X-Terminators Poker Crew

No one should worry about any statistics or final tables...The only thing we as a crew should care about is  continuing to learn this game.  It is a great thing to go deep into a tournament or even cash, but that is only part of the battle. 

As of late (15 out of the last 22 days) I have had a ruff time playing this game, and I have been humbled to no end on how many great players are out there with extreme talent...If you don't believe me take a few hours out of your day and go to Commerce Casino and watch the tournaments or even play a satellites or two.  Even though I have had it ruff lately, I have not given up.  I believe what I have experienced will only make me a stronger player in the long run.  It is funny because I have read in several books about how loosing can become your best teacher...Well I have dished out some expensive lessons as of late. 

Today I wean't down to the Commerce Casino "Surprise, Surprise" (with no intention to play poker) to watch Scott Diamond play.  Scott along with Josh, William, Jon Yuson, John Mcneely and Myself played the $335.00 event yesterday.  Scott made it to final day and final 40 players.  Scott played great poker and busted out in 12th Place.  Being that I am at the Casino often (probably an understatement) I have been fortunate to meet some great players that have gotten to know me.  A few of these players (one player in particular) noticed that I have been running bad or just not playing good...Several of these players offered advise and continued to give me support, which was extremely touching considering that I have played all of these players and will play them again.  That was really cool!!!   

One player (Highly regarded player in the poker world.  Some of you know him some of you don't) actually took the time to sit down with me and give several of his thoughts and strategies regarding this game.  He even provided me with his business card and told me to call him anytime that I wanted advice or help.  In this half hour lesson I was dumbfounded regarding this man's knowledge of the game.  I don't even think he realized what he gave me during that half hour, but I do and it is invaluable information.  This teacher sat down on a $120.00 satellite and told me to play, but I said not tonight.  I was then bought into the game by a very close friend because it was the last seat and he wanted to get double the odds.  I accepted his offer and bought the last seat.  I played the best poker I have played in a month, but got unlucky in the end.  Even though I got unlucky my confidence was boosted and this teacher approached me after and told me how good I played.  

I think all of us when we are running bad or just not playing good, need to talk with someone that you respect.  This doesn’t just apply in poker but in life as well.  When things are going ruff you need to seek the help of someone you respect and know will give you constructive advice. 

For more information on this mystery teacher and more information on my lesson, just ask me or you will never find out…… 

Thanks for Reading

Paul “The Machine” Valencia;) 

This is a two for one Blog.  I have been thinking of both these topics for some time now.   I hope you can learn something from my trials and errors, and make them your successes.  I have offered these blogs to all my members and also to non-members.  I have offered in the past, and I will offer again, and I will always offer any help that might be useful in taking your game to the next level.  All you have to do is ask.     

Self-Evaluating Your Play;    

Evaluating your game play might be the toughest and single most important thing you do as a poker player.  As individuals it is a very tough to evaluate our own game play, because sometimes we are not honest with ourselves.  In order to evaluate your game play properly, you need to be as objective as possible and take the excuses out of your frame of mind. 

As I have always expressed I am not a professional nor do I think that I am the authority on poker strategy or fundamentals.  The opinions that I have expressed in my blog?s are just that ?Opinions?.  These thoughts that I am passing to you are things that have helped me become a well rounded and more successful poker player.

In the last year the biggest thing that has helped me evaluate my game play is daily journaling.  If you plan on becoming a serious poker player, this is extremely important.  Daily journaling solidifies your successes and failures as a poker player.  After any particular session of poker, take the time to write down what game you played  (cash game, tournament, satellite etc.) and how you did.  Write down any particular hand that you played well or misplayed.  Write down any important information that can help you in the future (Well-played hands, misplayed hands, successful bluffs, reads on particular player or players, profit gain, profit loss etc.) 

