TSP Poker Club

Never having played before (believe it, it's true), I am enjoying the game very much. I just picked up a book on strategies, etc. so maybe that can help me better understand the options but...whatever...I'm just having a good time...that's what retirement is all about...and of course...GOLF..

FS

which book? i have some in a box somewhere in another town. i read about a dozen of them more than several years ago. some don't make sense until you play enough hands to define the scenarios in personal experience (pain) for them to matter. there are also many ways to approach this game. texas holdem is a brilliant mix of skill and luck and action, it can be a much deeper game than you would imagine looking at the surface.

sometimes it is called the 'sport of kings' but make no mistake, it is a blood sport nonetheless.
 
Here's another fun fact: I don't calculate probabilities when I play. I'm not that clever. You guys should know that as I rarely take a lot of time to act. Folks that do that in real life take a minute or two before acting.

I don't use calculators. A player experienced in live poker and in the use of those types of apps can usually tell when others are using them. I do suspect they are being used at our table. Please, keep using them :D Again, they fail to take into account the prior action.

I've also said before that those devices dumb your game down. You become mentally dependent upon them. I'd rather keep my game optimized for live, real cash poker; not, online play money poker. This is, or should be, obvious to experienced players.

I did with my poker books the same thing I did to my trading books. Trash. I re-thought the whole game, from scratch, in my mind. Did a little math; a few simulations. Thought long and hard about certain poker players that gave me the flux at casinos. Figured out why; and how to fight them. Wala! My poker system was born.

Don't get me wrong. I threw out the books after reading them. Even though I don't believe I 'got anything' out of them, I probably did--even if on the subconscious level. Maybe reading those books was simply part of the learning process. Like crawling and falling before walking. I needed to read them in order to eventually learn that I don't need to read them.

Same exact process lead to my trading system.

FS, I look forward to watching you improve and beat everyone, except me, on a regular basis. :)
 
Never having played before (believe it, it's true), I am enjoying the game very much. I just picked up a book on strategies, etc. so maybe that can help me better understand the options but...whatever...I'm just having a good time...that's what retirement is all about...and of course...GOLF..

FS

Anything by Sklansky and Malmuth are good. And I can't believe this book is $4 on Amazon (incl. shipping). I remember paying $50 for the original hard cover about 20 years ago, and I was happy to find it. I do see that the hard cover for version 2 sells for $95.

Doyle Brunson's Super System 2: A Course in Power Poker: Doyle Brunson: 9781580421362: Amazon.com: Books

I'd ship you one of the two copies I have but it would cost me more to ship it to you than to buy that one. :)
 
Anything by Sklansky and Malmuth are good. And I can't believe this book is $4 on Amazon (incl. shipping). I remember paying $50 for the original hard cover about 20 years ago, and I was happy to find it. I do see that the hard cover for version 2 sells for $95.

Doyle Brunson's Super System 2: A Course in Power Poker: Doyle Brunson: 9781580421362: Amazon.com: Books

I'd ship you one of the two copies I have but it would cost me more to ship it to you than to buy that one. :)

Yeah, I had most of the 'go to' books, by all the greats. Most of mine I download from the interwebs. ;)

As a matter of fact, I only trashed the hard copies. I'm sure I archived the pdf's. ;)
 
I'm showing my age. This is my archive. It's about 75% poker books (videos and DVDs). Some blackjack and other gambling, plus a few Seinfeld DVDs. :D

poker-books.gif


I have some duplicates because I bought a box of random poker books off a guy on ebay a few years back.


My stock market books are on another shelf.
 
I am really looking forward to playing more often once my busy season passes. Wish I could have played Sunday. Maybe by Monday things will ease up enough. As for reading (or anything else), its kinda tough. So far I have played maybe 5-6 games and played twice about 10 minutes to get up enough cash to buy into the Tournament. I doubled my time on the table at my last game so I was pleased. I guess some day I need to actually start playing a lot if I am going to get much better. But I really just play for fun. Years ago when Hold Em got popular and televised, I would watch those games and I think I learned a little from that. Well at least it was fun to hear Scotty say "Baby" a lot. :D

Never did play Texas Hold Em in Vegas like I wanted to ...had higher priorities (i.e. I went shopping for blingy shoes!! :D ) . In any case, I think I need to learn more about how much to bet based on pot size etc and more about play position on the table. I really do love to play... even if some people make me feel cranky at times--- you bunch of bullies!! :laugh:

Maybe I will see you guys and gals on Monday! :smile:
 
BTW, for anyone that has this issue, for our tournaments, or for any others, I figured out a trick to get the play money quickly:

Step 1: Join a table (Table A) with all your chips.
Step 2: Attempt to join a different table (Table B), and click the 'Refill Play Money Chips'. 1k will be added.
Step 3: Leave Table B, and click 'Add Chips' (Top right) in Table A, and add the 1k new chips to that table.
Step 4: Go back to Step 2. You can do this 3 times to get the free chips, each hour.

This opens up options for games you can play with less hassle. I had to do this to play the KO tournaments after I lost all my chips last week. I opened up a 'fake' club to make this process even easier and faster. Disclaimer: I never read the terms & conditions...

to get up enough cash to buy into the Tournament.
 
