Poker is a Waiting Game...
By John Lee-Thompson

I'm a 40 year poker player with a background mainly in card schools and casinos. I guess like most people, I've always been reluctant to admit to losses but quick to boast about any wins, however few and far between. As much as I could, I would always minimise the debit side and inflate the credit side (you know, a bit like Enron...). But I couldn't latch on to "The Secret": You know, that indefinable something that marks you a "name", a "face", a talent.

Anyway, what I'm getting to is that, yes, I like to play "real" poker, but if I'm honest my real talent was for calling the wrong bet at the wrong time! As my kamikaze instinct further refined itself, I ended up calling all the bets at the wrong time. So not surprisingly, winning became a matter of luck rather than skill.

So, what to do? I'd read numbers of books called things like Poker Theory, Poker Play, Winning Poker Hands I Remember (funny though, very few books written on losing poker hands I played like a dog and want to forget) and the inevitable How Playing Winning Poker Changed my Life and Made me a Millionaire! All good books, but none of them gave me "The Secret".

Then on a trip to the USA a couple of years back I was idly checking a bookstore's range of second-hand sporting books when I came across a real gem. I knew it because when I casually flipped through a few pages I realised that "The Secret" was going to be buried somewhere between the covers. Two minutes and seven dollars later I was sitting at a nearby bench under the steamy Florida sun devouring each written word. After two hours, with a headache, increasing sunburn and a sense of mounting excitement, I knew that I'd been right. I'd found "The Secret" and from then on it was all going to be different!

It all changed on that day. I learned that I could still dream of being the best. Because without dreams what pushes us on? I might take a long time to get there -- I might never get there at all -- but I'm going to have a good time trying and some fun and laughs along the way.

What was "The Secret"?

Well, I guess what I read in the book really boiled down to a few simple things:

1. You can't change the spots on the cards so deal with what comes at you. Make your play and if it goes belly up, learn from it, wipe your mouth and walk away.

2. Don't gripe about it, nobody cares.

3. When you win, have some humility.

4. But don't have any regrets.

5. Most important of all...somewhere there's an edge. And when you've found it be bold, set up and go for the kill!

Now at least I can play with some sort of serenity, and not only do I enjoy it but I hope some of my enjoyment passes to others.

A certain PokerPages player called "movingabout" introduced me to your poker site. I can't tell you how much I'm impressed and how much I enjoy myself playing there. You've obviously put a lot of thought, care and hard work into what I believe is by far and away the best on-line poker site (and believe me, I've played on dozens).

Regards,
John (Shoeless Joe)

Oh, the book! IT's out of print but you can still get copies if you try hard enough. It's called...The Unsinkable Titanic Thompson.

Enjoy.