Based upon the success of the first version ofpless poker, which is still one of the biggest online poker rooms in the world, we now have the opportunity to purchase the second biggest poker room in the world. The name of Omaha paradise is not an exaggeration. This is a room that is capable of hosting tournaments ranging from Texas Hold’em to Omaha. The room will even accommodate small buy-in tournaments. But we play best in the 9 seated “Turbo Boost” version.
Our group is made up of 9 people. The regular players are expert at Texas Hold’em, Omaha, Stud and maybe even Hasu, but not too many slots at the low limits. Our average age is 30 and we have a lot of energy. Occasionally, we test our skills in a limit that we aren’t very familiar with and it only takes a couple of weeks. But slowly, we are learning to play in limits we can handle. We’ve become quite good at 5 stud and we are becoming more and more competitive at the same stakes.
The funny thing about us is we all live just about 15 minutes away from each other. We like different variations of poker and usually play at least a couple of tourneys before we switch to another room. So, we have about 4 different rooms now and the number is growing. Unfortunately, our lives don’t always go as planned and sometimes we’re unable to spend a lot of time in one of the rooms. As much time as we have available, we try to make the most of it and we all know that practice makes perfect.
We were lucky enough to participate in the WSOP just a few days ago. Unfortunately, we didn’t win anything, but we did make some friends, that’s about the best we can do in a poker room. Half of us won some money, but we didn’t do anything to make it a great experience. Why? Sometimes the poker room offers a bad beat jackpot and you’re not going to win that. It’s going to take some skill to win that, but if you’re holding a good hand, you’re going to make the most out of the money.
I’ll admit that we all bring a lot of money to the Bolagila room, but we’re not dominating the game like we would like to. Why not? Sometimes we can be our own best critics. After about 10 hours of play, you can look at each of your opponents and ask, “Did they play that hand slow or fast?” Most people would say they would play it slow, but we know better. That hand might have made us the most money that day; it might have killed our opponents; it’s just hard to say. Most of the time though, we beat ourselves.
A big part of my role as a poker player is to identify what type of opponent I was dealing with during a hand. Did he bet like he had top pair? Did he check the flop like he had nothing? Sometimes I wouldn’t even look at a hand like that, but it’s important to know that the type of opponent you are up against can really affect the way you play. I remember one game where I called my opponent’s bet on the flop and the turn when I was holding some heat. My opponent never played a hand where I would have got a better hand had he played his cards the same way.
If you pay attention, you can always tell whether your opponent is bluffing or not. It’s true that it’s hard to know an opponent’s motivation, but it’s also hard to know when they are bluffing with a trash hand. A good poker player can usually tell when you are making a move on them; it’s just hard to tell when they are bluffing. A key to becoming a better poker player is to really pay attention on what’s going on at the table. Don’t let your ego get in the way of paying attention to details.
