Universal Poker Myths
February 19, 2010
A few years ago, poker was only played by a small group of people. It was usually older guys that played with a group of friends or serious players who competed in casino events. Only recently poker has erupted into the mainstream by means of televised events. Even with its growing popularity, there are still quite a few myths about poker that don’t seem to die.
This is due to how poker is portrayed in movies and the media. It gets twisted and construed as a dangerous game with high stakes and only played by mobsters. In reality, poker is less intense and any competition is friendly and part of the game.
As long as you play with the right people, all you have to lose is a little money and time. Here are the truths about poker:
1. Poker isn’t illegal even outside the casinos. The idea that it’s only played by mobsters and usually ending in violence is planted by movies and media. Rest assured that poker is legal and has no direct association with crime. Crimes are only committed by players who want to commit them.
2. Luck has a small role in winning. What it comes down to is how well a player plays each hand they are given. In the end, luck balances out for everyone. Everyone will eventually get the same hands. The choices the players make for each hand determine whether they’ll be successful or not.
3. Poker face isn’t the most important thing to have to win. It is, however, important to have. You don’t want to give away what you have by your face. What’s more important is to read people’s behavior patterns. Alertness and awareness of other players actions and their cards will take you farther than keeping a stiff, neutral face. Also, internet poker completely eliminates the need for a poker face.
4. It’s not as intense as “movie” poker, but there’s still a level of viciousness required to play. You’re basically at war with your opponents, armed with your mind and cards. There’s a constant power struggle to be on top. You should still treat them with respect, of course. But just remember you’re out to beat them.
5. Winning isn’t easy. When they show poker on TV, they don’t show how many people have lost. They just show you the hand full that got to the final table. There’s a lot of chances to lose along the way to the top. Mistakes are plenty, especially when there’s a lot of money at stake.
6. Women play poker, and they play well. There are tons of women that play at different levels. There are even women who compete and win money for playing. The reason poker is considered a “man’s” game can be blamed on, you guessed it, misleading movies and media.
7. Cheating in poker rarely exists, at least on the competitive level in casinos and high limit games. The times it occurs is in backroom games which aren’t strictly regulated or closely monitored. Online is in its own category due to technology being highly susceptible to better cheating technology.
8. Poker isn’t based solely on mathematics. Some math is involved, but the amount of human factors involved overwhelms anything structured mathematical approach to poker. Only math involved is based on the cards you have and the cards you see and know that are out. Even then, information is too limited to base a decision off of. The human factor has to be accounted for before any decision is made.
These are a only a handful of the ocean of poker myths. Hopefully, now that you’re armed with these facts, you will drop some knowledge the next time you hear someone speak poker blasphemy.
Knowledge is power.
Article Source ezinearticles.com Duy Luu
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