POKER... Foldem' Style

It has been quite a few months but Dad and I were able to get a way and play a little poker up in Oklahoma last weekend. Dad has just started really playing Texas Hold’em. We were torn about playing on the same table because we did not want to hurt one another. In the end though we decided to go for it.
I was a bit anxious at first. The stakes were not high. It was 4-8 limit poker. So why be so anxious? The reason being I am in a considerable slump when it comes to poker. About a year ago I was playing pretty regular and I was doing quite well. I would come home with the money I took plus I would at least double it if not triple it or quadruple it. Then…IT STOPPED…. Some of it was just not getting cards but many times I was getting outplayed. By that I don’t mean I was getting out smarted I mean I was trying to make things happen to win pots and instead would get burned.
Well yesterday I did not get any GREAT starting hands…a pocket ACES or face cards in 3 hours of playing. But I did see some decent starting hands. I came home with 90% of the money I took. Oddly enough a dealer error cost me a hand that would have put me about 100 dollars up AT THAT TIME but I have been on the receiving end of a dealer screw up as well so …THAT’S POKER…. I was very proud of the way I played. Considering the cards I got I felt I got the most out of what I was dealt. Here is what I did well….
I WAS FOCUSED- I did a nice job of staying patient and not doing anything too aggressive because you get tired of just sitting there. If the odds say fold I folded.
YOU GOT TA KNOW WHEN TO FOLD’EM- And I did. There were quite a few times that I had a very strong hand but the way people were playing and betting I would lay down my hand. It is hard to lay down TRIPS and a STRIAGHT but I did both on more than one occasion. If I would have stayed in the hand I would have LOST each one of them AND A LOT MORE MONEY. Live to play another hand.
KNOW YOUR PLAYERS TENDANCIES- After about two times around the table I pretty much had everyone pegged on their style of play. When they would do certain things I did a pretty nice job of knowing what they had in their hand based on their betting or lack thereof. This information comes in VERY HANDY when you end up going head to head for a pot later.
I have been on tables before where I KNEW I was probably the weakest skilled card player there. When you go up against a skilled card player they usually know what you are going to do before you do. And getting money out of them is like getting blood from a turnip. They NEVER fall for a trap.
Well Sunday I got to be on the other side of it. I played probably the best poker I had played in over a year. And I KNOW I had the highest POKER IQ at that table. If I would have had a bit better cards I could have done some serious damage to some people.