Poker Information Revolution
Poker today can rightly call itself a global industry of its own. It has spawned multi-million dollar tournaments, poker dedicated media, online businesses and poker professionals making a living solely from poker related activities. As an industry to itself, there are a multitude of resources available for players to gain knowledge on the game of poker. The increased exposure of poker in the media, including television has seen a rise in the number of people playing poker. With a sharp increase in numbers of players, there has been an ever expanding volume of resources available in order to gain useful information and tips.
Doyle Brunson’s Poker Super System (first published in 1979), while in many ways obsolete today, was one of the first poker books that described the ways to play winning poker. It came on the back of Brunson’s victory at the World Series of Poker several years earlier. Since then, there has been an abundance of written material on poker from massive names in the poker industry like Phil Helmuth, Mike Caro, Barry Greenstein, David Sklansky and Phil Gordon among others. Books by these authors are extremely helpful to learn a wide range of skills from the basics and beyond. Many earlier poker players did not have these resources available, compared to what is currently available today. In many ways, the early players had to learn solely from their own experiences.
These poker players will tell you the best way to learn is to play. In fact, that is how players went about their poker education prior to the poker information revolution. Poker, like many other competitive activities requires practice. Most good poker players are not born overnight but after many hours sat at the poker table.
Studying how other players go about their game both online and off-line will undoubtedly help a poker player. How people react, bluffing, raising, domination, etc will all help in one’s own game. While each and every player has their own style, and it’s is indeed important to develop an individual approach, players can improve their own game by incorporating effective elements from another player’s game into their own.
Nothing can ever replace experience at the poker table. Poker theory will only take a player so far. Often in poker, players can make the right mathematical decision or make a good read and lose. This can cause many players to go on ‘tilt’, and blow their chance in a poker game. Experienced players can be better suited to deal and handle with these situations with positive results.
The rise of televised poker over the last decade has had an enormous effect on how poker is viewed and played. The poker “Superstar” has been created and it’s natural byproduct, the poker “expert”. These experts are generally players who have made money or won big tournaments and make a living from playing poker. Watching how good players play the game on television can often be a useful exercise. With the televisation of poker, there are also expert commentaries that provide useful insight and analysis into the game of poker.
Many online websites are an endless source of information. Sites from poker professionals, online poker rooms, blogs, news and views provides poker information on the internet. There is never ending information about how to play tactics of the game, probability, psychology, theories, expert analysis and poker calculations.
Online players love to talk and detail their experience. There is a plethora of information that can be useful, especially when playing online. It is important to note that what is written in these forums can often be written by amateurs. However, listening and learning from others experience can be useful in gaining insights into the game of poker.
The online poker revolution has brought the poker table to a small screen near you " the computer screen. It has given many players instant access to games that was unimaginable just a few years ago. While there are many people who view online poker as a different animal to that of its ‘live’ counterpart, what is for certain, online poker can give a speed of play and a quicker understanding that was previously possible at any live poker venue.
All players win and lose at poker. This is the nature of the game. Some players play poker for fun, some for enjoyment, some like to gamble, while other players make a living from the game. Whatever you are, whoever you are, you can never stop learning the game of poker, as there will always be something new to learn and someone new to play against. In the poker information revolution, access to poker wisdom is now closer than ever.
