes…here at NoPayPOKER, or anywhere else.

Yet, given all that’s been presented to you in this series of Articles, I’m comfortable with the prospects for your future success at the B & M cash game tables. And, I’m equally comfortable with my own projections that many of you can, and will, develop all of the ‘note taking’ codes that you’ll need to attain the aforementioned future success.

There is, however, one last natural, innate, or God-given individual poker ‘skill’, or ‘characteristic’, or ‘gift’ that each of you must possess to move forward….to bring about the frequent stacking of $100 Bills on the green felt laid out before you.

And, while I have no interest in offending anyone, I will be brutally honest in defining the ‘skill’, ‘characteristic’, or ‘gift’ that I’m writing about.

I could simply call it your Intelligence Quotient, or I could simply call it your ability to Memorize. But, if I were to do either, I believe that I would be instituting an injustice.

I know of any number of people with high IQ’s who can’t memorize very well, and I know of any number of people with great memorization skills who don’t hold a high IQ. So, it’s not one or the other…it’s really a combination of both.

Fundamentally, I suggest that you’ll need an !Q of 105 or higher, and I suggest that you’ll need above average memorization abilities.

And, without exception, it’s you who knows you best…you’ll need to determine whether or not you belong at a Brick and Mortar cash game.

Best of Luck at the Tables

Michael

(c) copyright 2009; no reproduction, all rights reserved by D. M. Vadnais

NB – Over your head a bit for now? Don’t worry! Read the whole series by D.M. Vadnais on the NoPayPOKER.com blog then go practice your free texas hold em poker online on the main NoPayPOKER.com site. As our maestro says in previous articles, you can win real money playing real free poker on NoPayPOKER.com and with that fund your bankroll for the real deal when you go up to the B&M bigs.

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This Article is a continuation of Part 8….where Player Notes remain the primary subject matter; as they will in Part 10 to follow.

And, while it’s one task to have accurately recorded player notes, it’s a completely different task to properly make use of those notes. So, here, in Part 9, we’ll look to address the latter.

Plus, as difficult as it was to develop a coding schematic for recording notes (which was your job; not mine….I have my own set of about 225 codes), be mindful of the fact that the effort required to put your notes to sound use will be no less difficult.

Additionally, it’s going to take some time before the player notes, and their usage, evolve into a ‘semi-robotic’ component of your cash game play.

However, prior to our journey into the depths of player note utilization, I’ll use this opportunity to again present a difference between cash and free online poker play versus B &M play.

Given all the past presentations of the vast differences between the two, I’m hopeful that you’ve incorporated the ‘assumed gained knowledge’ into your game play. If you have, I’m confident that you’ve managed to attain a positive Return On Investment (ROI) at the casino or card room you’ve been visiting.

Yet, I can’t conceive of your ROI, to-date, having reached 65% or more. However, I can conceive of your ROI getting there….or going beyond there. You’ll simply need a bit more time; it’ll happen.

Now, on to the difference(s).

• It deals with your ‘Flops Seen Percentage’ and your ‘Flops Seen Win Percentage’.
• When you’re playing free poker at NoPayPOKER, remembering that ‘real money’ Internet poker sites are no longer safe gaming venues, you’ve likely experienced a ‘Flops Seen Percentage’ of somewhere in excess of 25%; possibly as high as 45%.
• Plus, you’ve likely experienced a ‘Flops Seen Win Percentage’ of somewhere below 50%; possibly as low as 20%.
• And, as a result of your ‘percentages’, I suspect that a number of pennies have accumulated in your accounts.
• Moreover, I suspect that those pennies have added up to a moderate stack of one dollar bills ($1).

Well, the growth of a ‘penny’ bankroll at NoPayPOKER, versus the growth of a ‘Hundred Dollar Bill’ bankroll at a Brick and Mortar (B & M) establishment, represent horses of a different size and color….one is a roan miniature, the other is a dark bay Clydesdale; there’s just no comparison.

And, you’re NOT going to win any ‘serious money’ ($100 Bills) at the B & M tables with a ‘Flops Seen Percentage’ that exceeds 17 to 18%, or you’re NOT going to win any ‘serious money’ ($100 Bills) at the B & M tables with a ‘Flops Seen Win Percentage’ that is lower than 60 to 64%.

Candidly, the days of 45% Flops Seen and 20% Flops Seen Wins are over.

Why? Because, we’re playing with extreme patience; and that limits flops seen.

• Because, we’re playing with a Playable Pockets Matrix (PPM); and that limits flops seen.
• Because, we’re more than willing to ‘pre-flop muck’ truly good pockets when the ‘Farm Animals’, reminiscent of a donk-infested freeroll, begin to fling chips around; and that limits flops seen.
• Moreover, we’re not remotely comparable to any of the ‘pasture dwellers’….we’re not removed from the knowledge of winning strategies….and, we’re not required to abandon the principles of our game play quality.
• Additionally, we have a complete understanding of both Positive Expected Values (+EV) and Negative Expected Values (-EV).

Also, keep in mind that we’re only playing when we believe we have an advantage. And, we’ve come to learn when, and if, we do have that advantage….like holding the current ‘nuts’ hand, or slow-playing a flopped set, or using Implied Odds to create big ROI’s, or making pot size bets as a defensive weapon, or implementing any one of the three deceits that have become a mainstay in our game.

Plus, the very fact that we’re only playing when we are in an ‘advantaged’ position, represents the principle reason for all of us to be pathed toward eventually taking down more than 3 out 5 hands (a ‘Flops Seen Win Percentage of 60% or more).

Of note, the ‘Flops Seen Win Percentage’, where I’ve indicated to you the presumption that it will fall into the range of 60 to 64%, will occur….zero doubt exists on my part that this will be true over any extended period of time. It’s been true for all of my No Limit Ring Game students, and it’s been true for me.

If you play the game in a manner that substantially parallels the ‘instructional’ scribblings I’ve presented to you, it’s inevitable that your ‘Flops Seen Win Percentage’ will end up somewhere between 60 to 64%.

And, when you’re winning with that degree of consistency, you will be experiencing a substantial growth to your $100 Bill bankroll….especially when you take into account the fact that you’ll rarely, if ever, call an all-in bet unless you hold a ‘nuts’ hand.

Clearly, at this point, I could easily visualize a whole lot of people who’d have a whole lot of interest in benefiting from a continually expanding Hundred Dollar Bill bankroll. And, if you’ve come with me this far, through Part 9 of this series of Articles, the chances are that you ARE one of those people.

This being so, it would be a good time to enter the realm of putting the player notes you’ve developed to profitable use at the felt. Quite possibly, you’ve already discovered that some of the notes you’ve recorded to-date have moved a number of $100 Bills into your wallets and purses. And, that’s great! However, I’m intent on getting you to move quite a few more….with quite a bit of regularity.

Let’s begin!

• First and foremost, stay away from a $1/$2 No Limit game.
• Generally speaking, the opening bet in this low stakes game is in the area of seven times the big blind (that would be $15).
• And, there are only two pockets that we could be dealt that would give us cause to call a seven times the BB raise: A/A and K/K (and, for the record, we’ll find ourselves holding pocket A/A or pocket K/K only once in approximately 110 hands).
• Plus, there are way too many different players, countless players, who will join this low stakes game.
• Over the period of as little as three months, you could easily be witness to well over six to eight hundred different people sitting down at a $1/$2 table.

That fact, for certain, will place our note taking task in jeopardy; we’ll never have enough room in our notebooks for all the ‘BananaHeads’ who come to play, and, we’ll never have enough free time to successfully record accurate notes (I’ve yet to meet a single individual who could successfully record notes on 800 or more players).

• Additionally, the cost to play, the rake, will be way too high; likely in the area of 7% to 10%.
• Plus, the same is true for a $2/$4 game; too many different players, and too high of a rake.
• Why would we want to compromise our ability to win by holding insufficient notes?
• And, why would we want the ‘house’ to be garnering more of the pot than what would seem equitable? Answer! We don’t.

Additionally, we’ll be well advised to avoid the $10/$20 games, and the $20/$40 games.

• Both attract extremely good players, and an assortment of professional players.
• It would be most infrequent to find a ‘BananaHead’, or an easily readable player at these high stake games.
• For sure, by my judgement, we have no reason to be putting ourselves in the most challenging game play settings.
• More importantly, avoiding these games allows us to place ourselves at the tables where the pickings are the easiest.

This being the case, our starting game, and, much more than likely, our constant game, is going to be a $5/$10 No Limit cash game.

• It attracts a fairly consistent group of players.
• Some are good, some are bad, and most are very predictable.

As an example, the games I play in, one a 70 minute drive away, the other a 2 hour drive away, each attract about 5 dozen ‘regular’ players, and a small, but continual flow of tourists, businessmen, oil platform workers, and ‘traveling’ poker rounders.

For the most part, the tourists, businessmen, and oilmen, are all major ‘turkeys’ in the games. Often, however, a rounder will prove to be a very good player. And, rarely, will I end up labeling any one of the rounders I’ve met as a bad player.

Interestingly, as an aside, it’s always fascinating for me to talk with any number of these rounders post-play, at the bar, or at dinner. I usually make every attempt possible to get one of them to join me; many of these guys can offer up all sorts of ‘words of wisdom’, and, often, there are worthwhile lessons in their words.

Plus, just about every rounder plays at the $5/$10 level. And, whenever they speak to the reasons for their decisions to play the $5/$10 game (vs. a higher stakes game), they almost unilaterally talk about the rationale I presented to you two paragraphs earlier.

In the end, I have notes on approximately 160 active players in my book, 160 pieces of paper.

• At any one time, no more than approximately 240 note pages are in my 8-ring binder.
• And, from time-to-time, I purge the book of player pages for the people that I haven’t been at the tables with in a defined period of time.
• For me, the purge occurs when the player has been a ‘no-show’ for approximately 3 months.
• However, while I remove the purged pages from my notebook, I don’t toss them into the garbage can.
• They go into a file in my desk at home. The file currently contains more than 500 pages, and it has been built up over a period of more than seven years.

The reason behind the ‘page saving’ action should be obvious; the player could return to the felt at some future point in time. And, if he does, the saved notes go back into my book with the ‘amount of time absent’ notation added to the page.

The ‘time absent’ entry is very important. Since, as is the case in everyday life, people change. The player who has been away for a while could have adjusted his method of play. Essentially rendering a few, most, or all of the notes on his page useless; possibly bringing forth the necessity to start the note taking process anew….as though he was a brand new player to me.

Additionally, as mentioned above, people change. And, it doesn’t have to be the result of an individuals absence from the felt. He could be changing his method of play because he has learned from experience, becoming a better player.

Or, he might have learned a whole lot more about the game because of his time spent reading some really good poker books. Or, he could have recently completed one of the ‘classroom’ type of NLRG courses (not an Internet class). Therefore, no matter what the cause for his improved play at the table, the notes as recorded on his player page must be adjusted.

And, those notes, plus all notes, for all players, can never be thought of as ‘concrete’; they can only be thought of as ‘dynamic’.

• When the players’ game changes, your notes change.
• As the player demonstrates new methodologies at the table, as the player puts forth new ‘tells’ at the table, your notes have got to change.
• Don’t get caught up in a ’100% labeled’ frame of mind, your notes will always be changing.
• Only a small number of players maintain an absolute constant in the way they play the game.
• So, you best be using a pencil to record and update your notes and, the pencil better have an eraser; you’re gonna’ use it much more often than you might currently imagine.

The maintenance of your notes, as addressed in the preceding paragraphs, is only one of three goals that Articles 9 and 10 are meant to discuss.

• Control is a second. And, it’s not about the control of your notes, it’s more about control as it relates to your personal attachment to your notes.
• Certainly, I recognize that you’ve done a great deal of work to establish the ‘player note’ codes you’ll use.
• And, I recognize that you’ve done a great deal of work in the process of establishing player pages, each containing player notes.

Yet, while mindful of the dynamics of note taking, you’ve got to realize that there will be a multitude of game play situations where those very notes will be completely useless.

• On average, in every 6 to 8 hour session that I play at a B & M, where approximately 170 to 220 hands are played, my player notes have become a valuable resource about 2 dozen times.
• Plus, in the last Article, you should have noted that I shared with you the fact that my notes are responsible for 2 large pots to come my way in almost every session at the tables.
• Moreover, my notes are responsible for occasional instances of folding premium pockets pre-flop, folding good cards post-flop, folding solid cards post-turn, and folding excellent cards post-flop.
• Also, I mentioned, given time, the same will be the case for each of you. Yet, in most hands, the notes simply sit idle in my notebook, or in my head. And, at this point, you would be suitably justified to ask “Why?”

And, I’ll be suitably forthright in answering the question. Basically, a vast number of hands are played by tourists, businessmen, oil workers, and rounders for whom I possess few, if any, notes.

With this being true, it’s awfully difficult to be in a position where my notebook has any value, simply stated, I barely know these people. And, I need time to record accurate notes about the way in which they play.

But, nothing guarantees me that I’ll reach the point of establishing ‘good notes’ about these players during the B & M session that I am currently playing in.

Sure, I can start the process, however, I’ll need at least 5 or 6 sessions with each of these ‘new’ players before I could begin to use my notes with any degree of confidence. Again, as has been highlighted so many times before, patience takes a front seat to all the skills and assets I, you, or anyone bring to the felt.

Well, if there are limited opportunities to remove cash from the players we know very little about, how do we generate the stack of $100 Bills? Good question!

• And, there isn’t just one answer, there are multiple dimensions to the answer.
• However, all of the dimensions are founded in a single commonality.
• And that commonality relates to the third goal of Articles 9 and 10 – The proper utilization of the notes we’ve recorded.
• Yet, concerning the players that we’re not acclimated to, the tourists, the businessmen, the rounders, and the other strangers, don’t lose sight of the fact that you’ll get to take quite a few $100 Bills from them whenever you’re in possession of a ‘nuts’ hand.
• Especially when the ‘nuts’ hand has been held by you in a staged deceit.

Last, while it may have taken a while, we can now move on to our third goal; it being the utilization of player notes.

For sure, the notes do nothing for us if we can’t take full advantage of them while we’re at a B & M poker table. And, no matter how organized, or how comprehensive, or how accurate, our player notes have become, if we don’t use them properly, we have about as much chance of attaining a 65% ROI as does a ‘pinhead’ who’s playing tiddly-winks.

Clearly, there can’t be more than a few ‘Farm Animals’ reading this Article. So, for just about all of you who have taken up this Brick and Mortar journey with me, and are reading this Article, I can confidently tell you that the note taking process will move rapidly toward the pleasant job of stacking your newly acquired $100 Bills.

And, thus far, in these Articles, you’ve read about a few instances where my player notes have been responsible for the movement of a handful of these Bills to my wallet. But, as good as that may have been for me, it hasn’t moved any of the Bills to your wallets.

The latter, the lack of money movement in your direction, is what I now need to rectify.

