The Greatest Overlay in Poker History
By Susie Isaacs

In my last article I wrote about the possibility of a woman winning the "Big One" in 2001. My advice was to learn to play no-limit hold'em correctly and to do so you need to study the game. I have seriously studied the game of no-limit for almost five years, and I am still learning. I approach all games with a certain tournament strategy and that strategy is based on my personal poker philosophy, what I call Susie's three "P" rule of winning poker.

Patience: Waiting for the right starting hands.

Position: The factor that determines whether you play a particular hand, how you play that hand, and whether to try a bluff.

Psychology: Studying your opponents' styles of play and their actions during a hand to determine how to play against them.

My partner and student, Debbie Burkhead, has suggested I add another "P" to my philosophy. "Practice." And I must agree she has a point. Without all the practice throughout the years I wouldn't have learned half of what I know about no-limit hold'em.

Another poker friend suggested yet another "P" rule -- "Perseverance." Not to be confused with patience, perseverance is having heart and not giving up when things don't go the way you anticipated.

My first personal experience realizing the importance of perseverance happened at the World Series of Poker in 1996. Within minutes of the start of the Ladies event I took my first bad beat and shortly thereafter, two more followed. I was down to three chips and was devastated. Thanks to perseverance I not only survived -- I won my first gold bracelet that year. I had to persevere throughout the tournament because I was short-stacked the entire journey, until the final table at six players.

Since the those early years I have come to understand how important perseverance can be over the long haul. Without perseverance I wouldn't have the determination to continue playing tournaments through the lulls that all poker players eventually experience. I was told about losing streaks, over the years, from several of my poker playing friends but had never actually gone on one until now. Well, now I know the meaning of perseverance first hand. I feel sure my next book will include the five "P's of Poker" philosophy.

This brings me to the point of this article. What better way to practice than for FREE. That's right, FREE. If you had the opportunity to play golf, tennis or any sport free against other professionals, wouldn't you jump at the chance? Well here's your chance, Pokerpages.com is allowing anyone and everyone the opportunity to play no-limit hold'em tournaments at no charge. All week long you can play for free and learn without costing you a dime. These World Series Warm Up tournaments will prove to be a dream come true for one lucky player. The winner of the final event will get to play the "Big One" FREE, sponsored by Pokerpages.com with the opportunity to win over $1,000,000. If the numbers of players are as expected this year, second place could pay almost a million!

Sign-up and take advantage of the offer while you can. Time is running out but there is still time to get some practice in before the April 14 finale. There is no better way to learn than from experience. If you have done the preliminary work and read all the material, you should be ready to practice. I know of nowhere else that you can get experience like this without it costing you at least an entry fee.

Some of the other benefits are; no one knows who you are, therefore gender does not play a role. That works both ways, you don't know who they are so there is no intimidation factor. You could live on a farm in Idaho and have never played live poker. You could be playing against the best tournament player in the world, but to you, he is just a player with a screen name. You play in the comfort of your own home or office providing a more relaxed atmosphere. You can play in your pajamas with no make-up on.

From time to time I have suggested several avenues to travel on your way to perfecting your tournament play and this is a great way to practice. You can play twice a day up to six times a week until you win round one which qualifies you to play round two on Saturday and Sunday of that week. If you lose on Saturday and Sunday you can again play up to six times the following week. That's a lot of practice for the "Big One" right at your fingertips.

I am a firm believer of studying a specific game by reading what has been written by the pros and then I take the plunge into the arena with as much knowledge as I can muster. If this Pokerpages.com no-limit competition had been available in years past, I would have saved a lot of buy-ins. There has never been a greater overlay in poker history -- from an investment of 0 to a millionaire!

There is an old saying "Practice makes perfect" and if that is true, maybe someday I will be a perfect tournament player. To play one tournament flawlessly is very difficult, but when you can honestly say that you have accomplished that and if you catch just the right amount of luck, that is the day you will win first place.

My only regret is that I can't play all of the WSOP Warm Ups offered by Pokerpages.com due to my work schedule but I have played my share and would like to thank Mark and Tina for the wonderful opportunity at a FREE chance to win over $1,000,000.