I have spent a fair bit of time playing poker in the last little while, including a few days playing live in Vegas in january, playing tournament style with friends, and such. I play online pretty regularly, not big money or anything, but a few hundred dollars a month for the pure fun of it. I make some, I lose some, and I learn a bunch.

First off, this weekend was one of the first times playing in a “more expensive” situation. Basically, I played a lower dollar sub-qualifier table, which I won handily, and that moved me on to a higher up table. That one then lead to a $300 per person deal.

Let me tell you, the cards are the same, but the players are MUCH better the further you go up. It’s amazing that these people are playing from the same situations that we play on lower tables.

Anyway, I have a book coming this week that will help me with the actual numbers of the game. I have been playing mostly by the seat of my pants plus some online learning, but I think that I can go a whole bunch better if I work on understanding the numbers and the odds. Apparently there is enough difference between one chair and the next as the deal button moves around to make some hands worth playing and some not.

On one of my amazon sites, I am going to set up a whole poker only area with books, videos, and more that have everything to do with poker. There is a bunch of stuff out there, but most of the stuff is pure junk or VERY simplistic.

I should warn you (and this is funny because this is on a website) be very careful what sort of information you take as true from online sources. I have seen a few sites that will remain nameless who suggest betting strategies most likely to drive you broke within minutes, making you an easy mark for more experienced players. Remember that many of these systems depend on a specific understanding a feel that maybe only the author has been able to master. Don’t take any one source as god on this issue!

Now, good luck and play poker!