Poker LESSEN from "The Telemarketer"

I've played poker for more than 5 years now and I've learned a lot of lessons the hard way. Some of these lessons may seem obvious to a serious poker player, but I've been writing them down for my own reference and as a reminder of what not to do. Obviously this will be an ongoing feature of my blog and I hope it will help you become a better poker player or at least win more money from me.

My poker nickname is The Telemarketer. I am not a telemarketer in real life, but I call myself The Telemarketer at the poker tables because I'm the guy at the table that just keeps calling, and keeps calling, and keeps calling. It's my style of play and it usually gets me in trouble more than it helps me win, but I'm committed to my persona.

Lessen #1: Focus on the Table NOT Your Hand
Don’t get so excited about any two card hand. You must “take in” and accept what’s going on at the table and with the other players before you can discover whether your excitement is warranted or not. At a cheap tournament ($40 buy-in) at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas in the fall of 2008 I was dealt a pocket pair of 10’s. It was very early in the tournament and the players seemed pretty inexperienced to me. So I was calling these big bets from 3 of the other players and didn’t take a moment to read the table before calling. I was too excited about what I was dealt. I ended up going all-in before the flop and when the cards were turned over other the three hands showed: KJ; KJ; and AA. A Queen and a King came out in the flop and the rest of the community cards were numbers other than 10. I was the first to be knocked out of the 30 person tournament. It’s a lesson that could become an expensive one if I don’t learn it soon.