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Taking the next step in my poker career

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1. • Posted by TonyBerman 2009-09-13 00:10:12
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   • So I've been playing poker since the start of the boom....... Three years ago I started taking the game serious, reading the books, learning how to calculate odds, etc. I've always been a smaller stakes guy and have had some success at them. Through the past five months I really went into poker overdrive and have taken drastic steps forward in my game. Recently I've been hitting consistent, mid-level cashes in online, low buy in tourneys. I am finally entering a big-boy tourney, and stepping out from behind the computer screen. I've decided to play in my first non-home game, large buy-in tourney, during Turning Stone's "September Poker Weekend Series". I'm going to be entering their third event for $125.
     Well this is all fine and dandy, but I've realized..... I'm scared silly, I don't have any live tourney experience. The point of this thread is more or less me asking, What advice would you guys give a guy like me? I'm a new, ambitious player, who feels comfortable online and is now taking the next step. What should I do differently, how should I approach this? I could find answers like this all over the internet, but I want answers from real players, not a top name pro whose getting paid to tell me. I feel if I play my best game and have confidence, I can take this step easily, but what can I do to help my chances? This is one of the lamer questions I have but, should I make a point to wear sunglasses and keep my face covered? I'm afraid I'll be read like a book, I haven't had a test of my poker face in a long time.
     I guess in the long run, I'm just confused about some things. I guess 95% of people would just play the damn tourney and not think too much into it, but I want to make something out of myself in Poker. I want to someday be a great player, and am doing everything I can to make it happen. Any advice or words of wisdom would be greatly appreciated, Thanks guys.

2. • Posted by Jason M 2009-09-14 04:51:55
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   • Hey Tony, I think these are good questions. I've had one hell of a crazy weekend, so I only have a couple minutes here, but I'll try to help. I started playing live cards (not just poker) a long time ago, so I might take a lot of things for granted and not think of some stuff that is actually obvious. I don't know. Anyway, here goes...

     Play solid poker and you'll be fine :) Don't be scared. Poker is a lot about psychology. If you are not confident, you will play worse than you would if you were confident. And other players may see that you are not confident and take advantage of you.

     Don't overload yourself with trying to "pick up tells" and the like from all the players at the table. Step one should be making sure you aren't giving anything away. You could read "Read 'em and Reap" by Joe Navarro for some help on that, too. It's good and a quick read.

     I would wear a hat/sunglasses to disguise any tells you might give off. Most people won't be looking, but it doesn't hurt (assuming you can still see the cards) and it might make you more comfortable if somebody tries to stare you down. It also might be slightly intimidating for your opponents, and as we all know (or should know) every little edge you can get helps.

     Since you are playing a lot of online games, I'm sure you're aware of the variance in poker. Remember that the variance in a single tournament is gigantic, so don't be surprised if you don't cash even in the first 10 you enter.

3. • Posted by Foster 2009-09-14 06:56:48
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   • "Read 'em and Reap" by Joe Navarro

     http://www.thinkingpoker.net/book_reviews/reap.html

     http://www.pokersavvy.com/wfs/review-of-read-em-and-reap-by-joe-navarro

4. • Posted by Jason M 2009-09-14 16:50:24
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   • Not exactly glowing reviews. Thanks for the links, Mark. I still think it's worth the read since it's a cheap book and fast to finish. There are a few important points that could be summarized faster than that, but oh well :p

5. • Posted by Svidri 2009-09-14 23:40:24
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   • Hey Tony,

     You seem like a great guy and I want to give you a piece of advice, not for your poker career, but for just this one tournament--

     Keep it simple.

     Yes, that's right, just keep it simple. Keep aggressive. Be confident. Fire cbets. Float flops. Do your normal game. Don't out-level yourself. Build an image, and then try moves, but know they are moves. And if you find yourself active and need to bluff, target the air in their range rather than trying to move them off a good hand.

     If u ever think about playing cash/6max and need someone to talk to/sweat/etc... email me thru pokersoup and I'll give you my skype sn and we can chat.

     from,

     john

6. • Posted by Svidri 2009-09-14 23:42:22
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   • Also, if you didn't talk to anyone ever during any hand about any particular hand EVER during the tourney, that is one step towards winning the information war, and I GUARANTEE that is more important than wearing sunglasses.

7. • Posted by Patti K 2009-09-15 00:17:27
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   • I like wearing sunglasses!!! Wear whatever makes you feel comfortable. Don't drink (much) alcohol. Don't forget to eat during the event. If it's a deep stack tourney it will run at least 12 hours, so have snacks during the breaks. Good luck to you ~ Relax and have fun! Awaiting your post game update...

8. • Posted by Tony Gags 2009-09-15 04:56:16
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   • Svidri said:

     Also, if you didn't talk to anyone ever during any hand about any particular hand EVER during the tourney, that is one step towards winning the information war, and I GUARANTEE that is more important than wearing sunglasses.

     Yeah. People are going to try to ask you things like, are you an online player?, been in many tournaments?, blah blah blah. You can talk but keep the small talk to subjects outside of poker

9. • Posted by Jason M 2009-09-15 05:52:40
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   • Svidri said:

     Also, if you didn't talk to anyone ever during any hand about any particular hand EVER during the tourney, that is one step towards winning the information war, and I GUARANTEE that is more important than wearing sunglasses.

     See, there's one of those obvious things I missed. I just assumed you'd never show or tell anything you didn't have to :p Step zero is not giving away information by showing your hands when you don't need to or telling people what you had. This includes not trying to lie about what you had, either. Or smirk. Or wink. Or make kissy faces.

     Step one is concealing information (and feeling comfortable), which is where shades and other body language stuff comes in.

10. • Posted by TonyBerman 2009-09-17 03:54:41
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    • The thing I dont get is, why doesn't everyone wear the glasses and hide their face? Did anyone else notice that Neilsen guy from last nights WSOP? All he had showing was his mouth, it seems like everyone should do that..... is there a down side to hiding everything? I mean as we all know, Jamie Gold didnt wear the glasses. That and he pretty much talked himself into the bracelet..... He's pretty much opposite of what everyone is told to do. I don't want to compare myself to Jamie Gold, but if he sat there quiet, he'd still be an unknown. Ahhhhhhhhh I'm just confused, Ill have to just show up and play the cards....... Thanks a lot for the feed back guys.

11. • Posted by TonyBerman 2009-09-17 03:58:41
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    • By the way..... When I find a way to deposit on Full Tilt, expect to see me in one of the Monday night games soon!

12. • Posted by Jason M 2009-09-17 04:17:13
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    • Some people can use (or think they can use) expressions and other body language to trick people. That is one good reason not to wear sunglasses and cover up. Some people (like me) need prescription glasses to see the cards and may not own prescription sunglasses. I finally got a pair... Some people may be too vain to put a hat to cover their "beautiful" hair. Some people are too lazy or just don't care enough to do anything about it.

      Good luck, play well, and let us know how you do.

13. • Posted by Svidri 2009-10-05 22:35:51
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    • BUMP

      How did you do??? Any notable hands?

14. • Posted by FREMONTkyle 2009-10-06 22:20:15
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    • wait so am i one of those lazy people???? do i give something away at the table J???
      is that why your able to call me down with 33

15. • Posted by Jason M 2009-10-08 00:29:11
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    • hahahah kyle, no i don't think you are lazy. if anything, i've become that way. i've been so busy that i'm playing poker for fun (and always trying for profit, but whatever). maybe that's why i'm calling you down with the worst pair possible. i don't know... i'll have to think about that and see if that could be a more recent leak of mine. thanks for the insight :)

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