The Convenient Accident

With nothing to do this evening I decided to log into poker stars and play an online tournament. I think that by playing the big tournaments with small stakes I can get to play (and practice) a lot of poker for a small amount of money. So I found a game for $1.65 including the rake with 558 people in it. So with that amount of people I know that I should be playing a lot of cards, and the worst thing that can happen is losing $1.65, so all is good.

The convenient accident came when the first cards came down and I noticed my raise-o-meter wasn't there. It suddenly dawned on me that I was playing limit poker as opposed to no-limit. What a stupid mistake to make, not realizing what game I was playing before it started! But this mistake might have turned out to be a good thing...

As I was playing I could see that my style of play was a lot more suited to limit poker. Before I started this blog and therefore this monumental mission of becoming The Future Poker Star, I played a few tournaments online, and the main problem I had was the blinds and antes. You see I play tight, not chasing the straights and flushes, and go in for the kill with the good hands. Patience is a virtue and all that. Well the blinds and antes always killed me, not the other players. But the blinds went up at a nice level tonight and there was no antes, so I could play the gameplan that I wanted to play.

And play I did.

I got to 26th out of 558 players comfortably and won $4.16 (£2.08) which isn't a spectacular result on paper, but I think that the $1.65 (£0.83) was well spent to learn the lesson that poker isn't no limit hold 'em, but no limit hold 'em is just a part of poker. With so many different variations of poker out there (Omaha, Raz, 7 card stud, 5 card draw, HORSE etc) then maybe along this journey there will be a game that's just right for me, and to be The Future Poker Star I need to explore these all with the same dedication that I will for no limit.

Can I Spot The Bluff?

Throughout my life, I've been known to be a bit paranoid about things. There could be 10 people in my house and I'll tell you which one likes my sister a little too much, and which one is planning on stealing my TV. I could be in a club and get a big feeling that it's all about to kick off, or that the girl I'm dancing with just wants some free drinks.

These are the typical symptoms of someone with paranoia, but with me it's different for one vital reason... normally I'm right!

Now there are two ways to look at this:

1. I have a guardian angel on my shoulder protecting me and guiding me through life, or
2. Without realizing I can pick up on other peoples subconsciouses body language.
   

For the purposes of this blog, I'm going to discard number one and hope that if I really do have a guardian angel, it isn't online.

So that leads us nicely to number two. Now from a small bit of research i can see that when we lie our body does different things than when we tell the truth. Some one could stutter slightly or avoid a question. They could use filler sounds and words like "umm... yeah... that's right" instead of a truthful "yes". These are obvious give aways to a lier. But any half decent poker player would be able to hide these.

The tells that interest me, as The Future Poker Star, are the ones that I believe I pick up on without realizing. The way that people might raise their eyebrows slightly when the flop hits or the way they shuffle with their chips whilst contemplating a re-raise is what floats my boat. I believe that there is only so far we can can go on this journey without learning and honing the skills to read people.

I have ordered a book by a man called Derren Brown. He has a program in the UK where he plays with peoples minds. I have seen him do many different "tricks" but in reality he is just a person who knows how the mind works. But the way he can tell a truth from a lie is not only amazing, but also something that a Future Poker Star needs learn!

Here is a clip of Derran Brown. I don't plan on filling this blog up with youtube videos, but I think that this is something that needs to be shown. Now just imagine if you had these skills, and wanted to know if the person infront of you that just raised your two kings has the two aces.


Part 1




Part 2

Latest Statistics (updated 31 May)

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I think it is time to update the Latest Statistics page. There hasn't been a lot to report on lately as I have just been grinding away at the small level sit 'n go's but the live game tournament buy-in's were huge compared to my on line buy-ins, which explain the sharp losses and wins.

I have tracked my statistics since I started using The Future Poker Star spreadsheet in the middle of February and as you can see my biggest win by far was the local Tournament Take Down this week.

I just thought I would show you another graph showing the "hits" from the site. This just shows the actual blog stats and not the stats for the rest of our community (i.e the forums, facebook, myspace etc). I have been tracking them since the beginning of the year and thought I would share them with you.

