Learning the Game

When I see new people sit down at the tournament table it brings back memories of how I once started the game. I didn't know the proper way to bet, or where to sit, play the cards, betting and when to bet. The other night it brought back the memories again. Two individuals sat down at the table and they were very new to the tournament scene. Now I am sure they played online and were now trying out the live scene.

I started out in the small blind and this new person called. Since the BB had not sat down yet I figured I could just take the pot. Well, the new guy kept betting and he did eventually win the hand. I wasn't playing a good hand so I was just trying to win the pot. After about two hands and these two people playing just about every hand I decided to back off and wait for a real good hand and take them out. I think the rest of the table caught on as well. It was interesting to watch the dynamics of the table and see what they would do with these guys. Basically they stopped playing.

One hand in particular the guy bet $1000 on a pot that had $150 in it. Not worth calling this unless you can take the pot with a good hand.

I was able to get AA and just called to see if I could get the two guys in the pot. Instead I got the person next to me. I raised the pot on the flop and she followed. I then did it again after the turn and the river. I won the hand and pulled in a nice pot. The next hand I played was 1010 and this time one of the new guys called and I again raised the pot and he followed. On the River I got a 10 and I put him all in at that time. He called and I took him out.

I really hope to see these two people again. I hope they don't get discouraged. It is a good game but it does require patience and time to learn the game. I am still learning how to bet and when to bet. I am getting better. I ended up in 12th place on the tournament and felt good about my play.

I am headed to Spokane for the week and maybe tonight I can play a tournament up there. The rest of the week will be study, study, and more study. No time to play.