Plus how to stay awake and alert through a night of poker
SUCCESS IN SIX MONTHS! The real question when you sit down for your first online game of poker is how long does it take to win that first monster pot? Well, let’s take a look at a very young, real-life, provable example. His unlikely and slightly unflattering name is Scott “Pigeonhead” Gardener. (The nickname results from his pluming hairdo which is sure to remain as a classic trademark). Scott began playing poker at the end of 2005 and just six months later, this summer, he won $270,000 by coming second amongst a list of global poker giants like Todd Brunson, Gavin Smith and John Gale, all playing for the top prize of $1,000,000. Unfortunately for the professionals “Pigeonhead” decided to change the usual pecking order. Scott actually began playing Texas Hold’em for the first time on Christmas Eve of 2005 having never read a single book about the game. TV poker got him interested and was the ignition for him taking up the online playing which has lead to his almost immediate success. Just in case those cynics among us are quite naturally thinking this was a lucky one-off, young Scott has gone on to win Sky’s Poker Night Live no less than three times. So, all beginners, take heart. There are half a dozen stories like this one every year. You can do it.
DRUGS FROM COLUMBIA? Well, kind of! Columbia is supposed to be where the best coffee in the world comes from and those soothing brown beans are helping a lot of poker super stars make it to the final table. How? Simple really. Staying awake has become an absolute priority for power players who often have to play all through the night to reach the last ten in a mega bucks tournament these days. Stamina is now a major part of the high stakes game. Caffeine of course is well known for keeping you awake but it has a corresponding and, from a poker point of view, disasterous downside. A few hours after the initial welcome lift comes a major energy crash egged on by the body’s desire to collapse. Here’s the secret. Take small, very small, regular cups of the magic dark stuff at hourly intervals. This will keep your brain ticking over nicely as you grind your wilting opponents like Columbian coffee beans into the fearsome felt. (Make a good TV advert, that one.) This tip also works extremely well if you’re like me and enjoy playing online during the night when the opposition is either drunk or beginning to forget if four-of-a-kind beats a flush or the other way round. You don’t need to cheat to win at poker but thinking ahead will serve you well.
POKER TIP OF THE DAY If your opponent checks at the flop, checks again at the turn and goes all-in at the river he or she is almost certainly telling you and the rest of the table capable of poker instinct that they are bluffing. Exploit.