Plus, at this stage, even if you’ve only identified somewhere in the area of 100 ‘player note’ codes, I want you to know that you’ve navigated the first four steps on my nine step ‘player note’ ladder. In time, your codes will expand, who knows, you might even end up with a 12 step ladder; you could ultimately be playing with 250 to 300 codes (vs. my 225). Which, if your memory can handle it, will put you in the position of playing the game with approximately 11% to 33% more player data than my memory can handle.

And, the issue associated with ones ability to use their memory is not to be taken lightly.

• Remember, you’re not playing the game like Greg Raymer, you’re not openly exposing your player notebook to the other participants at the felt.
• No! You’ll enter the game through a buy-in with the floorman, you’ll extend a greeting to all the people you know at the table, you’ll identify the people you don’t know, you’ll introduce yourself to the unknown players, and then you’ll excuse yourself for a minute.
• And, during your brief absence, well hidden from the table, you’ll take the time to memorize everything your notes can tell you about the players you know
• Be attentive to detail, skip nothing, and pray that all of your brain cells are functional; you’re gonna’ need them!

Best of Luck at the Tables

Michael

(c) copyright 2009; no reproduction, all rights reserved by D. M. Vadnais

(DETAILED PLAYER NOTE UTILIZATION WILL BE PRESENTED IN ARTICLE 10)

NB – Over your head a bit for now? Don’t worry! Read the whole series by D.M. Vadnais on the NoPayPOKER.com blog then go practice your free texas holdem poker online on the main NoPayPOKER.com site. As our maestro says in previous articles, you can win real money playing real free poker on NoPayPOKER.com and with that fund your bankroll for the real deal when you go up to the B&M bigs.

The whole idea of recording player notes….given that you’ve been playing free online poker for an extended period of time….should not be new to you.

You’re well aware of the fact that almost every online poker site you’ve visited has provided you with the ability to record notes concerning your individual opponents play….most often, you simply ‘right-clicked’ your mouse and it brought up a note box. And, I would hope that almost all of you have taken advantage of that poker site option.

If you didn’t, shame on you…that was a costly mistake. A mistake that you best not be making in your future play at the B&M cash game tables; if you do make the mistake, it’ll cost you money….possibly a lot of money.

Of equal importance, now that the fraud and chicanery has been amply documented at online poker sites, I’m hopeful that y’all are no longer playing for ‘real money’ on any of the ‘deposit required’ poker venues available through your PC.

And, I’m just as hopeful that y’all have limited your Internet poker play to only NoPayPOKER.com…which, in my opinion, offers you much more than any other ‘free poker‘ site. Plus, it’s a great place to render improvement to just about anyone’s game play, and it’s a great place to build a bankroll.

In the end, when you can thump the ‘Farm Animals’ with regularity, I truly believe that your game can be played profitably at a B & M card room.

However, since there is no PC available to you while you’re playing in a real poker room, no ‘right-click’ option, you’ll have to improvise…you’ll need to develop a manual note taking system, or a mental note taking system.

And, while some of you may be capable of the latter, I’m not; there would be way too much information to store in my aged, and rapidly deteriorating, brain cells. I have a hard enough time remembering what day of the week it is.

So, I’m certainly not going to remember how ‘the young, balding, heavy-set guy from Hammond, Louisiana plays pre-flop’, or the fact that I actually should have known that his name is Andrew…since, at one point, we introduced ourselves to each other.

This being true, my improvisation has been built around a small notebook (3″x6″, in an 8-ring binder).

• I maintain all of my player notes in this book…and, not unlike the semi-complicated on-line note taking system I employed many years ago when I played for 60 hours a week on the Internet, the notes recorded in this binder are seriously complicated.
• I want physical and logistical information about players in this book.
• I want codes that represent their playing style…pre-flop, pre-turn, pre-river, and post-river in this book.
• I want their betting habits described in this book.
• And, I want their physical, verbal, and behavioral tells fully documented in this book.

Should all of this sound somewhat cumbersome, let me be the first to tell you that when you begin the process of recording notes, you’ll find yourself believing that the task is…yes, is…cumbersome.

But, once you’ve worked your way through the initial difficulties, you’ll eventually realize that it’s no more than a routine task to which you’ve become acclimated. You meet someone, you find out the name, you observe physical characteristics, you learn where they are from, and you make an entry in your notebook.

• The binder can be structured around a name sequence, a location sequence, or a physical characteristic sequence; meaning, you’ll need to choose the order in which you maintain your entries within the binder.
• I use a name sequence. It’s always easy for me to apologize to someone for having forgotten their name, and then initiate a re-introduction.

And, if possible, you’ll want to make all of your player note entries while you’re away from the table; the process of allowing others to witness your note taking efforts would be a pretty big mistake.

Therefore, it’s best to use smoke breaks, coffee breaks, rest room breaks, food breaks, and/or phone breaks to accomplish your recording goals; don’t be like Greg Raymer…. openly recording notes is going to scare people away.

Be consistently mindful, when you’re recording notes, of the need for complete accuracy; any mistake in your notebook could end up becoming very expensive. And, that type of costly mistake would only be attributed to your carelessness; no one else would be to blame.

Then, once the sequential order of your notebook is established, and once you’ve begun to enter the ‘physical and logistical’ data concerning your competitors, you’re ready to begin making actual ‘poker play’ notes.

Yet, time, space restraints, my book publishers’ legal authority, and other factors will not permit me to detail a coding system for you. Moreover, I’m compelled to believe that each of you are in possession of the where-with-all to develop the actual codes to be used in your own notes….it’s not as though each of you has just fallen off the donkey cart; you can do it, I don’t need to do it for you.

What I will do…in this Article…is present a guideline, a structure, for the notes you’ll be recording.
This should provide all the assist you’ll need to get your ‘player notes’ started.

And, when you have an accurate set of ‘player notes’ filling the many pages of your binder, coupled with the ability to use those notes during cash game play, you’ll have a vastly improved ability to move a considerable number of your opponents chips to your stack….so much so that you will have firmly ‘rooted’ yourself as a consistent winning player.

• Additionally, beyond the physical and logistical notes that we need in the book, as previously stated, we also need a way to record playing styles…pre-flop, pre-turn, pre-river, and post-river.
• Plus, we need a method of recording our opponents betting habits and tells.
• Clearly, this appears to be a very difficult, time consuming, and mentally challenging task.
• And, while I would like to tell you that the whole process will be easy, I can’t.

Nothing you’ve worked on in an attempt to improve your game play will be as difficult a task as will the work you’ll need to successfully conclude regarding Player Notes….the task of accurately recording Player Notes is an effort of significant magnitude.

Absent the necessary time and effort on your part will be cause for large amounts of money to be deposited in your opponents bank accounts….not your accounts.

So, first, we’ll label the sections of our individual player pages in the notebook:

1. ‘F’ for pre-flop playing style.
2. ‘T’ for pre-turn playing style.
3. ‘R’ for pre-river playing style.
4. ‘X’ for post-river playing style.
5. Then, it’s ‘B’ for betting habits
6. ”C’ for tells and body language

The ‘F’ (pre-flop), ‘T’ (pre-turn), and ‘R’ (pre-river) sections should, for the most part, all use the same coding elements.

• You’ll need to develop a set of codes that keep you informed about the way in which your competitors play.
• And, again, I believe that each of you are quite capable of establishing these codes….providing, of course, that y’all possess a willingness to do the required work.

As an example, you might code a very aggressive player as ‘VA’, you might code a tight and conservative player as ‘TC’, you might code a calling station as ‘CS’, you might code a player who won’t fold a premium pocket as ‘PS’ (premium station), and you might code an extremely good player as ‘XG’.

Now….keep going; code a timid player, code a chip flinger. Can you think of more? Of course you can!

Personally, regarding the entire note taking process, I use approximately 225 codes; although, I will cautiously admit, there are times when I think that I record more data than is actually necessary.

Yet, the work I do in recording notes is now instinctive, it’s natural….I don’t think about it, it just occurs in the normal course of playing my game. Importantly, the same will be true for each of you one day in the not so distant future.

The ‘X’ section, post-river playing style, needs to be somewhat different.

• Here, we want to make ourselves aware of any players propensity for bluffing
• Plus, we’ll want almost all of the types of ‘playing style’ information as used in ‘F’, ‘T’, and ‘R’.
• Yet, the bluffing component to the ‘X’ code is of paramount importance.
• So, if you’ve observed a player’s propensity for aggressive post-river betting, where the bets are almost always an attempt to steal the pot, get a code into your notes to remind yourself of that players bad habit, or habits.
• One of the codes I use is ‘PB’. It tells me that when all 5 cards are exposed on the board, this particular player has a penchant for making a bet that is no more than a bluff.
• And, occasionally, I get to capitalize on the data recorded in my notebook.

Next, is the ‘B’ section…betting habits. And, we need 4 subsets to the ‘B’ section:

1. One that correlates to pre-flop betting.
2. One that correlates to pre-turn betting.
3. One that correlates to pre-river betting.
4. And one that correlates to post-river betting.

Plus, we should only be interested in notes that describe bets when the player is actually a contender in the hand; and, we certainly can’t delineate a note if the players’ pocket cards are not revealed to us at the end of the hand.

As an example, If the player routinely bets 3 times the BB when he’s holding his version of playable pre-flop cards, we would be interested in capturing notes on his betting habits; something like ’3P’ for three times the big blind when he’s holding pocket paint, something like ’8A’ for eight times the big blind when he’s holding pocket aces, or something like ’6K’ for six times the big blind when he’s holding pocket kings; providing, of course, that he does, in fact, make those bets.

Plus, going a step beyond, we’ll need something like ‘RA’, ‘RK’, or ‘RS’ when the player re-raises a pre-flop raise; where ‘RA’ means he’s holding pocket Ace/Ace, ‘RK’ means he’s holding pocket King/King, and ‘RS’ means he’s holding pocket Ace/King (the ‘S’ part of ‘RS’ translating into Big Slick).

Last, is the ‘C’ section for tells and body language….it’s identified as ‘C’ only because of the influence that Mike Caro has had on my game, the games of many of the exceptional players I know, and the games of just about all the full-time professional poker players; most of whom each of us would be able to quickly recognize.

I use codes like ‘NF’….fidgets at the table when holding a ‘nuts’ hand, ‘NS’….silence at the table when holding a ‘nuts’ hand, and, ‘NT’….talks at the table when holding a ‘nuts’ hand. Or, ‘TT’….constantly talks at the table with whatever he’s holding; essentially a non-tell.

Better yet, ‘TR’….talks at the table only post-river, and only when he holds the ‘nuts’ hand (see article 7 for a great example of this one in play)

Additionally, the ‘C’ section is broken down into 4 subsets….

1. One for pre-flop.
2. One for pre-turn.
3. One for pre-river
4. And one for post-river.

And, obviously, the four codes cited in the preceding paragraph apply only to the post-river subset. Yet, you’ll need a variety of codes for each of the 4 subsets.

Principally because most of the available tells at different stages of the hand can be vastly different.

To demonstrate this, consider the player who is dead silent pre-flop, remains dead silent pre-turn, continues the dead silence pre-river, but then becomes openly vocal post-river….as was the case when the quad eights bested my quad fours (as described in Part 7 of this series of Articles).

When that happened, I should have been extremely pleased with my code ‘TR’….without it, I could have easily lost $2,200 more than my losing hand had actually cost me.

Yet, I don’t recall having experienced any euphoria. No! None! Mostly because the recording of player notes is simply a routine task for me….and, that being the case, the proper use of that one particular code was no more than a routine play; albeit in a fairly dramatic hand.

So, the player notes, and the codes you are going to use, have now put you in the position where you have some work to do.
In fact, I would suggest that it’s not just some work, or a small job, I would suggest that you’ve got a substantial amount of work to do…and, I’m not doing it for you; all I’ve done is lay out the guideline for you to go about the process of accomplishing the task.

However, I will go into considerably more detail about the subject matter of ‘Player Notes’ within the next two Articles….numbers 9 and 10.
Again, though, the burdensome task of developing a coding system, and learning to record notes, is going to be yours; not mine.

Plus, given the fact that Articles 9 and 10 will not be posted for a period of at least two months, you’ll have ample time to work-up the codes your going to need, and you’ll have ample time to teach yourself to properly record those notes in practice sessions.

Begin the process….the only person to be rewarded, monetarily rewarded, will be you.
Sure, you, I, and anyone we speak to about this work effort is going to understand that this is a daunting task. But, the end result of successfully completing the work will be well worth the challenge, time, and effort. As motivation, I’ll share a piece of personal information.

My player notes bring me an average of two large pots for every 6 to 7 hour session I play at the B & M felt.
Annually, in playing somewhere around 150 sessions, the total amount of cash that takes up residence in my wallet, as a result of using player notes, far exceeds the median income of the American employee.

Get started! It’s your turn to win some money.

Now, slightly altering the subject matter, have you ever seen a really good B & M poker player, tournament or otherwise, sitting at a table, who looked at the pocket cards he or she were dealt before they watched every other player look at their cards?

• Have you ever seen that very same poker player look at the flop as it was being spread by the dealer…before watching all of the other players?
• Have you ever seen that very same poker player look at the turn card as it was exposed by the dealer…before watching all of the other players?
• Or, have you ever seen that very same poker player look at the river card as it was flipped by the dealer…before watching all of the other players?

I’m suggesting that your answer is “No”…unless ‘all-in’ bets had been made. And, why?
The answer lies in each of the sentences within the above paragraph. The really good B & M player is NOT looking at pocket cards, flops, turns, or rivers…he or she is looking at every one else at the table.

He or she wants to see what reactions are made visible by each of the opponents seated at the table. He or she wants this information in advance of knowing how the dealer’s action affected their own hand. Obviously, for good reason.

Any one, or more, of the competitor’s could be yielding a ‘tell’. And, if he or she wasn’t looking, he or she would never get to see the clearly visible tells that are constantly presented at the table.

This being so, you’ll need to do the very same thing…you’ll need to read tells through your opponents facial expressions, body language, spoken words, and/or lack thereof, with an ability that equates to ‘professional expertise’.

And, if you’ve yet to learn how to do this, I’m suggesting that you quickly begin the reading assignment previously mentioned multiple times in this series of Articles; the book I reference is authored by Mike Caro…you’ve got to read what he’s written.

It’s worth your effort….he’s the very best at describing a host of easily discernible tells at a poker table. And, absent an ability to read your opponents tells will be cause for your earning power at the poker table to be dramatically diminished.

Plus, absent an awareness of your own tells will be cause for your donations at the poker table to be dramatically increased.

Best of Luck at the Tables

Michael

(c) copyright 2009; no reproduction, all rights reserved by D. M. Vadnais

NB – If you’re thinking OMG I can never do that don’t despair! Go back to article 1 in Building a Bankroll and read the whole series by poker master pro D.M. Vadnais on the NoPayPOKER.com blog then go practice your free texas hold em poker online on the main NoPayPOKER.com site. As our maestro says in previous articles, you can win real money playing real free poker on NoPayPOKER.com and with that fund your bankroll for the real deal when you go up to the B&M bigs.

I have frequently made reference, within each of the preceding Articles, to the major differences between tournament play and cash game poker play. So, I’ll not let this Article pass without presenting you with an additional difference.