Journaling allows you to go back and reevaluate all your accomplishments, failures, positives and negatives.  After you have re-read and reevaluated the areas of your game that needed improvement, you will start to see major growth in your game.  Your self-evaluation is no longer bias and you have real documentation to go on.  If

you never re-read your journal, just writing information down at the time it took place reinforces independent thought and begins your growth as a player.  Recently I re-read my journal from 2008, and I found several patterns that I have fallen into.  I can now objectively start to fix these issues and patterns without self-doubt. 

Proper evaluation should also come from like-minded individuals that you respect and believe in.  Most these individuals should be players that have more experience and more successes then you.  I have never met a poker player that has refused to give me advice or proper direction when I asked for it.  Just show genuine concern in wanting to improve your game and you will find the people willing to help you.

Mixing up game types:

I can?t stress enough how important mixing up your game types can be.  This topic has been in the back of my mind for several months now, but I have just found the time to post a blog on it.  In order to be a well-rounded poker player, you must mix up your game types.  I have found that since I have been mixing up my game types (Cash game, satellites, small buy in tournaments, big buy in tournaments, small stack, deep stack, internet, home games etc.) my game has drastically improved in the last two years.

When you mix up your game types, you broaden your horizons, and learn how to think at all levels.  If you only play one type of poker game, you will never make the proper adjustments necessary to play in bigger and stronger games.  The other down fall of playing one type of game is that it severely limits you in seeing different types of players at different levels of competition.  Regardless of your level of play, if you only surround yourself with the same competition you can?t truly see the difference in contrasting styles of play, which can greatly diminish your skills when trying to play in a new game with stronger competition. 

If you are strictly a recreational poker player, and moving up the monetary levels is not in your future, then continue to play in the games that you are comfortable with.   Recreation should be just that ?Recreation?.  No one is telling you that you should aspire to be a pro, have fun doing what you enjoy.   I am writing this for the individuals that have goals in becoming a more serious poker player, and want to move up in levels.

Switching up your game types makes you sharper and gets you thinking about different scenarios you may encounter in both cash games and tournaments.  I was reading an article in card player magazine recently when I came across an article by Bob Ciaffone called ?Tournaments versus cash games? (card player magazine volume 21, number 26.  This article can also be found at cardplayer.com).  This was a great article, and really summed up the value in mixing up game types.  If you plan on becoming a better player, please take the time and read this article, and just maybe a light bulb will go on and you will take some valuable information from it.

If I can help any of my three consistent readers, please let me know.  Helping you only strengthens my game.  We can get better together. 

Thank you for taking the time to review my blog.

President of the XTPC.

Paul ?The Machine? Valencia   

This is a two for one Blog.  I have been thinking of both these topics for some time now.   I hope you can learn something from my trials and errors, and make them your successes.  I have offered these blogs to all my members and also to non-members.  I have offered in the past, and I will offer again, and I will always offer any help that might be useful in taking your game to the next level.  All you have to do is ask.     

Self-Evaluating Your Play; 

Evaluating your game play might be the toughest and single most important thing you do as a poker player.  As individuals it is a very tough to evaluate our own game play, because sometimes we are not honest with ourselves.  In order to evaluate your game play properly, you need to be as objective as possible and take the excuses out of your frame of mind.   

As I have always expressed I am not a professional nor do I think that I am the authority on poker strategy or fundamentals.  The opinions that I have expressed in my blogs are just that "Opinions".  These thoughts that I am passing to you are things that have helped me become a well rounded and more successful poker player. 

In the last year the biggest thing that has helped me evaluate my game play is daily journaling.  If you plan on becoming a serious poker player, this is extremely important.  Daily journaling solidifies your successes and failures as a poker player.  After any particular session of poker, take the time to write down what game you played  (cash game, tournament, satellite etc.) and how you did.  Write down any particular hand that you played well or misplayed.  Write down any important information that can help you in the future (Well-played hands, misplayed hands, successful bluffs, reads on particular player or players, profit gain, profit loss etc.)  

