Complete Book of Hold em Poker

The Complete Book of Hold’em Poker

Revised Edition

Gary Carson

The Complete Book of Hold'em Poker is available as an ebook in Word format if you prefer that to this ad supported web-page edition.

This website edition (and the ebook edition) is a revision of the orginal work which is still available in paperback.

Contents

Preface
Chapter 1. Introduction

Chapter 1.
Introduction
Why play poker?
It's likely that anyone reading this book has already played some poker. After all, most people have their first poker experience long before they've read a book on the subject. You're reading this book because you want to learn more about the game. Ask yourself why.

Before we start learning the nuts and bolts of the game of Hold 'Em it helps to understand why we care, why we even want to play the game. The standard answer is that we play poker to win money, but that's not really an answer. There are many ways to earn money that are easier than playing poker. For many players winning money is necessary for enjoyment of the game; but it's not sufficient and, for some players it's not even necessary. If you're enjoying the game then you're getting something out of it besides the money. You're getting a psychic reward, but, what is that psychic reward? I don't know. You do, though. Self-awareness is an important element of poker, and, an awareness of the motivations of others is an even more important element.

There are differences among people in why they play poker. Think of a hunting analogy for a minute. Some people enjoy the hunt itself more than the kill and some people don't see much reason to hunt if you don't kill something. Some just like having the neatest gun; others get their thrill from being able to make a clean kill with a single shot.

Poker is the same thing. Some play because they want to win money. Money won really is much sweeter than money earned. Some play because they enjoy the thrill of the gamble. They want to win also, but they want to create a gamble even more. A third group plays because it gives them an opportunity to demonstrate knowledge of the game. They think they want to win also, but it's really more important to them to be correct, to show off. To some poker just provides an escape from everyday concerns.

Many players think they play to win money, but they’re often just confused about what that means. There’s a difference between playing to win and playing to win money. Winning money is about income, actual cash money. Not win percentage, not what percentage you finish in the money in tournaments, not the average number of big blinds you win per hour, but money, actual money.

Many people play to win, but they play for results, not for income. A winning session, even winning a pot, is a thrill for them. That thrill is the goal. Playing for that thrill of winning is very real, and also very different from playing to win money. It's just as important to understand your opponents as it is to understand yourself, and if your opponent says they play to win you should believe it. You just need to understand that when most people say they play to win they don't mean they play for income. Some play for image, they feed off an image as a silent, stoic, winning gambler. He's willing to give up income to have a high session win percentage because it's the perceived attention from others that a high session win percentage gives that motivates him. With maniac types it’s obvious they’re motivated by the big win, that they don't care how much it costs, the thrill of dragging a huge pot now and then makes up for it. But the same motivation sometimes drives those for whom it’s not so obvious.

Everybody plays to win. But not everybody means the same thing when they say win.

Just in the last few years a new group has emerged. There is a fairly sizable group of new players that play because they are pursuing a fantasy of becoming a TV poker celebrity. You won’t find many of them in non-tournament games (called cash games) but you will find a lot of them in tournaments, both on-line and live. We'll try to get to know all these players. While we're doing that, you should be thinking about the question: Why do you play poker? Once you can answer that question, honestly and completely, you'll be a big step ahead in removing major emotional roadblocks to maximizing your win. And, no matter what your reason for playing is, winning is important. Some of us just couldn't play if we didn't win.