BTW, for anyone that has this issue, for our tournaments, or for any others, I figured out a trick to get the play money quickly:

Step 1: Join a table (Table A) with all your chips.
Step 2: Attempt to join a different table (Table B), and click the 'Refill Play Money Chips'. 1k will be added.
Step 3: Leave Table B, and click 'Add Chips' (Top right) in Table A, and add the 1k new chips to that table.
Step 4: Go back to Step 2. You can do this 3 times to get the free chips, each hour.

This opens up options for games you can play with less hassle. I had to do this to play the KO tournaments after I lost all my chips last week. I opened up a 'fake' club to make this process even easier and faster. Disclaimer: I never read the terms & conditions...

Nice.

So I should put multiple tables in the club, to make this easier? I should stagger them in time, so when they disappear, there will still be some left until I replace the ones that disappear.
 
hmm, I've just been playing the micro tables and racking up chips when i end up at a good table. I then register for the tournaments,1-2, while I have enough chips to buy in. then I go back to the micro cash tables with what I have left, only lose 1K at a time that way, sometimes I lose it several times before I start racking them up again. when I lose the 1K, I generally leave and go find a new table, one where the chips are about equally balanced among players, nobody more than 3K at the table. seems to work enough to keep me in tourney buyins. but sometimes I have to play more cash games to make it work.
 
Thanks Tom. The book I bought was The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky. It was recommended as one of the best poker books. Picked it up at B&N.

We'll see if it helps me as we play over the next few months...:D:D:D

FS
 
The tables seem to disappear quite quickly. Not sure exactly how long, but I think its just a few days.

But ya, the fastest way to do it is to sit at a table where you can put all your chips down, then TRY to sit at a table with a minimum higher than 1k. It will still let you reload with the free 1k, but it won't actually sit you down. Skipping the step of having to leave and then re-enter that table for the next round.

I started doing it every time I log in, takes longer to click out of all the friggen boxes when pokerstar loads than to get the free 3k chips! :laugh:

Nice.

So I should put multiple tables in the club, to make this easier? I should stagger them in time, so when they disappear, there will still be some left until I replace the ones that disappear.
 
hmm, I've just been playing the micro tables and racking up chips when i end up at a good table. I then register for the tournaments,1-2, while I have enough chips to buy in. then I go back to the micro cash tables with what I have left, only lose 1K at a time that way, sometimes I lose it several times before I start racking them up again. when I lose the 1K, I generally leave and go find a new table, one where the chips are about equally balanced among players, nobody more than 3K at the table. seems to work enough to keep me in tourney buyins. but sometimes I have to play more cash games to make it work.

aahhhh, the details of how or why you are doing it is not as important as the 'what' you are doing. you are harvesting, this is an essential concept for any poker player, and any hustler, although the two are not exactly mutually inclusive they share many qualities. most important is the ability to identify an angle and then exploit it. you are doing well gwasshoppa.
 
Thanks Tom. The book I bought was The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky. It was recommended as one of the best poker books. Picked it up at B&N.

We'll see if it helps me as we play over the next few months...:D:D:D

FS

it will. it is one of the important ones, although a dry read and a bit advanced. but you have some table time now and the examples will make sense. if i remember correctly, he has a high level of finesse he applies to 'pot odds' and table credibility.
 
ha! those KO tables are boocoo fun, huh? the sound effects still make me laugh every time. "whiiiichaaaaa!"

BTW, for anyone that has this issue, for our tournaments, or for any others, I figured out a trick to get the play money quickly:

Step 1: Join a table (Table A) with all your chips.
Step 2: Attempt to join a different table (Table B), and click the 'Refill Play Money Chips'. 1k will be added.
Step 3: Leave Table B, and click 'Add Chips' (Top right) in Table A, and add the 1k new chips to that table.
Step 4: Go back to Step 2. You can do this 3 times to get the free chips, each hour.

This opens up options for games you can play with less hassle. I had to do this to play the KO tournaments after I lost all my chips last week. I opened up a 'fake' club to make this process even easier and faster. Disclaimer: I never read the terms & conditions...
 
Thanks Tom. The book I bought was The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky. It was recommended as one of the best poker books. Picked it up at B&N.

We'll see if it helps me as we play over the next few months...:D:D:D

FS

I know I at least read some of it. I'll have to find my pdf, and look through it again, so I can see how I can exploit you.

Seriously though, a pro mentioned this to Phil Hellmuth about his book. That pros exploit the tactics in popular books when they first go public, because so many people follow them and are doing the same thing (at the same time--after the new release). Other pros at the table cosigned to this. I believe I was watching 'Poker After Dark.'

That sort of information you likely won't see an author include in their book. ;)

Btw...same is true in the markets.

Finally, I doubt it'll take you months to show a change...more like weeks. :)
 
They are good if you don't want to be committed for a significant amount of time, like the regular tournaments can take. Other than that, they have very limited value. I almost never play the first hand, because 50% of the time, its like an around the table all-in. I also hate when someone gets KOed and then you are first to act... but you can't see your cards because the friggen banner is in the way. Mean time its making loud noises to get your attention like there is something you can do about it.

ha! those KO tables are boocoo fun, huh? the sound effects still make me laugh every time. "whiiiichaaaaa!"
 
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