Small Stakes No-Limit Hold'em

This post doesn’t have anything technical about poker in it.  So take that as a warning to stop reading now if you are only interested in learning poker.

I just realized that Ed’s description of how his mentor taught him chess has much wider application than just to poker and chess.  It’s a life lesson that we should all take to heart and learn from.  (BTW Ed don’t think you are hiding anything with your “Once upon a time there was a young man…”; everybody knows it was you )

I remember how surprised I was a few years ago when I found Ed’s site.  A guy with degrees in physics and engineering (just like me) is a poker player?  How?  Why?  At the time I didn’t understand.

Many Moons Ago when I was in college there was a group of guys that used to play poker.  I “of course” would not have anything to do with them.  I thought, why would someone who is studying science ever want to hang out with a bunch of degenerate gamblers?

So I never even tried poker.  But now I realize that I do like the game.  Could I have been good at it and made money from it if I had learned it long ago?  Especially considering the poker boom that came later?

Then just today as I was doing something else, the thought hit me.  I now understand the mistake I made back in my college days.

I didn’t look at all 64 squares.

I had my preconceived notions about what “playing poker” was.  Just like an ordinary chess player or an ordinary poker player has preconceived notions about how chess or poker is “supposed to” be played.  This is why I never tried playing.

So let this be a lesson to all you young folks out there.  Don’t approach life with preconceived notions.  Try to see all 64 squares.  You’ll never know whether you like something unless you try it.