(click image to see full screen)

I don't really think that it means anything, as I would rather have one person to help me oput somehow than 1000 people just reading the posts, but I thought I would share it with you all.

What I Learned Last Night

It cost me £5 last night to learn a lesson that might have saved me thousands.

The venue was set, the nibbles were layed down, and the fridge was full of beer, all set up nicely for the game of No Limit Hold 'Em round a friends house. £5.00 buy in, re buy-ins before an hour, second place wins money back, and winner takes the rest.

Although I was going in blind to their different styles of play as I hadn't played with any of the nine players before, I did know quite a lot about some of their personalities. For example, I knew that two of the nine players were ridiculously competitive with each other, and I knew that another one of the nine looked a lot more stupid than he actually was. So I felt that I had a very small advantage of the table, especially being The Future Poker Star!

A quick $5 sit 'n go on Pokerstars for a warm up before I left was in order, which using a combination of extreme concentration and a dash of luck, was won. I'm up on the night and feeling good.

The tactic for the live game was to sit back, relax, and go in when I had the better hands. I thought that I would let everyone else knock each other out while I collected on the hands that I should collect on. I checked twice when I had a straight ace high knowing that the only other player on the table would raise to the roof. He did, nearly bankrupting himself as I more than doubled my chips.

Then it all started going wrong! I was far and away the chip leader, with my new "don't mess with me" table image, when I decided to get the drinks flowing. The rum, the vodka, the beers...

Without thinking I made two stupid mistakes. I raised most of my chips to put someone all in with my pair of kings without noticing the flush draw staring at me on the table which put me on the small stack, then went all in on the next hand with two queens! Why the hell did I do that? The caller had two aces (one in his hand and one on the flop) and that was me for the night!

The SNG on Pokerstars softened the financial blow, but I should have gone to bed last night on a high.

So the lesson I have learned is this: Don't drink while playing poker!

Is a bit of dutch courage good for your game? Or does it just give you false confidence?

The Beginning - Can It Be Done?

I had it all. The perfect family, the nice house, the nice job. Then I lost it all.

From now on, I can never be as low as i once was and I can never lose more than I have lost. It's all up hill from here.

During this bad time of my life I couldn't do anything except stay in my house alone as I locked myself away from the world. During this time I needed something to take my mind off things, so I researched. I found out how to edit videos to a pretty good standard. I researched the 9/11 tragedy, and I learned the basics of poker.

This is what I have to start with:

• The hands - I know what hands are bigger others. This is now been imprinted in my mind!
• Very Basic Pot Odds - I have a basic knowledge of pot odds , but I don't think I am using this basic knowledge properly.
  
• Understanding of the position - It seems like nobody that I play with cares where the button is. It doesn't affect their play at all, where as I can take advantage of that by reacting to the button.
  
• Ability to learn - By that I mean that if I put my mind to something, I can research every second of the day to achieve it.
  
• Great Maths - I have a really good grasp on mathematics. I have never had a problem at getting numbers round my head.
• Balls of steel - I've been known to "flip-out" sometimes in normal everyday circumstances, but i have also been known to keep a cool head when everyone else around me has fallen apart.

With a few games online and a couple of games with my friends I would say that I've hung pretty well, but also I understand that that is probably the lowest standard of opponent I can get. I also realize that for every one person that makes a living from poker, he or she has to take a small portion of hundreds of other peoples disposable income. Therefore to take on even the beginning stages of this project, I have to be better than most.

I can't do it alone. I don't have a mentor to help me, and I don't have the knowledge or the experience. This is why I have set up this blog.

This isn't a blog that gives you information (although I'm sure many people will learn from my mistakes and triumphs), but this is a blog to give me the skills, advise, tips, stories and support to become The Future Poker Star.

The World Series from nothing from one person is a pipe dream, but could a group of people do it? Could a network of people collectively achieve it by sharing every piece of knowledge they have? Together, I think we can cause a stir.

Lets find out.