And, this particular difference will provide you with enough information about an accepted strategy…such that you might immediately dispense with any attempt to utilize what I believe to be a distinct negative during any cash game activity on your part. A distinct negative, I should add, that needs to be rapidly removed from your possible routine at a cash game table.

Tournament play, with its’ constancy of escalating blinds, with it’s constancy of table seating changes, and with its’ constancy of stack to Big Blind ratios, is quite properly aligned with what most of us have come to call Power Poker (the term, to the best of my knowledge, having been introduced by Mr. Brunson).

Moreover, tournament play fits well with a basic component of Power Poker; something we’ve all come to describe as a Continuation Bet.

Where, once you’ve raised the bet, without regard to the result of the Dealers’ next action (flop, turn, or river), you’re aggressively betting into the pot…again, it doesn’t matter if the cards, or card, exposed by the Dealer has helped you or hasn’t helped you.

• A Continuation Bet is simply an alternate way of describing very aggressive play.
• And, of significance, it is most often rewarded at a big money tournament table….especially a game played by professionals.

Not so at a cash game table. Any type of aggressive play at a no limit ring game table better have the ‘goods’ to back it up…else, you’ll be sharing your stack with all of the others at the table.

There is no room for the principles of Continuation Betting in our cash game strategy.

• In candor, almost all of Mr. Brunsons’ Power Poker regimentation can be cast aside while playing in a cash game.
• What use could we possibly have for it?
• Our strategy is primarily designed around calling and betting when we hold what we know to be the current ‘nuts’ hand
• ….or, when we are getting incredibly high Implied Odds on a draw to a ‘nuts’ hand.

Fittingly, let’s get something set into concrete right now. We don’t gamble…we bet when we have an advantage.

• And, there is no toying with semantics on my part in making that statement; plain and simple, if we don’t have an advantage, we’re folded out of the pot; we’re not gambling.
• Now, with that thought in mind, the whole idea of Continuation Betting, and its’ inherent use of aggressive play, can’t possibly accrue to our benefit in a cash game.
• It just doesn’t fit with the fundamentals of our game strategy.

Now, that’s not to say that we can’t be aggressive at times. Surely, when ‘calling stations’ and ‘weak players’ are seated to our left, and we hold a dominant hand, it becomes a situation where we would have ample cause for aggressive play; clearly, this would be to our advantage.

Yet, to simply subscribe to the Power Poker belief that Continuation Bets are going to inundate our small space at the felt with some, most, or all of our competitors’ stacks would be no more than idiotic.

I think the constant that we need to be focused on, as it relates to competitors at our tables, isn’t the pursuit of Continuation Betting, rather, it’s the arrival of the crowded bus that brings us new cash game players every day.

This focus augments well with the….’don’t gamble’, ‘play when you hold an advantage’, ‘dispense with Power Poker’….overall style of play that each of us will regularly bring to the tables. If we consistently have a new group of cash game players routinely delivered to our table, all of whom knowing absolutely nothing about the way we play the game, we’re best served by our conservative approach to the game.

And, as important, is the fact that these players arrive with a wad of currency in their pockets, sitting down at a relatively low stakes no limit game ($5/$10)…as opposed to the multi-millionaire professional players who repeatedly join one another in megabuck tournaments.

Power Poker will serve the needs of the professional tournament players, but it won’t serve our needs.

• Continuation Bets will serve the needs of the professional tournament players, but it won’t serve our needs.
• And, almost any type of aggressive play will serve the needs of the professional tournament players, but it won’t serve our needs.

Yet, the patient, methodical, contrived, robotic, and almost boring style of play that we bring to every table will forever serve our needs.

• And, what are our needs?
• Well, they’re pretty simple…
  • We need to take our competitors’ money
  • We need to do it with a frequency that parallels the every day profiteering of just about all U.S. politicians.
  • Heck….if they can outwit the taxpayers and regulatory authorities, we can outwit the ‘Farm Animals’ and poker establishment.

I have mentioned in a number of my prior ‘scribblings’ that one of the hallmarks of a truly good player is his or her ability to lay down what was once a dominant hand in the face of clear evidence that the hand they held has turned into a bushel of ‘rotten apples’.

In order to do this, a variety of skills need to be at your disposal.
And, while it’s certainly true that you’ve been introduced to many of those skills, I’m now adding six more….these six, in combination with the knowledge you’ll gain through reading Articles 8, 9, and 10 (all of which will deal with ‘Player Notes’) will conclude the process of preparing you for consistent long-term B & M winnings.

1. You would do well if you had an ability to mentally or physically record accurate player notes
2. You would do well if you had an ability to precisely break down the way in which a hand has been played out
3. You would do well if you had an ability to decipher an opponents way of thinking
4. You would do well if you had an ability to play the competitor and not the cards
5. You would do well if you had an ability to indifferently wave goodbye to money that has already been placed in the pot
6. You would do well if you had an ability to put all of the pieces together in a somewhat rapid fashion while seated at the table.

Now, any one of these abilities is hard to come by. In combination, all six of these abilities are near impossible to come by…much like a climb to the top of Mt. Everest might be near impossible.

Yet, the word ‘near’, twice mentioned in the last sentence, not only suggests that it can be done, it essentially tells you that it has been done. And, in that I describe myself in private as a reasonably intelligent person, in that I would describe most of you as reasonably intelligent people, we too can, and will, get it done.

Frankly, I’ve already done it…and, you’re going to follow in my footsteps; the majority of you will likely far surpass my footsteps, y’all could easily attain a level that I might not ever achieve.

I say this primarily because many of you are, or will be, in possession of a much larger motivation than I have. The bulk of my accomplishments are behind me, and, even though I play to win money, I don’t need the money…I am very comfortable in my retirement.

For those of you who have yet to reach the accomplishments that occupy your horizons, and for those of you who would be better positioned with a new source of revenue (the cash winnings from B & M play), a motivation exists that can’t be matched by me.

And, I’ve always believed that motivation is the single most important ingredient in almost all success stories. If someone is devoid of any form of motivation, you can almost guarantee that particular someone a full-time residency in the dungeons of life’s’ unhappy basements.

Clearly, not my wish for you. I wouldn’t be writing these articles, and sharing tid-bits of usable information, if I didn’t want to be told of your ultimate successes at the tables. Yet, I doubt that I’m the first to tell you of the synergy that exists between motivation and work ethic.

Motivation gets you started, then work ethic brings your list of pending successes to fruition. No motivation, no work effort…and, simply stated, the translation is failure.

Now, let’s take the opportunity to put the six abilities I just mentioned into an example.
It’s a true story from my own personal experiences at a no limit table; a tale that I shared with all 54 of my 2008 NLRG students late last year. Their commentary to me, at the time, was both interesting and complimentary; although there was no need for the complimentary remarks. I could have just as easily given the compliments to them, since they likely would have played the hand the very same way I did.

• I was in late position at the table, and I had been dealt pocket 44.
• There were 2 limpers to the $10 Big Blind, I called, the SB limped, and the BB checked (a total of 5 players).
• Pre-flop the pot was $50.
• The Dealer exposed a flop of 4/4/8.
• I sat expressionless, but 60′s music and thoughts of a ‘great time’ danced in my head; the words ‘let the good times roll’ echoed throughout my heart and soul.
• Here in Cajun country it’s “laissez les bon temps rouler”….or, maybe the rush I felt was like the day-long feeling one has on Fat Tuesday in New Orleans.

A $50 bet was made by a player in early position…a very good player, a player that I have observed many times at a cash game table, a player for whom I hold extensive mental notes on his style of play, his betting habits, his risk tolerance, his table talk (or lack thereof), and his money management skills.

• I was the only caller.
• Yes…I only called; my intent being to give this player as much rope as he needed to hang himself with.

The turn card was a King, the board now showed 4/4/8/K, and two of the cards were hearts; the potential flush draw, however, had no meaning to me.

• I was playing with quad 4′s. He bet $100 post-turn.
• And, as he bet, he said silently, eyeball to eyeball, “You can’t win this one”.
• Not words, mind you….it was said eyeball to eyeball.
• I then waited for what may have seemed to be an eternity to everyone else at the table, again absent any expression, and called the bet.
• I said nothing; nor did my eyes.
• The pot now held $350.
• The Dealer buried a card, and proceeded to expose the river…a black 8.
• The board now showed 4/4/8/K/8.

Without a moments hesitation, he moved a $350 bet onto the table. I turned to the Dealer, and asked for a little time to make a decision.

• Step by step, I let everything that happened in the hand run through my thoughts.
• Step by step, I let everything I knew about my opponent run through my thoughts.
• Step by step, I let every possible pocket card combination that could be held by my opponent run through my thoughts.
• Step by step, I let his lack of table talk run through my thoughts.

Finally, I looked at him, and asked “Will you show?”

• Without a facial movement, other than the movement of his mouth, while staring me straight in the eyes, he said aloud the words “No. No way”….again, he said the words aloud, he actually spoke them.
• This three word utterance gave me all the validation I needed to support a decision I had given only minor consideration to….the thought was present, I just didn’t want to believe it earlier.

I then said “Take it down”, and turned over my pocket fours; exposing them to the table.

• And, as the Dealer pushed the chips in the winners direction, he, the winner, glared at my fours, said “I’ve never seen anyone lay down quads”, and jumped up from his chair.
• He proceeded to lean over the table, and put forth some mumbled words….to this day I don’t know what those words were.

He extended his right arm, and showed his pocket eights. And, we all know full well that quad eights beat quad fours.

Yet, had I not brought all 6 of the abilities described a few paragraphs ago to the table, I would have been out at least another $350…if not the entirety of my stack.

Which, when that hand ended was $2,200 (after a $1,500 buy-in).

I left the table shortly after that hand, cashed out $2,150, and drove home. But, the ride home wasn’t about winning $650, the ride home was about saving $2,200.

• The overwhelming majority of cash game players would have gone home ‘broke’…I didn’t.
• And, I’m going to project, providing that all of you allow the materials presented in this series of articles to become something of a ‘poker bible’, that all of you would also end up driving home a $650 winner for the day…or, a $2,200 saver for the day (call it what you will).

Now, was this a bad beat? Sure…I would have to answer “Yes”; even though I think that it’s absolutely meaningless…who cares? Could the hand have been played differently by me, such that the outcome had me winning? Possibly, but not likely.

Reflect back on the flop, and you’ll realize that he held a full house post-flop. So, any aggressive bet on my part certainly would have been called by him.

The same is true post-turn…he still held a full house; although I could have represented pocket Kings with a very large bet. Suggesting to him that my full house was better than his.

Yet, I seriously doubt that he would have folded. And, that would have been the ONLY play that could have potentially taken the pot away from him.

Clearly, though, if you’re holding quad fours, I can’t imagine any situation where you wouldn’t want someone to be betting into you…essentially feeding a pot that you fully believe will ultimately land in your private space at the table.

Plus, he was doing exactly that. If anything, post-flop, I was wishing that his bet would have been much larger, I was actually hoping that he would have made an all-in bet.

In the end, I can be very happy that he didn’t make that all-in bet.
Yet, all of this isn’t about who won, or who lost…or, an all-in bet. No…it’s not remotely close to being about any of that.

It’s all simply about a lesson that needs to become a routine part of our game. A difficult lesson? There’s little doubt that the answer is “Yes&”.

It’s a lesson far more difficult than the lessons tied to low pocket pairs, contrived deceptions, and the proper use of Implied Odds. None-the-less, it’s a lesson that we’re all going to have to learn.

The lesson? It’s Player Notes….

• Recording them, maintaining them, and using them.
• And, it will be the subject matter of Articles 8, 9, and 10 in this series.
• Plus, for your edification, I want you to know how I knew that I had to fold my quad fours.
• And….Yes! It was from my player notes.
• And, yes, he gave me the information I needed in order to fold.
• My notes told me that this player, an extremely good player, never speaks aloud during a hand….except, he almost always speaks aloud whenever he’s holding a post-river ‘nuts’ hand.
• A terrible tell that I won’t ever offer to fix for him….even though we know each other very well.

Developing the ability to know when to lay down premium cards is paramount to mastering the game; it’s a fundamental component of your cash transport mechanism.

You’re never going to be labeled a long-term winner at the cash tables by the poker room manager, or more importantly, by yourself, if you can’t make the right lay downs; and, the poker room manager won’t be tossing any ‘comps’ in your direction unless you’ve gotten him to be a believer in the quality of your play.

Or, if you so choose, you could toss aside all the lessons, fling money around at the tables, and you’ll find him regularly handing you ‘comps’; albeit for the wrong reasons.

Select the former, learn the lesson, add it to the other lessons already put into your game, and join me in the winner’s circle; you’ll find an abundance of money there. And, I honestly believe that much of that money is truly destined for your wallets or purses.

NB – Over your head a bit for now? Don’t worry! Read the whole series by D.M. Vadnais on the NoPayPOKER.com blog then go practice your free online poker skills on the main NoPayPOKER.com site. As our maestro says in previous articles, you can win real money playing real free poker on NoPayPOKER.com and with that fund your bankroll for the real deal when you go up to the live poker room bigs.

Article 6, and you’re not bored? Even better….Article 6, and you’re still at free poker NoPayPoker Either way, I’m pleased that you’re possibly being dealt pocket cards at a B & M, and I’m pleased that you’ve maintained an absence from the ‘real money’ Internet poker sites.

Let the morons who possess no regard for money….no regard for an honest game….continue their string of losses at ‘PokerForSuckers’, while you continue to put together strings of cash wins in card rooms, and strings of penny wins at NoPayPOKER.

And, I want to quantify those wins.
The wins that will be cause for very large sums of money to move away from most of our competitors, and for that very same large amount of money to take up residence in our wallets.

These wins will have very little to do with Pot Odds; they will have almost everything to do with Implied Odds. Take a moment to distinguish between the two;

• Pot Odds relate to the chips that are lying in the middle of the table…in front of the dealer.
• Implied Odds relate to the chips that are individually stacked by our competitors…in front of each of them.

Most often, Pot Odds, are a defensive tool in our game play….and, we’ll get to that later in this Article. Yet, Implied Odds are a major offensive weapon in our game play.

Thus, it’s no less than mandatory that we develop a complete understanding of Implied Odds; a command so pronounced that it will ultimately provide us with a Return on Investment (ROI) that compares most favorably with the ROI associated to the way in which we play the lower pocket pairs (recall, as it was described in Part 4 of this series of articles, the low pocket pairs ROI was about 128%).

To make our introduction to “a complete comprehension”; of Implied Odds, let’s look at a hand where we hold KQ off-suit.

• The board, pre-river, is showing us Tc/Js/4h/2d.
• Our King is a Spade, our Queen is a Diamond.
• The current pot holds a total of $600.
• We’re in late position, the other two players remaining in the hand are both in early position.
• The first of the two players makes a $200 bet, and the second of the two players calls.
• There is now $1,000 in the pot, and it’s our turn to fold, call, or raise.

The four exposed cards clearly indicate that no one holds a full house (the board’s not paired), or a flush draw (the board is a rainbow).

