You’ve heard it all before, but how true it is.  So no matter how bad things are going or how bad your cards are, you have to hang in there, because it will turn.  Psychologically it is very tough to hang in there, whilst everyone else is getting the cards or whilst you are trying to play with marginal hands… but you have to do it!

And, it can also go the over way, when you are riding a rich run of luck, use it to your full advantage because it wont last forever.

Patience is one of the toughest things to learn at the poker table.  You cant push your luck, or force your luck too much… wait for it to come!

Sure enough I got a few phone calls along the way, mostly about how to play online poker, but Ted figured it out and got the hang of things pretty quickly.  He was playing Freeroll, because I tell all new poker players to get as much experience as possible, before playing for real money.

Then last week he phones me and says, “I’m ready to win real money, I’ve had enough of pretend money and Freeroll, I now want to play for real money!”.  Ok I say, if you think you are ready, go for it then.

And today I get a call… he has lost over $500 in a week… so I say well thats not too bad… which didn’t go down too well.

The thing is that the transition to playing for real money is a huge psychological step that you have to be ready for.  You have to think very carefully before you bet, “What am I doing here?  What are my chances?”.  Its easy when its not real money and just numbers you are bold with your decisions.

It takes time and sure you are going to lose a bit when you are still learning poker, but give it a chance, give it some time and you will get the hang of it and start winning some money back.

Play at the low tables first to minimise your losses and work your way up.  We all got to learn poker somehow!

Jimmy Fricke, otherwise known as “Gobboboy” to the online poker community, rose to poker fame when he became the runner up in the 2007 Aussie Millions poker tournament and won $800,000 – not bad earnings for his second year as a poker pro and for a 19 year old.

At the 2007 World Series of Poker Europe, he held the record for the youngest player to ever cash at a WSOP event, until Annette Obrestad came along and broke the record a few days later.

So you can call him what you like, he won’t mind because he already has a healthy bankroll and a name for himself in the world of poker.  Respect!

He is from Mahomet, Illinois and he dropped out of college to become a professional poker player in 2005.  Bluff Magazine ranks him currently at 179th and his earnings at $ 1.4 Million.

His latest biggest win was at the Bellagio Cup IV in July 2008, where he took home $443,000.  Like so many players he learnt his strategy whilst playing poker online and then had to adapt to playing live tournament poker.

Its interesting that he lists the most important thing that online poker players have to adapt to in live tournaments, is being patient.  When you play online you normally play many hands of poker at once or you do something else whilst playing.

But when you play live at the poker table then you play approximately 10% or less of the poker that you would play online.  So you have to adapt and be patient.  It took “Gobboboy” a few live tournaments before he got used to the slower play.

Alex, one lesson in this, is to never underestimate a player – despite what they look like, how old they are or what they say.  Jimmy is clearly a good poker player and has the credentials to prove that he is no fool.  Some poker players may like you to believe they are not so bright or so clever – before you know it they have cleaned the table and taken your chips – don’t be fooled by appearance!

I believe that the accusations of rigged games are the last resort for players who just don’t get the basic theory of Gambler’s Fallacy. Explained in short terms, Gambler’s Fallacy is the belief that the odds of an event happening changes, based upon how many times it has happened before. This contradicts the basic calculus of probability.

In my opinion, you are more likely to run in to a fixed soccer game than a rigged poker table.