Louis L'Amour's autobiography 'Education of a Wandering Man' is one of the best self-portraits of a historic author that I have ever read. I picked up a copy of the book in a used book store in Phoenix, AZ. some years ago and have read it, not once, but several times, gaining more enjoyment from each reading.
L'Amour's incredibly successful career as a writer of novels, several of which made it to the Silver Screen, should encourage any aspirant author. Growing up during the Great Depression, he became a hobo and wandered around America in boxcars on freight trains that took him across the U.S.
He earned a living by working as a lumberjack, hired hand, gold prospector and boxer. No job was too hard for Louis. When he arrived in a town he had never been to before, he would befriend the local citizens and get them to talking about events that had occurred in the area. When he found a topic that interested him, he would research it, usually by visiting the local library or museum. Out of that research he would create a compelling novel of the Western Frontier. And people eagerly read those accounts in book form, making him a best-selling author for many years.
I titled this column 'Education of a Poker Player' because, like a writer,, no poker player is born to play this fascinating card game.
I began my poker career by accident, on a troop train from Ft. Ord in Monterrey, CA. to Los Angeles. A group of GI's traveling to their assigned destinations began playing poker in the club car. The game lasted for the entire journey. There was plenty of drinking and all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces got involved in the game.
I knew next to nothing about poker, but I ran into beginner's luck. When I dismounted from the train with my duffel bag, I had my winnings stashed in every pocket and was thrilled by my good luck. That happened nearly half a century ago and I am still going strong.
I have learned to play poker by using three main tools: playing poker for cash, practicing poker in the privacy of my room and reading books by the best poker players who have made a success of the game.
The first poker book I ever read was 'Poker For Fun and Profit' written by Irwin Steig. It was a fun book to read and contained basic information that assisted me in gaining the edge on my fellow players.
As the years passed, I read other books written by many legends of poker -- Doyle Brunson, Roy Cooke, Mike Caro, David Sklansky and others who had made their mark in the game.
Each of these people specialized in a certain aspect of poker. David Sklansky, for example, contributed a chapter to Brunson's best-selling book 'Super System: A Course in Power Poker.' He wrote about high-low poker, a game he well understood.
After studying Sklansky's chapter on high-low split, I began playing the game at Talking Stick Casino in Scottsdale, AZ. and won 10 straight sessions before I lost.
Sklansky pointed out the weaknesses beginning players showed in the game and showed how to avoid them. He told about 'The Trap,' something that only exists in high-low split. The Trap occurs when a player tries to outdraw the other players in order to win half the pot. This represents a major error in thinking, Sklansky wrote.
'It's the lure of at least half the pot that bad players constantly grasp for but rarely acquire,' he added. 'They'd do as well grabbing a handful of water. Pot after pot will slip through their fingers. Once in a while, they'll come up with something. But those times will be rare.'
That simple piece of advice is well founded and it has earned me a lot of money over the years. Some forms of poker may just not be right for you. Unless you can adjust yourself to those games, you should find another game to play. Any time you are taking the worst of it, according to Sklansky, you may get lucky once in a while. But more often than not, the luck will run against you and you will moan the loser's lament, 'I just can't get a break.'
If you are serious about playing poker, use the Internet to find some good books on the game you want to play. Then read them. Study them. Practice playing at home until you get a feel for the cards. Then and only then will you be ready to face real poker players for real cash. That's the education of a poker player. Good luck. Let the games begin.
Author: Geno Lawrenzi Jr.
(Geno Lawrenzi Jr. is an international journalist, magazine author and ghostwriter and poker player who lives in Phoenx, AZ. He has published 2,000 articles in 50 magazines and 125 newspapers. If you want to share a gambling story or book idea with him, send an email to glawrenzi@gmail.com ).