• The cards also suggest that there are 2 different straight draws…with the T/J, and with the 2/4.
• Moreover, either of the two players who just put $200 into the pot could hold any one of 4 different sets.
• So, if we were to catch any Nine, or any Ace, on the river, we would end up with a ‘nuts’ hand.
• We have 8 outs to this ‘nuts’ hand….the four nines, and the four aces.

Yet, if we were to call the $200 bet, we would not be getting the correct Pot Odds ($1,000 in the pot versus our $200 gives us 5 to 1 odds).

• We need Pot Odds of at least 5 to 1 for our $200 to be a ‘dead even’ bet
• …and, we’ve already decided that we’re not playing this game to end up ‘dead-even’; we’re only playing this game to win….actually, to win big.
• Therefore, in this situation, the Pot Odds tell us to fold. But should we?

Maybe not. If we dispense with Pot Odds, and consider Implied Odds, we might not want to fold.

• Remember, Implied Odds relate to the stacks of chips sitting before the two players who individually put $200 each into the pot.
• The first player has a stack of $3,200.
• The second player has a stack of $2,800.
• And, if they’re holding sets, or if they’re holding 2 pairs, any Nine, or any Ace, on the river, might not take them out of the pot (they could easily ignore the possibility that the Nine or Ace created a straight).

Even better, if they’re holding a pocket Ace, coupled with a pocket card that has already paired the board, like a Ten or a Jack, an Ace on the river will be cause for them to begin tossing chips around like freerollers do during the initial round of an Internet tourney.

• Frankly, even if one, or both, are only holding the high pair (without a pocket Ace), a Nine on the river might not be enough to take them out of the pot.
• Plus, it’s even possible that an Ace on the river also wouldn’t be enough to take them out of the pot (remember, they could have each been holding 2 pair pre-flop).

So, it’s certainly time to perform some quick arithmetic regarding Implied Odds.

• The first player’s $3,200 stack is giving us Implied Odds of 21 to 1 versus the $200 we would have to put into the pot (his stack plus the $1,000 already in the pot).
• The second player’s $2,800 is giving us Implied Odds of 19 to 1 versus the $200 we would have to put into the pot (his stack plus the $1,000 already in the pot).
• And, the combination of both of their stacks ($6,000, plus the $1,000 already in the pot) is giving us Implied Odds of 35 to 1 versus the $200 we would have to put into the pot.

We have a 1 in 6 chance of witnessing Lady Luck, through a fortuitous act, deposit any one of the four Nines, or any one of the four Aces, on the river (8 outs divided by 46 equals 17%….or, a little better than a 1 in 6 chance).

Plus, we’re getting 35 to 1 in Implied Odds (and, 5 to 1 in Pot Odds).

• At this point, I’m wondering if there is any need for any questions about participating in the hand.
• Doubtful! But, I’ll ask anyway.
• Who’s the Rocket Scientist amongst us? Or, do we really need one?

I’ll bet we all agree that he or she can stay at NASA…we can handle this ourselves.

• Sure, the Pot Odds are wrong. But, good Lord, the Implied Odds are far from wrong.
• At worst, the Implied Odds are 19 to 1, at best the Implied Odds are 35 to 1.
• And, none of us needs a consultant from the space program, or a Mathematics Professor, to tell us that we likely belong in this pot.
• We have a 17% chance of dragging a ‘monster’ pot; a pot that could be worth as much as $7,000.

Is it sensible to put our $200 into the fray? It’s a call that carries with it the potential to take down a 7K pot. I would hope that we uniformly concur…I would hope that we’re all saying “Yes”. And, why shouldn’t we be?

If this opportunity were continually presented to us, we would be winning approximately 1 out of every 6 hands, at a total cost of $1,200; yielding an ROI that would be outrageously high; probably far higher than the 128% that the low pocket pairs produce.

Certainly, and this is extremely important, caution has to be an ever-present constant regarding our use of Implied Odds.

In just about every draw situation, we’re likely to find a way to justify our involvement in the hand.

For example, if we had a gut-shot straight draw, where only four outs would produce a ‘nuts’ hand for us, we have about a 1 in 12 pre-river chance of making our straight. And, if three players were currently in a pot that was going to cost us $100 to call (a call that would allow us to see the river card), where the combined stacks of all three players totaled about $4,000, we would be getting Implied Odds of greater than 40 to 1.

And, while those odds appear very tempting, keep in mind that we’re going to lose at least 11 out of 12 times.

• Now, should the 11 losses occur before any one win occurs, we’re out a minimum of $1,100…or, we’ve lost more than two-thirds of what was likely a $1,500 buy-in to a $5/$10 cash game.
• This, the fact that we’re out $1,100 at a minimum, is completely unacceptable.
• Not necessarily because we lost the money, but because we’ve essentially eliminated our ability to take down a large pot that could result from an all-in bet by another opponent when we hold a ‘nuts’ hand.

Clearly, we need to establish a fairly rigid set of guidelines for the times that we should be looking to use Implied Odds…guidelines, I might add, that will insure a very high ROI. I’ll suggest that you use mine; they’re very simple.

There are only 3 rules:

1. I need to be in the best table position; I need to be last to act.
2. I need to have at least eight outs to a ‘nuts’ hand.
3. And, 3)…I need to be presented with a minimum in Implied Odds of 30 to 1.

Also, I want you to know that I rarely deviate from these rules…plus, just to make the whole subject of Implied Odds all the more interesting, I’d like you to know that I’ve been witness to Implied Odds that were greater than 75 to 1; and, on more than one occasion, the 75 to 1 was present when I held 12 or more outs to a ‘nuts’ hand. Could you honestly not envision me participating in such a hand?

Yet, while we would all likely play when Implied Odds offer us 75 to 1 in a draw situation whenever we’re sitting with 12 or more outs, I need to reiterate the strong cautionary warning regarding the potential to utilize Implied Odds on a frequent basis.

Therefore, all 3 of the rules I cited above must remain in the forefront of your thoughts.

1. You’re at the B & M table to win money.
2. You’re at the B & M table to decimate your competition.
3. You’re at the B & M table to invoke Emotions Management problems for your opponents.
4. So, allow a controlled use of Implied Odds to accomplish the preceding goals.

Remember, our play is not about ego, it’s about money.
When we walked through the B & M’s entrance, whatever ego we had in tow was dropped by us at the doorway…it had to be; we never bring an ego to the table.

Plus, during the course of our labors at the table, keep something in mind. The game is very serious, our involvement in the game is very serious, our quest for opponents cash is very serious, and our attentiveness to the disciplines we’re all learning is very serious.

Earlier, I briefly mentioned Pot Odds…from a defensive perspective.
That is, when we hold what we believe to be the current post-flop ‘nuts’ hand, we would want to make it extremely difficult for an opponent to draw against us.

And, generally speaking, a pot size bet accomplishes that…he’ll be getting Pot Odds in the area of 2 to 1.

Thus, when you can project with some degree of reasonable certainty that your opponent has seven or less outs in connection with his draw, you’ll want to bet the pot.

• His seven outs require Pot Odds that are at least equal to 7 to 3; and, all that would accomplish for him is a long-term ‘break even’.
• If he had six outs, he would need Pot Odds of 3 to 1…again, to ‘break even’.
• If he had five outs, he would need Pot Odds of 4 to 1…again, to ‘break even’.
• If he had four outs, he would need Pot Odds of 5 to 1…again to ‘break even’.
• And, if he had three outs, he would need Pot Odds of 7 to 1…again to ‘break even’.
• Therefore, we should have a propensity for pot size betting.

However, if he has eight, nine, or more post-flop outs, the picture changes dramatically.
And, the action we take adjusts to correlate with the vastly altered picture. We no longer want to be the bettor. We simply want the cards to fall as they may…let Lady Luck dictate the outcome of the hand.

Why? Well…unless we overbet the pot, our opponent is getting correct Pot Odds on a pot size bet. And, I for one, have little inclination to ever overbet a pot (with the exception of only those instances where a ‘deceit’ has been set-up).

His nine outs, with a pot size bet, give our opponent Pot Odds of 2 to 1. And, he has a little more than a 1 in 3 chance of hitting any one of his outs. Moreover, if his nine outs to a flush draw also include a draw to a straight, he could have 12 outs to a flush and ‘gut shot’ straight draw, or, 15 outs to a flush and ‘open end’ straight draw.

With 12 outs, he has almost a 1 in 2 chance of catching any one of his needed cards. With 15 outs, he has almost a 2 in 3 chance of catching any one of his needed cards.

These are not situations I want to be risking my money on…I would much prefer to simply play the hand with a very passive approach. In this instance, what I’m trying to get all of you to understand, is that I will rarely put money at risk when I don’t hold a distinct advantage.

And, I’m putting a form of ‘pen to paper’ to get you to do the very same thing. If we’re only playing hands when we possess an advantage, there’s absolutely no doubt that we’re going to end up with a bevy of cash…cash that once belonged to others at the tables.

Last, at least for this Article, you need to know that:

• There are times when ‘slowplay’ can be used to our advantage...think of a low pocket pair turning into a post-flop set.
• There are times when ‘aggressive’ play can be used to our advantage…think of betting pocket Aces into one or two ‘calling stations’.
• There are times when ‘passive’ play can be used to our advantage…think of making a small and timid bet into a large number of players when the flop has given us a current ‘nuts’ straight or flush.
• There are times when ‘calculated’ play can be used to our advantage…think of calling because Implied Odds provide us with an astronomical Return on Investment.
• And, there are times when a ‘semi-bluff’ can be used to our advantage…think of under-betting the pot when we hold the high pair combined with a flush or open-end straight draw.

However, excluding deceit set-up situations, don’t ever think that there is a time for a ‘real bluff’...what reason would we have for leaving ourselves exposed to an opponents possible power hand? None! Don’t do it.

In the end, there are any number of good reasons for us to be mixing it up, for us to be regularly changing our playing styles. And, like almost everything else I’ve discussed, the ‘good reasons’ relate to money…our opponents money, and the shifting of that money from them to us.

It is our primary goal. You might say it is our only goal; everything else is either supportive of, or subordinate to, our plans and plays that are intended to make their money, our money.

Thus far, with the combination of ‘scribblings’ from all 6 Parts of this series, we’ve developed some vastly different individual approaches to No Limit cash game play…each of which show us an ROI of greater than 100%:

1. The use of low pocket pairs.
2. The use of the three deceits
3. The use of Implied Odds.

I would hope that all three become a major part of your game. You’re going to need them. Like me, you’re prone to an error here and there…none of us are perfect; in my case, I’m far from perfect.

My imperfect B & M cash game career-long ROI average is approximately 65% for each 4 week period of time that I play.
That clearly suggests that if there was an absence of numbers 1, 2, and 3 as listed above, I would be playing with a rather substantially reduced profit; possibly an ROI as small as 29%. I’m not able to accurately quantify the exact effect of any of the three 100%+ ROI ‘approaches to the game’…low pocket pairs, deceptions, and Implied Odds.

But, if I simply estimated all three in terms of their effect on my monthly ROI, then my best estimate would be that each of the three represent about 12% per month; totaling 36%….thus the reduction in profit to 29%.

With that being so, what makes up the balance? The other 29%. I’m convinced that the answer should have popped right out of your head. If it didn’t, I don’t think I’ve done a good job in conveying my suggestions and examples in these past 6 articles.

Yes…the answer is patience. Or, yes, the answer is the Playable Pockets Matrix (PPM). Or, yes, the answer is both patience and the PPM…it being the basis for our use of patience in cash game play.

Listen, could you have possibly thought that I would put forth an article, or render a lecture, or teach a class, without making mention of patience?

Not a chance. Patience, to me, represents approximately 50% of the necessary skills that we each bring to the table, every table…without it, we’re no more than a lone duck floating on the water with 9 impatient hunters hidden in the blinds ready to blow our heads off.

Make no mistake about this, if you’re not bringing patience to every table you sit at, you’re bound to be the featured entree on that evening’s dinner menu…here in southern Louisiana you’d likely be fried oysters, boiled crabs, duck gumbo, or cajun crawfish. All four are very tasty, but I don’t think you’d want to be the main ingredient.

So, let tonight’s main course be a really good steak. And, with patience as your mainstay, you’ll easily be able to afford the $24 a pound for prime beef, or the $324 a pound for Kobe beef. Maybe money can’t buy happiness, but it sure as heck can buy a good steak.

Best of Luck at the Tables

Michael

(c) copyright 2009; no reproduction, all rights reserved by D. M. Vadnais

NB – Over your head a bit for now? Don’t worry! Read the whole series by D.M. Vadnais on the NoPayPOKER.com blog then go practice your free poker online on the main NoPayPOKER.com site. As our mastro says in previous articles, you can win real monet playing real free poker on NopayPOKER and with that fund your bankroll for the real deal when you go up to the B&M bigs.

It’s time to focus briefly on the Quality of Play aspects of the Bricks & Mortar (B&M) cash poker game.

To do so, I’d like to share some observations…all of which are credible estimates. However, no detail records have been kept by me; the card room management won’t allow me to keep a lap top at the felt table. And, that’s understandable. Could you imagine the clutter and vast amounts of time that would inundate the table and slow down the game?

Besides, while the game is only about money, no one is going to win money without bringing the requisite mental capacities to their seat at the table….if you can’t think poker, you can’t play poker.

On to the observations! At least 4 out of 5 players on the Internet, especially on free poker sites are donkies; yet, less than 2 out of 5 players at the B&M’s are donkies. At best, 1 out of 5 players on the Internet have some advanced degree of talent; whereas more than 2 out of 5 players at the B&M’s have some advanced degree of talent.

Somewhere around 1 out of 100 individuals are extremely good players in online poker; but, somewhere around 1 out of 10 individuals are extremely good players at the B &M’s.

Your chances of playing against a professional poker player on the Internet are almost zero, while your chances of playing against a professional poker player at the B & M’s are almost 100%…providing that your minimum play is with blinds of $5/$10.

So, if all of your No Limit cash game experience is tied to free online poker play, or, if all of your No Limit play is tied to poker tournament events on the Internet….NoPayPoker or otherwise….you’re going to walk into an environment at every B &M where the Quality of Play will present a very large challenge; a challenge that you’ll need to willingly accept, a challenge that you’ll need to openly welcome, and a challenge that you’ll need to be thoroughly prepared for.

Plus, here and now, accept the premise that this preparedness deals with risk tolerance, emotions management, patience, playable pockets, and practice-practice-practice…mostly with a mirror, teaching yourself to facially express the converse of the deceits you’re going to want to implement at the cash game table.

Therefore…do not approach a B &M cash game if you are not fully prepared to play well. I don’t want you giving away your money, I want you taking their money.

• On the free online poker tables you might often take the position that the names you’re playing against are donkies…don’t ever do that at a B & M.
• Ultimately, allow your well-spent time at the B &M’s cash table to assist you in making any such decision.
• On the Internet, you might often predispose yourself to an opinion regarding the absence of advanced talent on the part of your competitors…don’t ever do that at a B & M.
• Ultimately, let your personal observations at the B & M’s cash table provide the relevant information for you to form an educated opinion.