Journaling allows you to go back and reevaluate all your accomplishments, failures, positives and negatives.  After you have re-read and reevaluated the areas of your game that needed improvement, you will start to see major growth in your game.  Your self-evaluation is no longer bias and you have real documentation to go on.  If

you never re-read your journal, just writing information down at the time it took place reinforces independent thought and begins your growth as a player.  Recently I re-read my journal from 2008, and I found several patterns that I have fallen into.  I can now objectively start to fix these issues and patterns without self-doubt.   

Proper evaluation should also come from like-minded individuals that you respect and believe in.  Most these individuals should be players that have more experience and more successes then you.  I have never met a poker player that has refused to give me advice or proper direction when I asked for it.  Just show genuine concern in wanting to improve your game and you will find the people willing to help you.  

Mixing up game types: 

I can't stress enough how important mixing up your game types can be.  This topic has been in the back of my mind for several months now, but I have just found the time to post a blog on it.  In order to be a well-rounded poker player, you must mix up your game types.  I have found that since I have been mixing up my game types (Cash game, satellites, small buy in tournaments, big buy in tournaments, small stack, deep stack, internet, home games etc.) my game has drastically improved in the last two years. 

When you mix up your game types, you broaden your horizons, and learn how to think at all levels.  If you only play one type of poker game, you will never make the proper adjustments necessary to play in bigger and stronger games.  The other down fall of playing one type of game is that it severely limits you in seeing different types of players at different levels of competition.  Regardless of your level of play, if you only surround yourself with the same competition you can't truly see the difference in contrasting styles of play, which can greatly diminish your skills when trying to play in a new game with stronger competition. 

If you are strictly a recreational poker player, and moving up the monetary levels is not in your future, then continue to play in the games that you are comfortable with.   Recreation should be just that "Recreation".  No one is telling you that you should aspire to be a pro, have fun doing what you enjoy.   I am writing this for the individuals that have goals in becoming a more serious poker player, and want to move up in levels.  

Switching up your game types makes you sharper and gets you thinking about different scenarios you may encounter in both cash games and tournaments.  I was reading an article in card player magazine recently when I came across an article by Bob Ciaffone called "Tournaments versus cash games" (card player magazine volume 21, number 26.  This article can also be found at cardplayer.com).  This was a great article, and really summed up the value in mixing up game types.  If you plan on becoming a better player, please take the time and read this article, and just maybe a light bulb will go on and you will take some valuable information from it. 

If I can help any of my three consistent readers, please let me know.  Helping you only strengthens my game.  We can get better together. 

Thank you for taking the time to review my blog.

President of the XTPC.

Paul "The Machine" Valencia   

I had a discussion with Josh ?AKA Sniper? after a very disappointing night of poker for him.  He brought up how dissatisfying poker can be when you are playing your best poker and luck interferes with your results.  This dissatisfaction came after playing in a game with a fair amount of less superior players.  If you are a student of this game then I can say with great certainty that this has happened to you.  It has happened to me on several occasions and I imagine it will continue to happen as long as I play this game.  No mater how good a player you are or how good a read you have on an opponent you have no control of the cards to come.  If you continue to play at the high level and allow your game to improve and evolve, you will be successful in the long run.     

I have to say that I some what agree with Sniper....You have to get extremely lucky to win any tournament at just about any level.  I have been feeling the same way lately. You grind and grind and grind and play the best poker all session or tournament long, only to have a player with lesser ability make a crazy call or decision against you.  This is poker and we have to learn how to deal with it if we want to succeed at a higher level one day. 

There was a great article about this subject in one of back issues of card player magazine. The main topic of this article revolved around how the best players don?t always win or cash in tournaments.  Regardless if you play in the casino, online, or in your favorite home game luck is going to play a huge factor in your results.         

The Card Player Magazine article explained the luck factor in great detail involving casino tournament poker. You have to come to expect that in tournament poker there are going to be novices, intermediate players, advanced players and expert (pro) players all playing together.  Where else are you going to mix pro?s with amateurs.  Remember (I am guilty of this more then most people) that players who are either new to this game or are playing strictly for recreation and are not thinking five steps ahead, and you can not expect them to.  All you can do is make the best decisions and hope that it holds up, and go on to the next hand.     

