Do not play By The Book

By Phil Gordon

GordonOnce I'm in a pot, more of what I do after the flop are automatic or nearly automatic. On the other hand, the most important actions that I have to take in the No Limit Hold em decide before the flop:

Should I play the two cards as just serve me?

When j started l learning the game, I was looking at the Charter of which starting hands are suggested to play according to my position. But although it provides me with useful information, the Charter does not tell me what I have to know.

Poker is played not only with figures. Poker is a game of situations.

Blackjack, there is always a proper decision to take, a "perfect" strategy Once you have compared the strength of your hand with the dealer, the sides will or should at least tell you the correct game to do.

Poker on the other hand, is a game of incomplete information. There are several factors to be considered and all are not indicated in the books. These factors are among others:

My opponent trends
My state of mind
The State spirit of my opponent
The size of the stacks of players
My image at the table

Computers can assess a hand under a Charter. Real poker players analyze situations and make their own decisions after reviewing all available information. I should raise with A - J in the first position in this part and fold the same hand in the same position on another table.

A good Charter can help you with really special cases:

You're UTG and you want to raise 3 times the BB
You don't know anything about your opponents
All players at your table are average stacks
The blinds are relatively small compared to the stacks of players

When you are new to a table, this Charter can help. But more you play poker, you will let your intuition and your experience serve as you a guide to make your decisions.