Additionally, don’t ever judge the proverbial book by it’s cover; whatever attire your competitors are wearing has little or no bearing on their level of skill.

Plus, there is no gender at a cash game table…no one is male, no one is female; they’re all just players.

Of note, however, unlike Internet poker, you will rarely see more than 1 out of 10 players who are female….and, I’m not sure why. I know quite a few truly remarkable and talented female poker players.

That aside, provocative, appealing, suggestive, inviting, alluring, handsome, attractive, sensual, disarming, sculpted, toned, thin, muscled, or any word denoting anatomical highlighting is non-existent.

• Let me repeat that…anatomical highlighting is non-existent.
• There is no gender at a cash game table.
• There is no Adonis, Brad Pitt or Marlboro Man.
• There is no Venus, Pamela Anderson, or Victoria’s Secret model.
• They’re all just players, they’re all genderless. They have to be, you can’t permit a distraction of any kind.

The texas Holdem No Limit cash game at a B & M is not an entertainment venue. Few, if any, players join a game to simply have ‘fun’.

• Their presence at the felt is centered around a singular goal; that goal is to take your money.
• They’re not interested in your friendship, your admiration, your respect, or your opinions; their interest rests exclusively in separating you from your cash.
• Come to accept this exactly as I have written it; your money is their goal.
• And, unlike the Internet, many of the B & M players possess the skill to do just that.
• No one is playing 64 off-suit; with the exception of the BB when only ‘limpers’ have entered the pot.

This is not the WSOP final table, where all of the participants know just about everything there is to know about everyone else…this is a cash game, where almost everyone knows next to nothing about almost everyone else (unless you’ve learned to use player notes).

Treat it as such. Let minutes and hours unfold where you maintain a Consistency of Focus (COF) that is unrelenting. This COF will fill your mind with countless bits of usable information. And, when the time arrives to put that information in play, do so with controlled aggression.

Deceptions aside, the B &M cash game is fundamentally an arena where aggression is rewarded.
Yet, I’m not talking about reckless abandon here, I’m talking about the situations where you’re in a clearly defined advantaged position.

And, you’ll need to choose aggression wisely. It should be a major factor in your game. In all honesty, it better be a major factor in your game. It can be used in many ways.

• You could initiate some mild aggression when you first sit down at the table.
• This use will be nothing more than a decoy…another deception.
• You’ll be donating a relatively small amount of money to your competitors; on purpose.

You’ll essentially be telling them that you’re an action player; thereby generating significant return action when you eventually get to hold a ‘nuts’ hand. Or, wait until you’ve built a decent size stack, then use it to ‘bully’ the table.

Either of the 2 choices can, should, and will move chips to your stack.

However, aggression can not be a constant in your game. It can not consume you, it must always be a singular tool that you can use to win…a tool that you occasionally take from a box that houses a multitude of tools.

The real constants will always be your playable pockets, patience, and the many deceptions you bring to the table.

Additionally, let’s be sure to select the right game, the right table.

• There is no need for you to start your No Limit B & M cash game play at the $1/$2 level.
• Take a look at all of the games first, and try to find a game where many of the players have a stack that equals your planned buy-in.
• The benefit of equivalent stacks rests in the possibility of you holding a ‘nuts’ hand when, or if, some competitor initiates an ill-timed all-in move.
• And, for reasons to be explained in a subsequent Article within this series of Articles, be sure that you select a $5/$10 game to begin your play.

However, to do so, to join a $5/$10 game, your buy-in needs to be in the area of $1,500.
And, hopefully, you’ll end up finding a game where 5 or 6 players have a stack that compares about equally to your stack.

Be advised, though, that before you buy-in, spend at least the better part of an hour observing the players in the game; memorize some mental notes as to the quality of their play, the style of their play, their money management techniques, their emotions management level, and their body language.

Once you have accomplished this, try to take the seat to the left of the best player at the table. And, allow the lessor players to be to your left.

You’ll want the good player to be making most of his decisions before you, and you’ll want all of the bad players to be making most of their decisions after you…for good reasons.

• The good player knows what he’s doing, he has demonstrated his expertise to you, you’ve watched him outplay the table, you’ve seen him take down pots with variations in his playing style, and you’ve observed his body language such that you may have registered a read on him.
• Great! keep him to your right, you’ll be sitting to his left; this way, almost all of his decisions are made prior to your decisions.

The bad players, again, should be to your left. You’ll want them to erroneously participate in the hands where you have a high probability of winning, and you’ll definitely want them to participate in the hands where you hold the ‘nuts’.

For the most part, we’ll have a standard operating procedure at the table…we’ll avoid the good player (or, players), and we’ll aggressively bet into the bad players when we’re in an advantaged situation.

Also, let’s be sure to select the right day for our trip to the felt table.
We certainly don’t want to be traveling to the B & M if we’re currently in a state of emotional disarray.

• We can’t be upset with family, friends, work, or financial matters.
• We can’t be tired as a result of a bad night’s sleep, excessive work around the house, or an unusual amount of hours spent on the job.
• And, we can’t be stressed from relationship issues, employment issues, or personal misgivings.

We need to be clear-headed, alert, responsive, and completely in balance with the ‘goings-on’ that surround us.
Plus, we need to address the issue of risk-tolerance with intelligent thought. We need to be certain that the cash we plan to use as a buy-in is viewed by us with something of an attitude that approaches indifference.

Not that we plan on losing…that would never be our intention. Yet, on any one day we could suffer from the negative effects of the ever whimsical Lady Luck…and, those effects, for this one day only, could be cause for our buy-in to regrettably disappear at the felt. It does happen; no matter how much skill we bring to the table.

Next, I want to offer up a few words about the five paint pockets…TT, JJ, QQ, KK, and AA. Which, I might add, I categorize into three distinct labels.

• The Tens and Jacks I like to call the ‘TROUBLE’ pockets.
• The Queens and Kings I like to call the ‘MONARCH’ pockets.
• The Aces, I like to call the ‘DOMINANT’ pocket.

Tens and Jacks are potential nightmares…almost disasters waiting to happen.

• Consider that there are 12 cards pre-flop that will bring about a disaster.
• And, let’s assume that at least one player who is in the hand holds a pocket Queen, or a pocket King, or a pocket Ace (a fairly safe assumption; else what the heck are they in the hand for in the first place).
• Therefore, the deck holds 11 cards that will cause us a massive headache if any one of them were to show on the flop.
• And, since there are 11 cards, the chances of any one of them appearing within the flop are approximately 66%.

So, taking the 66% into account, I think you’ll readily understand why I will rarely do anything other than ‘limp in’ with Tens or Jacks.

I have this propensity for wanting to avoid just about all circumstances where I’m forced to make a decision that needs to be made from a disadvantaged position.

Post-flop, if an Ace, King, or Queen have hit the board, and there is a bettor, I’m almost always folding. Again, I have a never ending disdain for continuing to play when I don’t hold the current ‘nuts’ hand. I’m only at the table to win, I’m not at the table to donate.

The Queens and Kings, the MONARCH pockets, are considerably more to my liking.

• Where the Queens get to go up against 7 cards (making the assumption that someone holds a pocket King, or a pocket Ace).
• And, the Kings get to go up against 3 cards (making the assumption that someone holds a pocket Ace).
• As such, the Queens have a 58% chance of surviving the flop, and the Kings have an 88% chance of surviving the flop.
• Thus, contingent on my player notes, contingent on my player observations, I’ll almost always call a moderate pre-flop raise with Queens, and I’ll almost always call an aggressive pre-flop raise with Kings.

However, since I’m not holding the ‘nut’ pre-flop hand, I’ll infrequently play either pair with purposeful aggression.

By that I mean I’ll hardly ever initiate the betting. Moreover, if I’m holding pocket Queens, and an Ace or King show on the flop, together with someone betting post-flop, I have little problem in laying down my pair…it’s not a current ‘nuts’ hand.

If I’m holding pocket Kings, and an Ace shows on the flop, together with someone betting post-flop, I’ll again have little problem in laying down my pair…it’s not a current ‘nuts’ hand.

The concept of laying down these big pairs, or any big hand that is not a current ‘nuts’ hand, is paramount to attaining a high monthly ROI.
If you’re not able to toss away what was once a very good hand, in the face of somewhat overwhelming evidence that it’s no longer a very good hand, you’re doomed to be no more than an average cash game player; winning on an occasional basis, losing on an occasional basis. And, by my standards, that’s just unacceptable. I play to win, not lose.

The Aces, the DOMINANT pocket, are a gift…a 1 in 220 gift. And, we need to treat them as such.

• I do not, however, always play pocket AA the same way; I would suggest that you do likewise.
• There is good and bad associated with every method of playing pocket Aces…y’all know them, I’ll not repeat them.
• But, believe it or not, there are times when I’ll actually ‘muck’ the 2 cards.
• And, again, I’m going to tell you that I only look stupid.

Let me give you an example…a time when I would certainly fold pocket Aces pre-flop.

• I’m the small blind…and I’ve been dealt pocket AA.
• The UG raises to 4X the big blind. M1 and M2 call.
• M3 raises to 12X the big blind. M4, L1, and L2, all call the 12X the big blind raise.
• Then, the DB goes all-in; essentially a bet that represents approximately 35X the big blind.
• Now, it’s my turn to call, raise, or fold. Wow, this is going to be one whale of a pot.

Two players called a 4X the BB raise, three players called a 12X the BB raise, and the next player went all-in.

• I’ve got to believe that each, or most, of the 12X the BB callers are going to call the all-in bet.
• That guarantees the hand will be played with at least 4 to 5 players.
• But, there could easily be more who will join in. The original raiser, and the two callers of the 4X the BB bet might enter the pot.
• Certainly, everyone is getting correct pot odds.
• Do the math, no PhD required. The hand could be played by 7 individuals.

But…am I getting the correct pot odds?

• Given all the participants in this particular hand, the probability of only a pair of Aces winning the pot are profoundly remote.
• So, I have a about a 1 in 5 chance of hitting a set (flop, turn, and river combined).
• Or, do I? No…I don’t think so. If that many players have entered the fray, the chances of one of them holding a pocket Ace are nearly 100%.
• This being true, I only have a 1 in 10 chance of hitting a set.

Frankly, with that many players in the pot, the likelihood is that two players hold a pocket Ace. And, with that being true, I have no possibility of hitting a set.

Moreover, who’s to say that a set will win this ‘lotto’ hand. Thus, I’d rather not play, I’d rather just toss the pocket Aces…I’ll wait, with patience, for my opportunity to take down a big pot when I’m holding a post-river ‘nuts’ hand. Patience, patience, patience…I doubt that I could ever talk enough about it.

Now, let me be the first to admit, the frequency in which the above described hand would actually happen has got to be close to zip; yet, it could happen. And, if you put some thought into it, you’ll likely come up with any number of situations that would provide a setting where 4 to 7 players were flinging vast sums of money around in a ‘lotto’ type hand.

Frankly, I’m fairly confident y’all have seen it happen; on more than one occasion. I’m even more confident that each of you are unable to count the number of times when you’ve seen pocket Aces get cracked.

So, when 4 or more players are tossing money around as though the world was about to end within the next few minutes, I’ll always toss the Aces away.

Simply stated, I don’t want to play in a hand where I’m not an ‘advantaged’ participant, or, better yet, where I’m not a guaranteed winner.

Why would I? This game is about winning, it’s about taking their money. It has nothing to do with gambling. In fact, I don’t gamble at all; never have, never will. Heck, I’ve never even bought a lottery ticket.

Best of Luck at the Tables

Michael

(c) copyright 2009; no reproduction, all rights reserved by D. M. Vadnais

NB – Over your head a bit for now? Don’t worry! Read the whole series by D.M. Vadnais on the NoPayPOKER.com blog then go practice your free texas holdem poker online on the main NoPayPOKER.com site. As our mastro says in previous articles, you can win real monet playing real free poker on NopayPOKER and with that fund your bankroll for the real deal when you go up to the B&M bigs.

Unquestionably we have a goal…a very tangible goal. In the simplest of terms it is to win money.

Yet, the goal can not be tied to a destination…ever. If we were to do so, we would be incorrectly forecasting, that at some future point in time, everything to be known about playing in Brick and Mortar (B & M) No Limit cash games would be known by us.

And, whether you currently realize it or not, there can be no such destination; there will never be a time when we know all there is to know about cash game play. There will always be something new to learn, there will always be someone new who we can learn from, and there will always be a new, or alternate, strategy worthy of our attention.

And, take note that the above paragraph specifically references B & M’s (casinos and card rooms)….it does not include free online poker play; never will….very little can be learned from a dishonest card game. I currently know of no ‘real money’ Internet poker site that has fared well in the current scheme of instantly available global news; cheating and software rip-offs have become a near-daily headline….and, none of you should be playing for ‘real money’ at an online poker site.

Pleasantly, your presence here at NoPayPOKER.com tells me that you may well subscribe to the beliefs I hold about ‘real money’ online poker gaming….and, you’ve chosen NoPay to be the place for your Internet trips to the free online texas hold em poker tables.

I could say “good choice”, but, I suspect you already know that I would use those two words. Clearly, I have been opposed to online poker play since the very first scandal hit the news media….that was about 4 years ago; and, my suspicions about the integrity of Internet poker gaming date back to somewhere around June of 2002.

Here, at NoPay, you get to play poker for free, you get to participate in an honest game, you get 25c a day by clicking ads, and you have the opportunity to parlay the daily ‘house’ gift into a stash of dollars.

Candidly, I know of some NoPay members who have taken their ‘real money’ balances up to well over $1,500 (US$). And, that amount is more than enough to begin a Brick & Mortar journey.

In other Articles….dated 2002 through 2008….I have made mention of the ‘extreme profits’ available to you with the low pocket pairs.
And, I’ve suggested to you that these pairs will increase your available cash by far more than any other two cards you’ve been dealt.

What pairs have I been referencing? Which are the low pocket pairs that are going to move big money to your wallet or purse?

Well…the pairs are 22, 33, 44, 55, 66, 77, 88 and 99; especially when a number of players have entered the pot….the more, the merrier.

If three, four, five, or six players have contributed to the pot, there’s an awful good chance that most of them have come in with pocket paint; or, at the very least, with one high paint card.

This would bode well for our chances of hitting a set on the flop. It suggests that the two cards of help to us are still in the deck. And, even though it would be great to witness multiple players participating in the hand, we’ll still want to play our low pocket pairs without regard to how many players joined the fray…with but one ‘hard cast’ caveat.

The cost to play can never be more than 3 times the BB. Plus, our willingness to play has no bearing on the table position we are seated at…early, middle, or late.

As long as we can play the pair for a cost that does not exceed 3 times the BB, we want our money in the pot. Although, Lord knows, we’re never allowed to initiate a bet….ever.

We’re no more than ‘callers’ to a 3 times the BB raise. And, it’s not uncommon at all to enter the pot simply as a ‘limper’. That will happen at a B & M table much more often than you might think.

Now, allow me to present the rationale for what you may currently perceive of as my ‘low pocket pair’ madness. We’ll do a little math first.

