Playing Poker to Win
Poker is unlike other games
For a start, poker involves a degree of luck. In many games, such as chess or football, the better players or teams usually win. In poker, however, the better players don't win every hand or even every session. Anyone can play a hand perfectly and lose money, or play terribly and win.
But it's not all about luck. Good players will on average lose less with their bad cards and win more with their good cards. What's more, the best players will make the most money in the long run because luck always evens out if you play long enough. This isn't merely our opinion; it's a mathematical certainty.
Poker, as well as being a game involving luck, is also a game of incomplete information. In most games, again like chess or football, everybody has more or less the same information. In poker, however, some cards are hidden so that only the holder of those cards knows what they actually are. Because of this lack of information, poker isn't what's known as a solvable game. There is no definitive 'right move' in poker.
The aim of poker is to make educated guesses about what your opponents' cards might be - even though they will of course be trying to mislead you in this respect - and to play in the same way you would if you could actually see these cards. At the same time, you want to try to get your opponents to play in a different way than they would if they could see your cards. With all these hidden cards things can get pretty murky.
So poker is unusual because it involves (a) an element of luck and (b) incomplete information. These two qualities make it easy for many people to underestimate the game, believing it to be relatively simple, or even mostly governed by luck. It's not uncommon for players to have a few winning sessions, perhaps with the help of under-strength opposition or a healthy dose of good fortune, and to start believing they have the game cracked or are ready to enter the world championships.
A professional darts player who once appeared in a celebrity poker television programme made the rather arrogant claim that there isn't much difference in standard between many of the celebrity players and the poker professionals. To those who truly understand poker, his statement was preposterous, but he clearly had no inkling of how far off the mark he was.
It's true that the element of luck involved in poker sometimes obscures the skill factor over a few hands, or even over the course of a session or tournament. This is why very average players sometimes win tournaments. But such players won't make good money day in, day out.
In fact, poker is every bit as complex and subtle as games such as chess or bridge, and you could spend the rest of your life learning how to play it better and better. It's just that it sometimes takes a little longer for a winning edge to make itself apparent in poker.
Just as you shouldn't underestimate poker, you shouldn't be intimidated by the game either. When you first start playing, it can be difficult to make money at even the lowest stakes, and any player can have a couple of losing sessions and start doubting their own ability. But don't get disheartened. If you keep plugging away, and keep reading and learning, you can become a winning, money-making player.
Having said that, we wouldn't want you to think that poker is wholly about making money. It may seem at times like we're obsessed with profitability. We're not really, though - it's simply that making money is the part of the game it's easiest for us to dispense advice on.
People play poker for any number of reasons, most notably the game's inherent sociability and the mental challenges it provides. Whenever you play, you're sure to have fun too. It just so happens that we subscribe to the school of thought that says you have more fun if you play well and make money. And that's what this book is all about.