 If you have seen your play improve, but your results are lacking what you have come to expect, remember the large amount of luck involved in tournament poker.  Luck is always going to be a huge part of this game (70%) but as your skill improves you will come out the winner in the long run. 

Like I explained to a friend the other day who had been disapointed in his amount of bad luck he had been having at the tables;  Bad luck or good luck, we all have the same amount, sometimes we just focus on the bad and forget about all the times good luck had graced us. I have also been guilty of this, and I am sure I will be guilty of this again. It is much easier to focus on all the bad beats, bad luck, drawn out rivers or anything negative in this game.  But like the Great Machine of Poker said "You will never be great at this game, until you realize that everything comes back around if you are truly skillful at this game.?  If you can not handle the downswings of this game, then when will you ever notice when the upswings come your way...

Good luck to all.......Play Good, Play Smart and Have Fun.

Paul ?The Machine? Valencia          

Whenever I hear someone says ?I?ve got to call? most of the time it also echoed the uncertainty in the background because this could means anything from just wanting to see the hands or you don?t believe him or the pot is too big for you to fold.  

Sometimes those words and the meaning have lesser value compared to its own objective. Why? It is because majority of the time after it was vocally expressed, the negativity is waving all over your face and the bad effect follows. You may or may not agree with me about it but this is just an observation that turns into an opinion.

And why this is important? In any competition, we should not have room for negativity that can cause our failure. I am a strong believer on positive thinking, which can always influence your game and its results even thought you might say, ?no matter how positive you are if the cards won?t come there?s nothing you can do?. But, let me ask you this, how many times you have thought that you are going to loose on a hand and ended up loosing regardless if the odds of winning was in your side?

Few weeks ago, I have seen this Poker After Dark episode with Gavin Smith against a young amateur guest Paul Featherstone on a heads up battle. Gavin has the chip lead and raised pre-flop for 3500 with Ks8s, Paul went over the top and pushed his remaining 7800 with Ac7c. Gavin have said this to Paul before making his call, ?Young man, I apologize in advance for the bad beat you are about to take? a very positive thinking. After the flop was dealt (5s5h6c) Paul have made this comment to himself, ?I think, king heart would come anyway? and sure did, turn was Kd and Paul was eliminated. Like we always says, be careful what you wish for! It?s a human phenomenal that happens to us from time to time.

Jon "The Tiger" Yuson

By now, most of us are familiar with the strategy called ?Switching Gears? whether you are an expert or not with this strategy, it is equally important to know how to recognize them.

Determining the game plan of your opponent is not an easy task to do because skilled players are able to adjust their game depending on how the cards and opponents are treating them. With the poker trend nowadays, switching gears is one of the most used tools in becoming unpredictable. Keeping your opponents off balance, by changing your style from aggressive, to passive, to tricky, to tight is vitally important.

And, if you don?t pay attention to what gear your opponent is in you can find yourself at a severe disadvantage. Now, let see how we can re-battle to this strategy and its effectiveness. Our goal is to know when opponent is tending to play in an opposite manner. Knowing this will vary from player to player because of their natural style of playing the game. This means, you will have to categorize your opponents? style like for example; ?Rock?, ?Bluffer? or ?Calling Station? when this is achieved it would be helpful to recognize their plan of attack.

The Rock, is the tightest of all the players. When this player decided to switch gear, because the Rock plays far too few hands, he's very easy to read. When he finally does get involved in a raise pot or limped with few callers and in late position, chances are, he is now changing his gears trying to be tricky and hoping to catch his card on the flop. But often times, if he missed, he can only afford to see the flop and not the 4th & 5th streets. When he does play less-than-premium pairs on occasion, it will stand out if he hits and in most cases, he will lead out and bet the amount which obviously tells you that he rather take pot right now than to see the next card and if you observe closely this might save you some chips.