• You have approximately a 1 in 8 probability that you’ll hit a set on the flop.
• That alone, if the set hits, should win you the pot.
• Then, if you do hit the set, you have almost a 1 in 5 chance of catching a full house through the turn and river cards…as a result of the board pairing.

The preceding numbers are all fact, there’s no speculation included in the math.

However, let’s get past just the numbers; let’s get to the ‘mind-set’ of your competitors.

• Who at the table believes that you hold pocket 55, when the flop comes 5/9/A?
• Who at the table believes that you hold pocket 33, when the flop comes 8/3/K?
• Who at the table believes that you hold pocket 66, when the flop comes T/Q/6?
• No one, not a soul. And, because of that, because everyone at the table is clueless as to what you’re holding, you’ll now find yourself in the most enviable position of all…you’re holding the dominant hand, and they’re all guessing.

Usually, 12 cards can beat us on the turn; the remaining 35 cards post-flop retain our position of holding the dominant hand; the current ‘nuts’ hand.

And, 12 cards can beat us on the river (possibly a few more, conditioned on what the turn card shows); the remaining 34 cards post-turn make us a winner; we hold a ‘nuts’ hand.

In truth, after everything is taken into consideration (aside from a 4 flush board), no matter what number of additional outs have been created by the turn card, we can’t be less than a 5 to 2 favorite to win the pot. And, we’ll possibly get as much as 7 to 2, or more, on our money.

To put that in better perspective, if we were always a 5 to 2 favorite to win, and if we were always getting 7 to 2 on our money, we’d have a Return on Investment (ROI) of about 150%.

Translated into real dollars, a 150% ROI means that for every $100 we put into the pot, we’re going to get back $250. In candor, if we were all able to play the game with a constant ROI of 150%, none of us would be working a ‘day job’ any longer, we’d all be playing poker on a full-time basis.

And, while I’m not suggesting that 150% is always attainable, I am saying that the lower pocket pairs are the biggest ‘key’ to it being attainable. (Also, please note that I retired from my ‘day job’ in 2002.)

The last argument that anyone could put forth regarding my suggested way of playing 22 through 99, would be the cost of the entry fee to the pot; recall that we’ll play these pocket pairs from any table position as long as the cost does not exceed 3 times the BB.

Also, recall that we hold a 1 in 8 chance of hitting a set on the flop every time we enter the pot with these low pocket pairs. Beyond a doubt none of us needs a PhD in Mathematics to realize that for every 8 times we put money into the pot, 7 times we’re waving ‘goodbye’ to the cash we put forth….7 times we won’t hit the set on the flop.

However, we’re not truly waving ‘goodbye’ to 7 occasions of placing 3 times the BB into the pot. My experience at the tables is such that I average a ‘bye-bye’ to about 1.5 times the BB on those 7 hands. So, for every 12 times the BB in total cost of playing all 8 hands (1.5 x 8 = 12), I’ve ended up flopping a set one time; you will also.

And, in the worst of all possible scenarios, the 1 in 8 flopped set has made me at least a 5 to 2 favorite to win the hand…a hand that undeniably has the potential to carry with it a monster pot. And, on many more than one occasion, so many more than I can count, I have taken down pots that were worth greater than $2,000.

At this point, a few other numbers need to enter our thoughts.

• First, the average pot I win with a flop that turned a low pocket pair into a set hovers around $800.
• Second, the average cost for me to win that pot is about $350…which includes the 12 times the BB total to have played all 8 of the lower pocket pairs I was dealt; 7 of which never amounted to anything.
• Again, we don’t need that PhD in Mathematics to asses the rewards. The Return on Investment (ROI) is approximately 128%.

Which, I should add, compares most favorably to my monthly ROI average of about 65%. And, again, let me say “I only look stupid”.

The reality is that there’s nothing stupid about making the appropriate investment (up to 3 times the BB) with the non-paint pockets. Unquestionably, for me, the exact opposite is true: it’s the smartest play I make at the table.

It’s the play that consistently provides the highest ROI, it’s the play that consistently produces the most profit, it’s the play that consistently involves the biggest positive Expected Value (+EV), and it’s the play that generates the most Emotions Management (EM) problems for my competition.

When they have placed some, most, or all of their chips into the pot, and then taken a beating from a hidden set, don’t think for a moment that they haven’t been devastated; they have….they’ve been hurt. And, for some, it’ll take a bit of time for their wounds to heal.

For others, the emotional ‘crippling’ they’ve experienced will fundamentally take their mental capacities out of the game for the balance of the day. Consider this, the dollar amount that was lost could have been the equivalent of a mortgage payment….maybe 2 payments; and that amount of money will cripple a lot of players.

Enough about the lower pocket pairs. If I haven’t impressed upon you the overwhelming significance of playing them as described above, then it’s only fair that I leave you to your own method of play.

And, hopefully, you’ve developed a ‘playing methodology’ that exceeds the ROI associated with the 7 year history of my Brick and Mortar play. (Plus, since I’m forever interested in improving my own game, if you truly believe that your method is superior to my method, I’d welcome the opportunity to learn about it….please send me a ‘pm’.)

Last, as time passes, as each new article appears, it makes sense to further develop our understanding of the vast differences between tournament play and cash game play.

So, I want to talk about a cash game hand that I was witness to recently. It was at a $5/$10 No Limit table in Harrah’s (New Orleans)….and, this particular B & M is fairly well frequented by a handful of professional players, quite a number of very good players, and, most fortunately, a great many tourists.

Yet, in the hand that I witnessed, the ‘Under The Gun” (UG) player made a 5 times the BB raise. Two Players called. The flop showed X/X/X…I don’t care what the cards were, they’re meaningless, they have no bearing on the subject matter I’m about to discuss.

One of the ‘callers’ then bet the pot, the second ‘caller’ threw his chips into the pot, and, without hesitation, the original bettor went all-in; as did the other 2 players.

Now, did the 5 times the BB bettor, the all-in bettor, have pocket AA? No!
Did he have pocket KK? No! Did he have pocket AK? No! Did he have pocket QQ? No! Then, what reason did he have for his initial 5 times the BB pre-flop raise? Well, he had a pocket AJ; a pocket that would NOT have been played by any winning and experienced cash game player; it is not a playable pocket with a Positive Expected Value (+EV) from the UG table position.

His play was nothing more than a ‘farm animal’ tournament play. And, more importantly, it’s a tourney play that actually carries with it a negative Expected Value (-EV).

Ace/Jack, whether the cards are suited or unsuited, will lose money from early position over the long term…both in tournaments and in cash games. Now, I imagine many of you don’t know that; or, didn’t know that.

But, you’re going to learn these things; at least it’s my intent for you to learn these things. Frankly, I’ll be ‘BoboTheClowns’ best friend before I let any of my readers, or any of my students, run off to a B & M without properly preparing for their conquests in cash games.

If you’re going to win money….serious money….you’re not going to sit at a B & M table with the limited mental capacities of an Internet free poker tournament/cash player, and fling chips around on any 2 paint cards. If you are, stop reading what I write…you don’t belong in this circle. You’ll never end up with most, or all, of your opponents cash. Truthfully, the exact opposite will happen…they’ll end up with most, or all, of your cash.

And, yes, I would agree that the last few paragraphs might have been hard to accept.
How many free Texas Hold Em players would ever even consider folding AJ from early position? The answer, albeit pure speculation on my part, is probably somewhere around 1% of the total population of players…maybe less.

However, just because the vast majority of people align themselves with a premise, a promise, a politician, or a play…doesn’t make it correct. No! All it does is suggest that the vast majority are much like lemmings; others do it, so they quickly follow.

Therefore, let’s dissect the pocket Ace/Jack; possibly you’ll become the convert I need you to be.

• There is only an 18% chance of an Ace appearing on the flop; a bit less than a 1 in 5 chance.
• Conversely, there is a 42% chance (7 divided by 50 multiplied by 3) that a King or Queen shows on the flop (this assumes that 1 player holds a pocket King or Queen).
• What do you do now…from early position…when the player who made the high pair bets out?
• Or, what do you do when there’s no paint at all on the flop?
• The board shows 9/8/3, and a player bets out.
• Where’s the value in your early position AJ pocket now?

In all honesty, over the long term, you’re almost always at least a pre-flop 2 to 1 underdog when you’re holding AJ in early position; potentially much worse…as bad as a 9 to 1 dog.

Moreover, even when an Ace does come on the flop, where are you in relation to the player who holds pocket AK, or pocket AQ?

• Where are you in relation to the player who hit a set on the flop?
• Where are you in relation to the player who holds nine outs to a flush draw?
• Where are you in relation to the player who holds eight outs to a straight draw?
• Or, where are you in relation to the very fortunate player who holds sixteen outs?

My answer is a very simple one. Almost without exception, your ‘Under the Gun’ held Ace/Jack is in the most precarious of positions; nearly the worst of all places to be.

And, you’re going to find yourself defending a fairly weak hand, from a doghouse position at the table, with countless numbers of your chips vested in the pot that there was no need to put at risk. You’ll rarely end up with a ‘nuts’ hand from pocket AJ when seated at table position UG….the Bottom Line: fold the damn cards.

Our game is not about putting money at risk, our game is clearly about having others put money at risk.

Please, if you’re joining me on this adventure through the brick and mortar world, I want you to learn to win, I want you to regularly remove cash from your opponents, and I want that cash to fill your wallets. I can’t imagine you’d want anything else….the game is, and only is, about money; nothing else.

Our involvement in No Limit cash games can be summed up in a few sentences.

• If we don’t hold the ‘nuts’ hand, we really don’t want to be in the mix.
• There are way too many ‘beanbrains’ emulating Mr. Television Professional who are sitting at a B & M table to be putting our money at risk when we don’t hold a distinct advantage.
• There are way too many ‘morons’ pretending to be famous skilled players who are sitting at a B & M table to be ignoring our commitment to patience when we don’t hold a distinct advantage.
• And, there are way too many complete and utter ‘numbskulls’ masquerading as intellectuals who are sitting at a B & M table to be indifferent towards a Playable Pockets Matrix (PPM).

Do you have one? Yes? No? Do you have one that was constructed as a result of running 2.6 trillion hands of simulated poker on a Main Frame? A simulation that included all 2,652 possible pocket card combinations, a simulation that took place in a 9 handed game, a simulation that utilized a true random deal, a simulation that almost identically matched the results of a similar computer exercise performed by the University of Chicago….well, you will. It’s included in last year’s series of Articles….you’ll find it right here at NoPayPOKER free Poker.

Best of Luck at the Tables

Michael

(c) copyright 2009; no reproduction, all rights reserved by D. M. Vadnais

We’ve put patience into our ‘real money’ game play arsenal, and we’ve developed a fairly comprehensive understanding of the vast differences between free online poker play and Felt Table play.

Plus, as mentioned in both Articles 1 and 2, we’ve learned that our ‘real money’ play must be limited to Brick and Mortar casinos, card rooms, or home games. We’ll never play for cash on the online poker sites….we’ve learned that their games have become corrupt, we’ve learned that their games host various forms of cheating.

Conversely, we’ve learned that our time spent on free poker NoPayPOKER.com can produce a number of ‘game improving’ elements; including….self-tutorials, practice, strategy testing, confidence building, skills development, and pennies pocketed (with the knowledge that pennies become dollars).

Yet, the word ‘deceit’ has not entered our preamble descriptor regarding the game of poker.
And, it should….it needs to; once we learn to use ‘deceit’ purposefully, we’ll be adding rather large amounts of money to our respective wallets, purses, and belly-bags (fanny-packs).

Moreover, as we embark on our excursion into the ‘deceit’ aspects of the game, please recognize that there are 3 separate components associated with poker ‘deceit’.

Possibly, one of the best examples of deceitful play (that’s 1), deceitful chat (that’s 2), and deceitful tells (that’s 3) I could present to you, would be the way in which Jamie Gold…great cards aside…toyed with the minds of all the players he sat with at the 2006 World Series of Poker.

If you haven’t already done so, take the time to watch the TV replays of the final table; and, while you’re watching, keep in mind that Mr. Gold is predominately a cash game player; he’s not a tournament player….neither by reputation, nor by participation. Cash tables are where he is usually found.

He frequently lied…He often told the truth.

• He taunted – He coached.
• He showed – He mucked.
• He was aggressive – He was passive.
• He was tight – He was loose.
• He was stoic – He was emotional.
• He was talkative – He was silent.
• He was sympathetic – He was indifferent.
• He was polite -He was rude.

Frankly, the only thing that remained a constant, was the fact that he was always ‘non-constant’.
Everything varied, everything flip-flopped. And, all of it was done purposely…he was the consummate bearer of deceit.

Do you think he solidified any friendships while he played…excluding Johnny Chan? I don’t.

Do you think he gave a rat’s butt about the absence of new friends? I don’t.

Do you think it bothered him that Norman Chad consistently cast aspersions on his play? I don’t.

Do you think his deceitfulness is NOT a regular and formidable component of his cash game play? I don’t.

Do you think he’s routinely donating money to other players in cash games? I don’t.

In all honesty, he’s a very profitable player; someone who completely dominates ring games with a frequency that is well known to the professional players community. And, he is amongst the group of players who sit atop the ‘most disliked’ list.

Good for him…he’s mastered a part of the game that we all need to learn; especially me. I can’t count the number of times I wished that I possessed his ability to offer up deceitful vocalizations.

Maybe…just maybe…we don’t need to be as arrogant, obnoxious, and disdainful as he is; or, as he appears to be. Maybe we simply need to incorporate the right balance between social interaction and deceptive strategies.

Maybe we can be liked by some, tolerated by others, respected by a bunch, and despised by a few. Is that something we can accomplish? Can we do it? Sure, and I can think of no reason to allow me to believe otherwise.

Thus, we’re going to move forward in an attempt to create the necessary balance between ‘being social’ and ‘being deceptive’.
Do we need to alter our personalities in order to attain such an idyllic ritual? Do we need to become altogether different people versus what we’re like in daily life?

Well…the answer isn’t simple; It’s not black and white…it’s not yes or no. It’s gray. It rests somewhere in our personal depository of capabilities. And, we’ll need to be able to call upon one of them at will; making it present itself whenever we so choose.

Let’s call it our ‘Zone’. A state of mind that we enter and exit as ever we wish. When we’re in this ‘Zone’, we’re not ourselves…we possess no fiscal compassion; we have no regard for others and their money (except we won’t cheat…not once, not ever).

When we’re not in the ‘Zone’…we’re our usual pleasant, courteous, caring, and compassionate selves. Well, at least y’all are. I’m not sure how many people would describe me that way.

Learning to include ‘deceit’ in your cash games, much like Jamie Gold has done in his cash games, will involve a bit more than just deceitful chat, false banter, and contrived utterances.

You’ll also need to bring both deceitful play and deceitful tells to your space at the felt table…and, you’ll need to do it with regularity.

Each and every step you take toward perfecting the art of putting forth ‘deception’, brings you closer to filling your pockets with your competitors’ cash.

The latter of the two, deceitful tells, would be the easier to master. It’s simply a matter of developing the where-with-all to let our body language deliver a false message. Sometimes we’ll want our movements or expressions to tell people that we’ve got rags; when, in fact, we’re actually holding the ‘nuts’.

