Poker Strategy

How to avoid becoming an Action Junkie
Now I'm not talking about some Christian Brother or Sergeant Major with a black strap here (though some players need a good wallop every time they go to call with K4!). Discipline in poker is paramount; poker is not an extreme sport despite what the TV might want you to think and its more about the hands you throw away then the hands you play. Any tournament you enter, any cash game you sit down at should be a mental commitment that you are going to sit there for 2-3 hours, primarily folding hands. If you are looking for an instant buzz take up rock climbing or snowboarding, poker can be a rush, an adrenalin hit but it can also be a long slow patient game.

Online poker has a few advantages over live poker and one of them is that you can do other things while you play. It’s not something I personally like to do, I prefer to watch the patterns of my opponents' play and betting, take notes on players and in a tournament take note of chip standing and remaining players. However many players complain that they did something stupid and costly simply because they hit a run of cold cards and got bored!

So what can you do to entertain yourself to avoid the "ah sure I haven’t played a hand in a while" trap? Playing music is a good idea, something relaxing would be my recommendation, and something you enjoy listening to will help pass the time between hands. Read the web, check your email, play a second table to double the number of times you are in the hand. Again I would stress that observing your opponents is the best use of your time but if you find you simply can’t concentrate on poker for that length of time then consider other distractions.

One mental discipline technique I use is to reward myself for good folds. A good fold is often worth as much as a pot won. It’s hard to sit there and wait for a hand and finally when you get AJ you end up facing a raise and a reraise. Instead of tilting and going all in, take a deep breath and let the hand go. Rather then railing against the gods of poker you should congratulate yourself on a disciplined fold. Give yourself a mental pat on the back, a gold star and realise that any mug can lose all his chips; it takes a player to know when to fold 'em.

Far too many players weaned themselves on Late Night Poker and watched some of the best players in the business bluff and raise in positions that would make Gus Hansen blush. I played in a tournament recently with Padraig Parkinson, the winner of one series, and for almost the first hour he didn’t so much as raise a hand. Talking to him about Late Night Poker he told me that the structure tended to make it a crapshoot and that the TV editors cut out most of the hands where someone raised and no one called. It’s understandable but it misrepresents poker to an entire generation who think that every hand is an action hand. All things come to those who wait, aces might be waiting for you next hand...