The Best Poker Advice

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April 21st, 2018
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If you are a fan of Barnes & Noble or one of those half-price bookstores that most large cities have, you probably are aware of their gambling books sections.

Countless books have been written on the many aspects of gambling, from how to win at dice to strategies to win at the race track. I recently visited a half-price discount bookstore on Camelback Road in Phoenix, AZ. and was amazed at the large number of poker books they offer the public.

The authors were wide-ranging, running from Doyle Brunson to Daniel Negraneau. Some of the titles baffled the imagination: 'Poker For Dummies,' for example. I went through the available books and bought 'The Making of a Poker Player', subtitled 'How An Ivy League Math Geek Learned to Play Championship Poker,' and 'Poker: A Winner's Guide' by Andy Nelson.

I can assure you of one thing: most of the poker players I know read these books. They are constantly seeking an edge to beat their fellow poker players and come home with the money.

Whether the author of the book is David Sklansky or Mike Caro, you will probably get something out of the contents. Will that something be sufficient to turn you into a winning poker player? Ah, that is the question.

Poker author Andy Nelson is a former minister, cattle rancher and loan officer who takes a down-to-earth approach to playing poker. I found his book, 'Poker: A Winner's Gude' to be far more informative and useful than the book by Matt Matros who gets too complex for my brain when he describes his thinking when he gets into a pot.

Perhaps I'm old-fashioned but I prefer the old days when poker players simply thought about odds, probability, and players when they were mapping out their strategy. Of course, this was before the poker explosion.

Players play differently these days. They are tougher to beat because they take more risks. They put more bad beats on their foes and they draw out far more often than the oldtimers did.

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Nelson teaches classes on poker. I wouldn't mind taking some of those classes because I admire his approach to the game.

In his chapter on how to play seven card stud high-low, he brings up the paint rule, for example. You start with ace, three, seven, a strong starting hand. On fourth street you are dealt a queen. You have three cards to go to make a high or low hand or a scooper that will take the entire pot. Nelson suggests you forget about the hand and get out of the pot if someone bets.

His advice is solid. Always think low. The only high hands you should play are wired three of a kind or a pair of aces, preferably with a low card.. Don't play for low if one of your first three cards is an eight. Play low flushes or straights, but muck your cards if they are high.

Nelson is correct when he says if you follow this strategy, you will rarely get yourself in trouble.

He suggests you find a table where the players are timid and who fear raises. He likes it if he is the only raiser at the table. That will allow you to control the game and the size of the pot.

Position is also important to Nelson. He suggests playing a good starting hand strong and then checking on the river if you don't have a strong hand. Good advice. Some people slow play their hands and are just waiting for the raiser to bet so they can re-raise him.

Never underestimate the power of position. You can raise with powerful or weak hands and depending on the actions of the other players after the flop, you can come out betting regardless of what you catch.

Good poker books can help you improve your game. They can't do it all, but they will provide a valuable weapon for you to use in your war against the other players.

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