FYI, throughout this blog…I will refer to myself sometimes in third person hince the title of the blog...I like doing this from time to time, some think it’s funny and others weird…I just think it’s normal. Thought I just throw that out their...so let us begin…boy was that random?
The following post on Facebook marks the beginning of my journey as a poker player:
“Gonna do something fun and exciting...I am challenging myself big time with a goal I just set. Over the next six months I am going to see what I can turn $200 into at the live poker tables. When everything goes right I will transfer my experience into a blog, with videos & pics to show my progression through the challenge. Should be fun! Any guesses where I will end up in six months starting with $200?” – Posted September 17th 2010
After this post and after some arm twisting from one of my good friends I have decided to start blogging about the next six months as they happen. My strategy in this is to buy in for $50 dollars initially so that I have at least 4 shots to get my feet off the ground to begin building my bankroll. I am going to start playing at a $1-$2 table which is a $50 minimum buy-in and $200 max.
I want to give you a bit of an overview of how poker works if you already have some knowledge of poker you can skip this paragraph. In no-limit texas hold’em each player is dealt two hole cards(only you see your two cards). These two hidden hole cards along with the 5 community cards (everyone sees these) that come during various betting rounds are combined to make the best hand. The five community cards are dealt in 3 phases: the flop where 3 community cards are dealt, the turn where 1 more community card is dealt, and the river which is the final community card. There are 4 betting rounds during each hand: pre-flop, after the flop, after the turn, and after the river. You can win two different ways 1) by betting and making your opponent(s) fold their hand(s), or 2) show the best hand at showdown. The hand rankings in poker are as follows:
Royal Flush – Ace, King, Queen, Jack, Ten all of the same suit (AKQJTs)
Straight Flush – ex: Three, Four, Five, Six, Seven all of one suit (34567s)
Four of a Kind – ex: Ten, Ten, Ten, Ten (TTTT) A.K.A Quads
Full House – ex: Ace, Ace, Ace, Ten, Ten (AAATT) A.K.A Boat
Flush – ex: Ace, Ten, Nine, Three, Two all of the same suit (AT932s)
Straight – ex: Six, Seven, Eight, Nine, Ten (6789T)
Three of a Kind – ex: Nine, Nine, Nine (999)
Two Pair – ex: Ace, Ace, King, King (AAKK)
One Pair – ex: Ace, Ace (AA)
High Card – ex: Ace (A)
As I progress through the blog I will be using some shorthand as you see above in parentheses. Below is a key of some of the acronyms that will be used:
Acronyms to describe cards on the board or in the hole:
A – Ace
K – King
Q – Queen
J - Jack
T - Ten
9 - Nine
8 - Eight
7 - Seven
6 - Six
5 - Five
4 - Four
3 - Three
2 - Two
AKs – Ace King Suited
AKo – Ace King Off Suit
h – Hearts
d - Diamonds
c - Clubs
s - Spades
Acronyms Based on Position at the Table:
BB – Big Blind
SB – Small Blind
UTG – Under the Gun
UTG+1 – Under the Gun plus One
UTG+2 – Under the Gun plus Two
UTG+3 – Under the Gun plus Three
HJ – Hi-Jack
CU – Cut-Off
BTN – Button
EP – Early Position
MP – Middle Position
LP – Late Position
That should do it for those that may be new to poker. I look forward to blogging about my experience and having you follow along on this sure to be roller coaster ride through, Gary’s Poker Journey…let’s SHUFFLE UP AND DEAL!!!
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