The Amateur Poker Player
By Dave Scharf

Don't knock it until you've tried it.

Most everyone has played poker at one time or another. Perhaps with family over the holidays. Perhaps in college with your dormitory chums. Maybe you still play in a weekly or monthly friendly game with friends. Whatever the case, almost everyone has played poker. On the other hand, of all the millions of poker players in North America only a small percentage venture into the world of poker as found in casinos and cardrooms. Why is that?

Your mission this month is to go and play at least one hour of poker in a cardroom or casino. One hour. That's it. That's all I am asking. What the heck... you might even like it. Doubtful? Do you find the image of those men (let's face it, it's mostly men) hunkered down over the green felt to be intimidating? Let me give you two compelling reasons to give poker a try this month: (1) It isn't as bad as you think; and (2) You can consistently win money playing poker.

It isn't as bad as you think

I remember my first foray into a cardroom. I was by no means a seasoned gambler -- let alone poker player -- but my local casino had opened a poker room and I was keen to give it a try.

In my first few hands of 7-stud I was a nervous, sweating, shaking wreck. The ease with which my opponents shuffled their chips and made their bets was intimidating. The speed of the game was fast. Bets, checks and raises seemed to whirl around the table. So fast, in fact, that the whole table seemed to be constantly waiting on me and I was constantly trying to figure out what was going on.

The players all seemed to know one another. They were laughing, kibitzing and generally having a good time. I was the interloper. It felt like I was getting in their way. Then I spotted him... Carl. He was sitting at the far end of the table. He looked like a poker player. Carl was slightly older than the rest. With his sunglasses in the dim light of the cardroom he had the cool appearance of an old western gunfighter. Carl scared the hell out of me. I was accustomed to playing poker for $0.50 and $1.00. Here I was playing against Carl for $1 to $3. What was I doing?

By the time my first night was over, I had learned one thing: It wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. By the end of that night I was easily able to keep up with the game. Moreover, by the end of that night I was no longer an interloper. I knew everyone's name. They knew mine. I was part of the gang. I was laughing and kibitzing along with everyone else... well, everyone accept Carl. He just sat there like one of the giant heads from Easter Island. Man, he must be a great player.

So, by the end of the first night I learned that cardroom poker isn't as scary and intimidating as I thought. It was down right fun. And, what a great way to meet people. You know what else? Within about a week of starting to play in the cardroom I came to a second realization -- Carl was one of the worst players I have ever seen. I had been dead wrong when I thought that he was some old world pro. He was awful. A-W-F-U-L. In my current vernacular, Carl was a truck accident of a poker player. Carl was a wannabe pro. He looked the part -- sunglasses, hat and cool countenance -- but he did not have the first clue of how to play well. He could talk the talk, but he couldn't walk the walk.

The lesson is this -- low limit poker in a cardroom is fun! The players are, generally, social and pleasant. You will find that they are helpful and welcoming. Invariably, they are glad to see someone new in the cardroom. Low limit players (which I will define as $5-$10 limit and down) are generally there for the same reasons that you played poker with your friends in college: It's fun. The second part of the lesson it this: There are almost no really good players at low limits. There are some, it's true, but next to none. At a low-limit poker table of nine or ten players in a cardroom or casino you will be unlikely to turn up one truly good player. Two is next to impossible and three is unheard of. So, don't be intimidated by the look of the game -- the players are not that good.

You can consistently win money playing poker

Read that heading again. Believe it. It's true.

Do some homework. Buy the books HoldÇem Excellence and More HoldÇem Excellence by my friend (and columnist in this magazine) Lou Krieger. Practice self-analysis. Buy some computer software (Wilson's Turbo Texas HoldÇem comes to mind). I just told you that at a typical low-limit holdÇem table there are only one or two good players. All you have to do is become one of those players. And here's another secret for you -- it's not that hard to do!

I am not going to lie to you and tell you that poker is easy at the highest levels. It's not. I have played against the best in the world. They are more than tough to beat. But I will tell you the truth about low-limit poker: It is easy to win at. It is easy to consistently win money playing poker. I have done it for the past five years. Lou Krieger has done it for a lot longer than that. How easy is it to win money at video lottery terminals or roulette? How about Red Dog or Sik Bo? So what are you waiting for? Play poker! It's fun, it's social, it's relaxing and... it's profitable! What a great hobby. And, if you see Carl, tell him to go home and do some reading.