Conversely, sometimes we’ll want our movements or expressions to tell people that we’ve got the ‘nuts’; when, in fact, we’re actually holding rags.

Now, this can’t be all that difficult to implement. And, as an example, let’s assume you’re holding a ‘nuts’ hand.

• Before you raise, let your left hand brush both of your eyebrows (or, anything similar)…let it happen subtlety, don’t make it overtly obvious.
• Do this the first 2 or 3 times you’re in possession of the best hand post-river.
• It’s not a false signal that you’re sending; you actually hold the winning hand.
  
• What you are accomplishing here is the ‘deceit set-up’.
• Then, the very next time you’re holding the ‘nuts’, don’t allow your left hand to move at all…don’t let anything move.
• This lack of movement is now sending the deceitful tell. Your opponents…at least the observant competitors…are going to read this tell.
• They will believe that you are not holding a winning hand, they’ll believe that you’re stabbing at the pot…attempting to steal it.
• And, since you are holding a ‘nuts’ hand, when this happens, you’ll almost assuredly move a mountain of chips to your stack.

Undoubtedly, you’ve now recognized that the opposite can be done.

• By that I mean, post-river, you’re holding rags…but, you want to steal the pot.
• So, get that left hand in motion, rub your eyebrows, and proceed to bet.
• The tell will be read by the other players at the table.
• They’ll believe that you’re again holding the ‘nuts’.
• Each will fold. And, the chips will be moved to your spot on the green felt.
• Or, do you think that the ‘opposite play’ just described might not be that easy?

If you do, you’re correct. Principally because this can only be done when a very definitive board is laid out before you.

The five exposed cards must be patterned such that a ‘nuts’ hand would be very hard to come by for any of your competitors; no straight possibilities, no flush possibilities, and no exposed pair. Again, keep caution in mind.

This type of deceitful tell is considerably more risk-oriented than it’s converse (the times when you’re actually holding the ‘nuts’ hand)…use it infrequently. Also, you can never use it when the deceitful tell, in a hand where you held the ‘nuts’, had been previously used to take down a large pot.

By that I mean, if you’ve NOT ‘rubbed your eyebrows’, and won with a ‘nuts’ hand that ended up being seen by everyone, you can’t ‘NOT rub your eyebrows’, and expect to win with rags.

Additionally, you’re going to have to alter your body language on a ‘play session’ basis…with regularity.

Each time you sit down at a new table, you’ll need to contrive a different tell. It can’t always be something like ‘brushing your eyebrows’ as described above. You’ll need to be changing it with rigorous consistency…day to day…every day.

Try scratching your right ear, rubbing your chin, tapping your fingers, toying with chips, or any other detectable movement.

And, while it’s perfectly okay that a few players who are often with you at a table come to fully comprehend your deceptions, please note that they are not the targets of your deceit. Certainly not after you’ve played with the same 2 or 3 people on a regular basis.

Your targets are the players who are new to you; the players who sit down at a B & M table as tourists…or, as local visitors…or, as occasional gamblers…or, as recreational day-trippers…or, as poker professionals. Who cares? It doesn’t matter who they are! What matters is that their currency is green, and that we develop the skills to move their cash to our wallets.

Deceitful plays, the third and last form of deception, can have many dimensions…many practical applications.
Yet, one stands far above all of the others combined. Therefore, it is the only practical application that I’d like to present in this article.

It has to do with betting…specifically, initiating bets and raising bets. And, prior to my making any reference to the betting strategy that will create the desired deception we seek, allow me to paraphrase a lesson I learned from my mentor…a well known poker professional who taught me the fundamentals of the game, and so much more.

The following is what he had to say…again, I’m paraphrasing, but I’ll put it in quotes anyway.

“Many experienced cash game players prefer to make all of their bets and raises equal to the size of the pot. This consistency helps to conceal the actual strength of their cards. Plus, any pot size bet generally creates a disadvantaged draw situation for most opponents; they’re just not able to get suitable pot odds. And, the absence of sufficient pot odds almost always puts the better players in a position where they’re inclined to fold. Or, if they do put money into the pot, whether they are good or bad players, they’re doing so with you holding the edge”.

Clearly, there’s a great deal of wisdom in those words. And, we’re going to use that wisdom while we attempt to define our third deception…deceitful plays. Which, as indicated above, for our current purposes, is solely related to betting…more accurately, solely related to pot size betting.

It should become our standard bet. If we hold cards that merit a bet, we pretty much hold cards that are worthy of a pot size bet. So, if we regularly make pot size bets, the other players at the table are going to mentally record our betting habit.

They will routinely see us making these bets, and they will frequently see us taking down pots as an adjunct to these bets. Where’s the deception? None…as yet. But, our tell has been handed to all those who are present: a pot size bet by us equals premium cards…they have all seen it, they have all watched us scoop up winnings that resulted from the pot size bets, from the premium cards. What could be better? Wonderful! Each of them has been set-up for the deception to come.

And, with the set-up in place, we now need to wait on our next ‘nuts’ hand. Patience, patience, patience…the rewards are endless.

The hand will come. It might take some time for it to arrive, but it will come. And when it does, we’ll put forth our deceitful play. How?

I think you likely already know the answer. We’ll simply alter the way in which we bet; it won’t be a pot size bet; that’s for certain. It’ll be an overbet, an underbet, or no bet. All three have a reasonable chance of working.

If the pot is $300, we could bet $500…the overbet. We could bet $100…the underbet. Or, we could check….the no bet. No matter which way we play it, our bet, or lack thereof, has let everyone seated at the table know that we’re not holding the ‘nuts’. Yet, we are.

And, no one at the table knows it; everyone has become acclimated to our pot size bets. Goal accomplished. We’ve managed to implement a ‘deceitful play’…and, hopefully, it was timed to coincide with a large pot.

Now, having been introduced to all three deceptions…deceitful chat, deceitful tells, and deceitful plays, and having developed some idea as to how we use them, and having come to realize the monetary benefits that will accrue to our favor when it’s all done correctly, it’s now time to introduce a reality that you may not have given any thought to…a reality that presents itself on a continual track.

And, the train that rides this track, day-in and day-out, carries new players to the B & M of your choice…new players who bring pockets full of cash to your table; everyday. Be exceedingly grateful for that track, welcome the train, smile at the new players, initiate some pleasant conversation, and make room in your wallet. What’s the reality? Read on.

Never lose sight of the fact that the newcomer who possesses any level of poker knowledge arrives at the table with both eyes wide open…he’s usually well versed on the importance of picking up tells. And, we’re intent on making him pay for the ‘deceit’ show in which we, individually, are the leading actor.

The show was staged by us, we did a great job in putting on the show, we established three completely different false tells, and the new guy has a stiff admission price to pay.

Now, back up, and think this through; it’s that important. New player, eyes wide open, intent on picking up tells, listening to your chat, noting your body language, memorizing your bets, then waiting to use the information he gathered against you.

And, remember, the information he’s holding, with dreams of a payday, was deceitfully given to him by you. So, while there is little doubt that a payday will occur sometime during the next few hours, the fact is that it won’t be the new guy’s payday, it’s going to be your payday.

Last, I want to render some words of advice. I offered them to you at the beginning of this Article, and I’m going to end the Article by repeating them.

Get a DVD copy of the 2006 WSOP Main Event Final Table play. Then, take the time to study Jamie Gold in action….the ‘deceits’ are an absolute constant in his play.

And, there aren’t too many people in the world who get to earn twelve million dollars because they demonstrate an expertise at deception.

Best of Luck at the Tables

Michael

(c) copyright 2009; no reproduction, all rights reserved by D. M. Vadnais

This series of Articles is intended to prepare you for ring game play at Brick and Mortar (B & M) casinos and card rooms. And, in the last post, Article 1, the overwhelming significance of Patience was introduced through a discussion of a very specific three hour period of time.

It was, in fact, a bit of ‘poker by example’. However, since there are so many subject matters that need to be included in the 2009 Articles, I’ll need to digress from the ‘example’ theme for the length of Article 2, and, in its’ place, utilize a ‘tutorial’ theme.

Importantly, all seven of the introductions, explanations, and advisories that follow are intended to prepare you for your entry to ‘real money’ play….at a real poker table.

So, before you run off to a poker room….before you hand ‘real money’ to a floorman….before you take a seat at a ‘real money’ game, I want to convey to y’all an understanding of the vast differences between free online poker play and ‘real money’ table play.

And, If, by chance, you’re one of the players who are contemplating this jog to a poker establishment, you’ll need to fully understand all of the differences…it makes no sense for you to be putting your money at risk if you’re not in the position to be rewarded for your time and effort.

Also, keep in mind that I’m talking about a Brick and Mortar (B & M) establishment. I am definitely NOT talking about an online poker site. Candidly, the only place you should be playing poker online is at rake free poker play NoPayPOKER….where there can never be a deposit, where you can only win money.

Remember, NoPay is fun, friendly, and free. It’s a place to learn the game, to practice the game, to fine tune your skills, and to master the advanced strategies of the game. Candidly, once you can win at NoPay with regularity, you have likely elevated your game play to a level that merits your participation in ‘real money’ B & M games.

Here, then, are the biggest differences between online poker play and ‘real money’ B & M play.

• First, and foremost, it’s patience.
• We have all come to recognize the significance of patience in online poker play…we’ve even learned a freeroll exercise to help ourselves further develop our individual patience skills.
• We can, for the purposes of this discussion, equate free online poker patience to X (simply think of X in the abstract).
• And, when X is compared to play in a ‘real money’ game, the X becomes 3X.

Why? Take a moment to reflect on the average number of online poker hands played per hour on your PC…

• It’s likely in the range of 70 to 120; depending on the game.
• Not so at the real world’s felt tables…it’s most often in the range of 20 to 30 hands per hour.
• And, when you’re only seeing approximately 25 pockets per hour, you’re going to endure much longer periods of time where you’ve not been dealt the premium cards that generally place you in the mix.

Second, there is a very large difference in the areas concerned with cash management (CM)…not bankroll management, but cash management.

Bankroll management is no different in online poker PC play versus ‘real money’ play. Cash Management, however, necessitates a whole new perspective on your part. Included within this CM arena is the ‘Rake’ at ‘real money’ tables, the need for an ‘Escort’ at the conclusion of your playing session, and the vigilance to eye-patrol for ‘Cheating’ during your play.

The Rake at a ‘real money’ table is not minimal as it is in online poker play.

• In low stakes No Limit games it can be as high as 8% (sometimes 12% when you factor in a ‘seat charge’ each time the dealer is changed).
• And, in high stakes No Limit games it’s generally in the area of 2%.
• But, 2% of a $2,500 pot is fifty bucks…
• Whereas the highest rake you’ll experience on your online poker game on your PC is usually about $3; often, that $3, is way less than 1% of the pot.

The need for an ‘Escort’ at the end of a ‘real money’ session is a prophylactic precaution against the possibility of theft...en route to your car, or in the parking lot. There are times when an individual is leaving a cash game with multiple hundreds, or thousands of dollars; and, if you think for one minute that you’re not being watched, think again.

Where there’s cash, there are low-lifes seeking to remove it from your pockets. The ‘Escort’ is free…your only cost would be an appropriate gratuity to the casino employee who safely guided you to your vehicle.

The eyeball vigilance necessitated by the possibility of Cheating during game play is also of consequence…where there’s money, there are always Cheaters; two players possibly switching a pocket card, any player taking chips from another players stack, finger or chip signals from player to player identifying their individual pocket cards, and…worst of all…the potential for collusion between a dishonest dealer and any one or more players.

Third, there is a monumental difference in the area concerned with ‘tells’….your ‘tells’ and the ‘tells’ of your opponents.

• Essentially, few, if any, truly discernible ‘tells’ exist during online poker play.
• While the magnitude of ‘tells’ that exist at ‘real money’ tables are almost countless.
• And, you’re going to need to cultivate the process of learning how to identify the two-way potential tells; yours and theirs.
• Get some books…I’m not able to give you an all inclusive list; you’ll find upwards of one dozen great books on ‘tells’
• …start with Mike Caro; his book may be best of all.

I will, however, offer up some comments on the need for conversation at the table.
Upon entering a game do everything possible to promote introductions…get people to talking; be outgoing, pleasant, and truthful (or, as truthful as is necessary; don’t give away your personality characteristics).

Let people know where you live, and what type of work you do. All of your discourse will induce discourse from others…and, the things they say should be remembered.

Frankly, at some point, any number of things they may have said should be recorded in a small notebook***.
The notes will help you identify this person at some future point in time…quite possibly after you’ve recorded ‘player notes’ on that person; and those notes, the player notes, are going to make money for you; maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow, but they certainly will over an extended period of time.

Moreover, initial conversations could likely yield some very useful information; you could easily pick up on an individuals playing style from the manner in which they handle themselves during conversation. By that I mean, certain people will…without realizing it…give away the fact that they play very conservatively; or, conversely, that they play very aggressively.

***[The 'How?' of notetaking will be presented, outlined, and fully discussed in Article's 8, 9, and 10]

Fourth, numbers and simple arithmetic have so much to do with winning at a ‘real money’ game; much like the way it is on your PC.
Yet, at a ‘real money’ table, the way in which we deal with our base 10 numbering system has so much more impact on how often we win, and how much we win.

Thus, there is a big difference between free online poker play and felt table play. Where ? How ? Let’s answer those 2 one word questions by addressing the matters concerned with pot odds, implied odds, and the use of a time clock (or, time limitation).

• You’ve got about 20 to 30 seconds to make your decisions on a poker site.
• Not so in a ‘real money’ game…you’ve got at least twice as much time; if not 10 times as much time.
• Sure, the dealer would generally urge you to speed it up…or an opposing player could, and often will, ask to have a time clock put on you, thereby creating an end parameter to your available time.
• But, the very existence of that extra time allows you to do a variety of things that can’t be done while sitting in front of a computer screen.

One such thing would be to give your opponents false tells; this is accomplished by using your expanded time allotment in a random fashion…constantly switching from 5 seconds to 55 seconds to 25 seconds to 15 seconds to 85 seconds, and/or any number of seconds between 2 and 122. Simply stated, this is step 1 in the process of confusing the heck out of any players who are looking to identify your tells. (Much more to come on ‘Deceptions’; in a subsequent Article.)

A second advantage lies in the ability you now have to accurately assess pot odds in a non-hurried manner…and, you’re also able to do a proof of the arithmetic you just performed; also in a non-hurried manner.

Plus, of even greater significance, you’re able to do the same with Implied Odds calculations. Given all the time you have, you should never make a mistake….and, no mistakes go hand-in-hand with an improved Return on Investment (ROI).

Fifth, you’ll need to be attentive to what I’ve come to call the Five Comfort Factors.

• They are the chair you’ll be sitting in
• The clothes you’ll be wearing
• The need for subsistence
• The awareness of fatigue
• The quenching of thirst.

In my case, I require a chair that can recline…although I’ll not often sit in a reclined position. I want to maintain a one hundred percent Consistency of Focus (COF), and if I were always leaning back I’d lose quite a bit of that focus.

