What Helped You The Most?

[Super_GTP]

After reading every post in the "Beginner's Table" my question to everyone is... What has been the best piece of advice that you have picked up, from anyone/ anywhere. It seems that poker is like golf in that lots of people have a general understanding of how to play but there are lots of little tips and tricks to be learned before you can really be good at it. So what has helped your game the most?

[Chipless Wonder]

Nothing has helped my game more than learning to be selective about my starting hands.

[CW Buckeye]

I agree. Hand selection is pretty important.

Sample Hand: Player A moves all-in. It folds around to you in the small blind. You look down and see 5 2 off. It will cost you approximately 40% of your stack to call.

Do you call?

The answer is of course, no. No you shouldn't. To do so would be a very silly call. (Unless you are looking for what is known as the 'Suver Hoover')

Not that this would ever happen, but you see my point. Hand selection is very important.

[Super_GTP]

Originally Posted by CW Buckeye

I agree. Hand selection is pretty important.

Sample Hand: Player A moves all-in. It folds around to you in the small blind. You look down and see 5 2 off. It will cost you approximately 40% of your stack to call.

Do you call?

The answer is of course, no. No you shouldn't. To do so would be a very silly call. (Unless you are looking for what is known as the 'Suver Hoover')

Not that this would ever happen, but you see my point. Hand selection is very important.

LOL. The question there would be why did player A go all in with such a crappy hand? Asuming that the 5 2 off suit beat your hand? I mean palyer A's hand.

[hitman247x]

Position is everything in poker.

Why does the casino always win in black jack? Because they act last....position.

Poker is a game of incomplete information....and those with position have the most information to make their decision.

[DerekDGTP]

Scott advised me to start out playing only the top few starting hands. That actually put me in the money a couple times. I played in a tourney with about 36 players last weekend and finished 9th. I wasn't too disappointed. What I found by doing this is that people start seeing you as conservative. Then, they're less likely to stay in with on some hands. This opens up some more hands.

[dizzystar]

The single best piece of advice that I give to anyone is "deception is over-rated." No one ever ever ever ever ever listens.

[topcat824]

PATIENCE, but this relates directly to Scott's starting hand selection, and
Hitman's position awareness. You can't lower your hand selection requirements, or loosen up on position just because you haven't had a decent starting hand in the last 30 hands.

[Lefty]

It's tough to decide which piece of advice is more valuable but in the end I think hand selection is probably slightly more important, primarily to novices who are still getting a feel for the game. With solid hand selection, I think you give yourself easier decisions on the flop and turn and often avoid getting involved with a big "second best" hand. K-10 or Q-J may look good when you've been staring at rags all night, but when a K (1st hand) or J (2nd hand) hits the flop, you've got to play carefully b/c you could easily be second best.

Position is valuable to novices too, but I think more experienced players playing looser starting hand requirements tend to benefit even more from good position b/c they can get away when they only catch a small piece of the flop or push the action depending on the circumstances going on before them.

[dizzystar]

I think a truly magical concept is as follows, a la C. Ferguson: Check your marginal hands. Bet your strong and weak hands.