Poker Articles

People ask me all the time, “How do you get to so many final tables?” or “What is your secret, how are you good at every game?” or “How do you play 8 or 9 games at once?”  Here are my answers to those questions.
 
First of all, to excel in anything, you must fully understand as much information as possible about the subject.  This takes time and requires dedication.  In 1997, I fell in love with the game of poker.  During my 1st semester at college, I encountered online poker.  Now, poker is in my blood, as my dad has been a semi-pro his whole life, but I felt I could not start playing until I turned 21, legal age to play in a casino. However, online poker changed this.  Now I could play from my dorm room from 2am till dawn, or in between classes, or all weekend, which, of course, I did.  The more I played, the more I wanted to play, however, since it took me several years to become a winning player, I wasn’t playing enough as I was always going bust.  But then things turned, I started winning consistently, I had finally started to figure this game out.  After winning at low limit (3/6) hold’em consistently for a few months, I got bored.  So I moved on to Omaha Hi/low, a much more complex game.  Unfortunately, being a winning hold’em player did not mean I would be a winning Omaha hi/low player. 

Eventually, I moved through all the games, making sure I was a winning player at all games, as versatility is always important, especially for game selection.   Then it happened!  I found out about poker tournaments.  I played a few, and I realized I found my poker home.  Tournaments attracted me much more then live games, as there was a winner declared.  I should point out here that being the best at anything I do is much more important to me then the money earned from it, which is why I liked how tournaments had a champion at the end of the night.  I now felt comfortable playing any tournament, as I felt I had very good knowledge of all the games, although my tournament theory needed catching up.  I have since played well over 10,000 tournaments, which is highlighted with WSOP gold.  It is my never ending quest to be the best that allows me to wake up everyday and want to play poker so much, and it is that effort which allows me to put myself in a position to make more final tables, more often. 

As far as playing multiple games at one time, it is important to realize that this is a gradual process that has to develop over time.  If you over expand your playing tables too quickly, you will not being giving enough attention to all your tables.  I am able to play so many games at once for several reasons.  First, since I have played so many hands, it takes me less then a second to know what I will do in a particular situation.  Also, I use two 19” Sony LCD monitors, which allows me to view 8 games without overlap.  The internet is a great place to practice your game, as you get a lot of hands per hour, and it gives you an opportunity to play all the different games at affordable limits.

Check-Raise in Style,
Brett “gank” Jungblut