Then, be sure to dress comfortably…loose fitting clothes will serve you well. Mind you, I said loose fitting; I didn’t say old raggedy garments that make you look like a pauper. The old business adage about dressing for success applies to almost all the places you visit; work, church, parties, court…whatever….and, a poker room is no exception.

Next, maintaining your blood sugar levels during a 5 to 15 hour playing session is mandatory…eat the right foods, and eat them in moderation; drink the right fluids, and drink them in moderation…you don’t want to be running off to the boys or girls room every 30 minutes.

And, come hell or high water, don’t ever drink any alcohol; you’ll need all of your brain cells to exercise your superior command of the game.

Plus, you must pay very close attention to your level of fatigue…if you’re tired, your level of play is going to be dramatically altered.

Or, better yet, if you’ve slept poorly the night before, don’t bother going to the game; or, if you’ve consumed too much alcohol the night before, don’t bother going to the game.

Moreover, if any kind of emotional stress exists at the time of your planned visit to the real world’s felt tables, don’t bother going to the game…in the end, a dollar not wagered could very well be a dollar earned.

Sixth, the quality of play at a ‘real money’ game is far and away superior to the quality of play you’ve come to recognize in free texas hold em online play on your PC; there just aren’t as many donkeys at the felt tables.

I’ll estimate that the number of ‘donks’ is reduced by at least 50%…if not a bit more. The good players…and, there are many to be found at the cash tables…are quick to lay down once formidable pockets; which, by the way, is a hallmark of the really super talented participants who play the game.

And, if you can’t lay down premium pockets in the face of poor flops, turns, or rivers, you’re simply never going to be a long-term winner at ‘real money’ tables.

Plus, the good players, almost without exception, will only call an all-in bet when they are holding the current ‘nuts’ hand. These two ‘play essentials’ better be a part of your game. If they’re not, get busy with some practice sessions…you don’t need to be the ‘Farm Animal’ who’s donating money.

Additionally, keep in mind that cash games and tournament games are not remotely comparable.
The TV game play you witness where a professional raises the BB with a 6/4 off suit, then aggressively bets into a flop of A/9/3 rainbow, gets called, then even more aggressively bets into an 8 post-turn, and subsequently watches his opponent fold…thus moving the pot to his stack; just doesn’t happen in a cash game.

It’s extremely rare to play in a ‘real money’ game where any form of ‘reckless abandon’ is the rule of thumb…cash game players usually have a decent hand. Or, at the very least, a draw where the Pot Odds suggest that they have a reasonable chance of winning the chips spread out in front of the dealer. Not always…but much more frequently than you might imagine.

Sure…at times there can be some aggression, some bluffing, and some TV induced bad betting. Yet, when you ultimately get to experience it for yourself, you’ll come to recognize that it most often occurs when only limpers have entered the pot. And, you’ll quickly notice that it’s the Dealer Button, Small Blind or Big Blind who are doing the raising.

Seventh, and last, I want to make mention of two other differences between online poker play and ‘real money’ play:
Risk Tolerance and Emotions Management. I’ve taken the liberty of grouping the two together because both of these differences have everything to do with your mind, and almost nothing to do with your opponents mind.

They can’t manage your emotions, they can’t measure your risk tolerance…only you can. And, managing your emotions is a far more difficult task at a cash table than it is at a poker site. At your PC you can get as annoyed, as angry, and as vocal as you please. Plus, if you want to hear the surrounding walls echo your profanities, it’s pretty much your business.

Well…you’re not doing any of that at a felt table; the players would likely object, and the dealer will almost certainly object. Do it once too often, and your presence at the table will be a thing of the past; courtesy of the floorman.

Also, any display of your annoyance, your anger, or your colorful language will permit an advantage to go to your competition. Should they pick up on the potential ’tilt’ zone you’re entering, they’ll proceed to siphon away your stack…in both small and large chunks.

Plus, you’ll need to have a complete understanding of your individual risk tolerance. Not risk as is relates to any one bet, but risk as it relates to your comfort zone with currency. What you’re trying to determine is exactly how much cash (currency) you’re able to ‘wave goodbye to’, without it having anything more than a fleeting concern on your part. Is it $100, $400, $1,000, $2,500, $5,000, or more? Whatever answer you come up with fundamentally identifies your cash game risk tolerance.

You can not play in a ‘real money’ game with scared money, with the mortgage payment, or with the household finances…you can only play with ‘comfortable money’. You better know your risk tolerance before you start looking for a cash game.

Best of Luck at the Tables

Michael

(c) copyright 2009; no reproduction, all rights reserved by D. M. Vadnais

You’ve built your bankroll….are you ready for poker venues involving real money? Clearly, I’m not able to answer that question; only you can. Yet, I can offer a variety of advisories.

If you’ve not mastered the aspect of patience…don’t do it.

If you’ve not aligned yourself with a sensible playable pockets matrix, don’t do it. If you’ve not measured your risk tolerance against a tangible guideline, don’t do it. If you’ve not developed the where-with-all to take good player notes, don’t do it. If you’ve not corrected your visible tells, don’t do it.

If you’ve not experienced a long-term ‘Flops Seen Percentage’ of less than 18%, don’t do it. And, if you’ve not tailored your game to a mixed playing style, don’t do it.

• Plus, if you’ve not implemented emotions management techniques, don’t do it.
• If you’ve not maintained a 100% consistency of focus, don’t do it.
• If you’ve not grasped the importance of table position, don’t do it.
• If you’ve not learned the simple computational method that relates to Pot Odds, don’t do it.
• If you’ve not mastered the complex computational method that relates to Implied Odds, don’t do it.
• If you’ve not rejoiced in a long-term ‘Flops Seen Win Percentage’ of greater than 60%, don’t do it.
• If you’ve not developed the ability to put forth ‘white’ deceits, don’t do it.
• If you’ve not evidenced your capacity to pick up on competitor’s tells, don’t do it.
• If you’ve not decimated your opponents here at NoPay, don’t do it.
• And, if you’ve not recognized your advantaged skill level, your talent, your command of the game, and your propensity for winning, don’t do it.

Possibly, in the absence of your readiness for a move to ‘real money’ play, you’ll want to continue with the free poker ‘easy pennies’ available to you at NoPayPOKER.com. And, it’s important to note, that countless ‘Farm Animals’ await in unsuspecting fashion for the quality of play that you’ll bring to the NoPay tables. Their very presence should be ample cause for a minor celebration on your part….a Fat Tuesday on any day of the week, during any month of the year.

Principally because their involvement at the NoPay felt will continue to expand your bankrolls; in freerolls, small buy-in’s, ring games, and sit-n-go’s. The pasture dwellers are everywhere….you’ll need to target their pennies, you’ll need to take their pennies, and you’ll need to facilitate their return to the muck, mud, and mire of their odorous confines.

The truth is that a great many of the players you’ll be competing with at the NoPay site just love to ‘fling chips around’; they rejoice in the thought that Lady Luck, destiny, or divine intervention is going to propel them into the winner’s circle.

To their ultimate dismay, they’ve yet to realize that fate…the random order in which cards are dealt…will only bring them fleeting moments of glory; they’ve yet to realize that the absence of skill on their part has permanently pointed them to the ‘Farm Animal’ pastures. And, while you may occasionally feel a compulsion to assist, tutor, or educate them, please come to understand that any such action on your part would be a complete exercise in futility. They’ve already had every possible chance to learn, and, during each possible learning opportunity they’ve allowed the lessons to fall on deaf ears.

Now, to begin the 2009 Articles, as has been the case with every opening Article I’ve written during the past five years, the subject matter of ‘Patience’ rests atop the pinnacle of discussion topics. It is the foundation on which your game play is constructed.

It represents 50% of all the ‘skills and assets’ you’ll bring to a poker table. It is the primary reason for the movement of pre-game money belonging to others to happily traverse the path to your pockets, purses, and wallets. And, for all intents, it is an essential pre-requisite to your involvement in ‘real money’ poker games.

Moreover, should you be planning on participating in free texas holde em ring game play here at NoPay, you ought to know that you’ll be entering an environment that is controlled by a few good players (a little rail-birding and you’ll know who they are). Plus, there are a handful of average players (I’ll not name them; again, rail-bird and you’ll quickly identify their screen names).

With limited game play observation, you’ll quickly come to understand that the balance of NoPay ring game players are no more than the ‘Farm Animals’ you’ve already acclimated to in your freeroll gaming. Of even greater importance, keep in mind that all of these players are taking part in what is a 10cent/20cent No Limit game….they ain’t playin’ for serious money; it’s likely that none of them could compete in a ‘real’ high stakes game.

Yet, you’re gonna’ want to target all of their pennies; that includes the good, the bad, and the ugly. In the end, those pennies will amount to a fistful of dollars.

Yet, In the absence of patience, you will unquestionably empty your wallet or purse in rapid fashion…you’ll be broke. Now, the proof of this isn’t but a few minutes away. All you need to do is watch an on-line game, a B & M game, a freeroll, or a NoPay ring game.

You’ll find an impatient player at just about every table. In very short order, he or she will have donated their stack…all of it…to the other participants in the game. Go look; it’ll serve as an object lesson. Or, better still, play in a ‘real money’ game without patience…that will serve as an even more pronounced and profound object lesson. Why? Not a tough question to answer. You’ll be the one who has donated his or her stack…all of it…to the other players at the table.

Clearly, I don’t want you to be donating anything…with the exclusion of gifts to your favorite charity, place of worship, child welfare group, environmental cause, family, or a politician with a brain (if you can find one). But, I do hold certain expectations for you; where those expectations affect your bankroll…and, it’s the size of your bankroll that permits your gifts of choice.

Yet, while I may have no right to be waving my expectations before you, please understand that I do so only because I desperately want each of you to develop into long-term winners at ‘real money’ games. I don’t believe in losing…I only believe in winning.

Well…what is it that I expect? Patience, more patience, and then even more patience. What level of patience do I want you to bring to every table you sit at? It’s a simple answer; there’s nothing complex about it, there’s nothing confusing about it.

I want you to bring as much patience as I bring to every B&M table where I sit. If possible, I want you to bring an even greater amount of patience. Can you do it? Sure you can! However, in order to replicate my level of patience, in order to exceed my level of patience, you’re going to have to fully comprehend exactly where my level of patience resides. So, read the next few paragraphs, and you’ll have that comprehension; you’ll understand all that is expected of you….more importantly, you’ll understand all that you should expect from yourself.

I recently played in a 6 hour $5/$10 No Limit session at my favorite B & M. I usually take a 5 minute cigarette break every 45 minutes; although I won’t go out on a ‘smoke’ break unless I’ve participated in a hand sometime during each ‘three quarter of an hour’ segment of play.

However, on this particular day, I reached the point where I hadn’t had a ‘nicotine stick’ in just over 3 hours. That meant I didn’t have a playable pocket for approximately 100 hands; a zero % flops seen percentage for more than 180 minutes.

And, while that is far from normal, it did happen. Would you describe that as extreme patience? Of course you would. Would you describe that as extreme tight play? Surely, you’re currently thinking it was. Yet, it wasn’t tight play at all…it was no more than a rare run of indisputable pocket rags. And, the $200 I lost in small blinds/big blinds, where raises would not allow me to play the pockets I was dealt, went into my competitor’s stacks.

Ultimately, I was dealt pocket 8′s while seated with the Dealer Button. A three times the BB raise was made, and I called. The flop included an 8, giving me a set…the other 2 cards were a Four and a Three. The 8 and the 3 were spades. A $150 bet was made by the original raiser, one other player called, and I called.

The turn was another Four; it was also a spade. I now held a full house, 88844. And, I was playing against an overpair, held by the original raiser, and a flush, held by the other caller. I was about a 19 to 1 favorite to win this pot; only the overpair could potentially suck out on me.

Certainly, you could dispute the 19 to 1 if you want…but, my player notes made it very clear to me that the original raiser was not playing with a pair of pocket 4′s. He’s a reasonably good player, and he would not have raised the BB from early position with pocket 4′s. Thus, when he bet out post-flop, I clearly knew that he was holding an overpair....likely Tens, Jacks, or Queens. If he had pocket Aces, my notes told me that he would have been a pre-flop ‘limper’. And, if he had pocket Kings, my notes told me that he would have bet 4 to 6 times the Big Blind; looking to isolate his hand against a single pocket….just one player.

The river was a red seven. The original raiser checked, the caller…who held the flush…bet $400 into a $540 pot. After the second “call, fold, or raise” prodding from the dealer, I raised the bet by $400. The original raiser folded (he’s the one who held the overpair), the player with the flush went all-in; an additional $625 went into the pot.

I then called the added $225, and took down a pot that had become approximately $2,500 (minus the rake).

A big win? No doubt. A reward for being patient? Maybe not; the random order of cards simply shined a light on me. Yet…you must come to understand that the level of patience I displayed during this 3 hour time span is exactly what you need to duplicate…what you need to surpass.

You can do it…I’m fairly confident that you can. Mostly because patience is a skill that can be easily learned….easily developed. However, since women intrinsically possess more patience than men, it might take a bit more work on the part of the males who end up reading this Article.

Therefore, If patience is not something that you can list as one of your individual/personal characteristics, I’m willing to bet my last dollar that many of you can make it one; just get busy with ‘patience developing’ exercises.

As an example, last year I described an exercise in the ‘Tournament Play – Building a Bankroll’ series of articles…take a few minutes to read it. Then, get busy with the exercise. Truth be told, I do the exercise at least once a month; sometimes more.

Much like the significance of real estate’s ‘location, location, location’, in poker it’s ‘patience, patience, patience’. And, I refuse to let you indifferently walk away from the overwhelming importance tied to the use of patience. You simply can’t win money on a long-term, consistent, and unfailing basis without it…no exceptions; none at all.

If you can’t reach the level of patience described above, if you can’t make patience the biggest asset you bring to the table, if you can’t elevate patience to its proper place in your game…get out, you don’t belong at a ‘real money’ table.

Hopefully, I’ve delivered the message; either bring a significant level of patience to the ‘real money’ games, or, don’t go anywhere near the ‘real money’ games.

Last, and possibly of paramount importance, I need you to recognize that none of you belong in ‘real money’ games in online poker. You each need to stay away from places like Ultimate Bet, Poker Stars, Full Tilt, Absolute Poker, and countless other poker venues available on your PC’s.

Why? Here’s a simple answer. The games played on the Internet are NOT honest. There have been way too many instances of ‘documented’ cheating scandals, and there is an undeniable propensity for collusion between players on all of the Internet gaming sites.

However, you can, and should, be playing free poker at NoPay Poker. It’s free, you can’t make a deposit, you can’t lose your own money, and it’s the very best poker environment for each of you to be expanding your poker playing abilities.

Plus, you can win pennies with regularity. And, those pennies will, in time, add up to hundreds of dollars….just ask any of the free poker NoPay members whose names reside atop the NoPay ‘Lifetime Earnings List’.

Best of Luck at the Tables

Michael

(c) copyright 2009; no reproduction, all rights reserved by D. M. Vadnais

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