Building Poker

The story begins…

I remember my parents playing poker when I was a kid. On Saturday nights they would have friends come over. They sat around drinking beer, eating, and playing cards. All of us kids were shuffled into another room to watch television or play board games. But we would stick out our heads to watch the adults play. Our eyes grew wide at the sight of the pile of silver change and dollar bills sitting in the middle of the table.

Unfortunately, I never learned how to play. That is, not until last summer. It was a holiday weekend and I was invited to a neighborhood cook out. As the hot dogs and burgers were frying on the grill, my friends all sat down to play poker. I sat in the background, feeling left out. Finally, everyone agreed that I could sit in with my friend and learn how to play.

I watched attentively as she shuffled the cards. Then she gave them to the person sitting on her left and they cut them and gave them back. My friend then passed out five cards to each player, starting with the player on her left. My friend yelled, “Ante up”, everyone threw dollar bills to the middle of the table. The person sitting across from us raised his bet to $2.50. None of the other players wanted to bet that high and each said, “fold,” and threw their cards down. I was told that fold means they quit that round of the game. The person across from us laughed mischievously before reaching in and raking up all the money. “Doesn’t he have to show us his cards,” I asked. “No,” said my friend “not if everyone else folded. He was probably bluffing.” (Bluffing means that a player is pretending that he/she has a better hand then they really do in hopes of fooling the other players out of their money.)
Everyone agreed that I could play a hand with my friend helping me out. I knew the basics of what types of hands you can have-four of a kind, full house, straight, etc. But, I didn’t know which hands were best. I felt discouraged looking at my cards. I thought I had nothing, there were no cards with the same number value. I did have a straight but I wasn’t sure if any of the other players could beat that. I showed my cards to my friend and her eyes popped out of her head. “All of your cards are of the same suite,” she exclaimed, “No one can beat that hand.” None of the other players believed it and they all sat around shaking their heads when I revealed my cards. I won $10.00 on the first round I ever played.

I felt a rush of excitement and a great sense of accomplishment. Now I understood what all the fuss is about. But I still had to learn all the different ways to play. I had to practice and improve my skills. My friend told me about www.buildingpoker.com. This website is great. It tells you everything you need to know including how to play, tutorials and poker rooms.

How to beat an aggressive player

There are not enough words to describe how I felt the first time I came up against an aggressive player. I was shocked, annoyed, frustrated, ashamed, mad, and in denial. Needless to say I lost big. Unfortunately for me, this bully became a regular where I played. Over time, I stopped being so afraid of the bully and I started to pay attention. I soon learned how to beat down the bully.

First of all, just as with any bully, don’t be afraid. If you are, don’t show it. The aggressive player is counting on your frustration and fear. They use it against you. It is part of their strategy but you don’t have to play into it. Just as you can’t fear the bully, you also cannot let him suck you in. It is human nature to want to beat him at his own game but that may only make things worse for you. The bully is counting on you raising the stakes in an effort to beat him. The more you bet, the more you can lose and he can win. Don’t raise or stay in the game unless you know you have a good hand.

Determine if the bully is an intelligent player or just an idiot. Some players will use the bully as part of their game plan. These are the ones you really have to watch out for. They will steal you blind. The idiot bully is just an annoyance. Know his game and you will be fine.

Try to always sit to the left of the bully. I found this out by accident. When I sit left of the bully I can play my hand first. That way I don’t get sucked into his game. I know it is hard, but try to concentrate on making your hand and not on what the bully is doing. Don’t get trapped in his mind game. He is counting on you losing your concentration and making bad calls.

Remember that even an idiot aggressive player may occasionally have a good hand. In other words, he may not always be bluffing. Study the bully to learn his body language. Try your best to determine when he is bluffing and when he really does have a good hand.

Don’t lose track of the other players. You are not just playing against the aggressive player. There are other players in the game that want to win just as badly as you do. Don’t go down to his level. It is understandable that you are angry but if you resort to name calling things can only go from bad to worse. I have seen fights break out because a player called out a bully. Just be aware of him and watch your back. Remember that you can always fold.

I soon learned how to beat my bully at his own game. It wasn’t long before he was choosing to not sit at the same table as me.

Mathematical with his approach, Chris Ferguson or Jesus as he is fondly called is one of the most successful poker players around. To date he has five World Series of Poker bracelets and a record three WSOP circuit events title.

He got the nickname Jesus because of beard and long hair that people say resemble that of Jesus Christ. During games, he is motionless so that his opponents can’t read him. He became famous for throwing card at top speed that can cut through fruits such as carrots, bananas and melons.

Triple aces don’t always win you the pot and this is how David learned the hard way. Before the flop he had pocket aces and he raise without hesitation. Only one player didn’t fold. Flop is A-K-2. David bet and the other player raise him. Craig re-raise and the other player re-raise. Craig then called. The turn is a jack. Craig again bet and he was re-raised. Craig then went all in and the other player called. The player showed his J-T hand. Craig though he had it except the river is a Q giving the other player a straight.