The Bluffer, is often overconfident in his poker-playing skills - his selective memory will erase the times when he's been caught, and focus only on the times his bluffs have been successful. Because he has to use the all-in move so frequently, the Bluffer puts his entire stack in jeopardy every time he thinks he has a chance to show the table how clever he is. He will go broke far more often than other players because of this. When this player decided to switch gear, because of his aggressiveness and always looking for a knockout punch against his opponent, it is hard for him to hide his emotion because of excitement that he gets from being cocky. In most cases, this player talks a lot trying to hide the truth or vise versa.

The Calling Station, plays a wide range of hands without regard to position or the number of opponents already in the pot. When this player decided to switch gear, he will just probably narrow down his range of hands but would love to bet on a draw. Be careful when you suspect that this player had switch gear against you as they tend to set a trap to gain recognition in the table and justify his previous loose calls. Even when the Calling Station does catch a big hand like a straight or a flush, he will rarely raise for value. When he does, many opponents will recognize that they should fold.

Jon "The Tiger" Yuson

Realization:  To comprehend completely; grasp. (2) To make real; achieve. (3) To obtain as profit.

The above word ?Realization? is defined verbatim by Webster?s II new revised dictionary.  Some of you are probably saying ?Who cares, and what does this have to do with poker?.  In my opinion it has to do with everything related to poker, and everything we strive to master as human beings.  It was pretty ironic how this definition was broken down in the perfect order as they needed to be discussed.  Remember, these are my thoughts and practices that have helped me.  I am passing them on to you, so you can get better as well.  My ultimate goal is to become the best player possible, and win some major titles some day.  Without ?Realization? it will never happen!!!         

Realization: To comprehend completely: grasp.  I believe this is the most important part of the definition.  Without this part, you will never accomplish part two and three of the definition.  In order to have success as a poker player (or anything in life) you have to comprehend completely and grasp the topic at hand to its fullest.  This unfortunately is not an easy thing to accomplish.  As individuals, we need to find our path to realization by ourselves for ourselves.  To comprehend completely and grasp this game to its fullest is a never ending process.  If you understand this and take the necessary steps to continue to learn and improve your game, success will come naturally.  Take the time to figure out what works best for you (Read, study, blog, internet guides and forums, boot camps or just trial by error) in the long run you will thank yourself for taking the best path towards success. 

Realization:  To make real; achieve: This is the step to becoming successful at this game.  In order to make real, you have to go out and put to use what you have learned.  There is no use reading, studying, or having all this information in your brain if you are not going to use it.  This may come at a cost, which is the unfortunate part about it.  Remember you picked this game, it did not pick you.  If you plan on becoming a serious poker player (Full time or Part time) money loss is part of the game.  If you just opened up a new business, then you are not going to see much return on you investment for quite some time.  But if you run your business the right way, it will eventually become profitable.  Apply this thought to poker and you will become successful.  Begin to apply your new techniques, even if they are not working right away, eventually they will work for you.  This game is always evolving; you need to evolve with it.

Realization:  To obtain as profit:  This step will come naturally and without you even realizing it.  With the time you have spent comprehending, grasping, making real and achieving you goal, you will start to see your wins tally up and your bank roll building.  My friends this is called putting in the hard work on and off the tables.  To obtain as profit is something we all strive to do, that is why we play the game.  In order to get to this final step you must be willing to constantly learn and sacrifice some of your profit.  If you believe, you will achieve.  The big score is within striking distance.

See you on the felt

Paul ?The Machine? Valencia 

Panic, Panic, Panic?.I think PANICKING gets more players in trouble then anything else in tournament play.  The key to tournament survival is to play within you.  I can not tell you how many times during the beginning stages of tournament play I have heard someone say ?I am short stacked and have to make a move soon?.  Yes, there are times and places when you have to make a move, but you need to evaluate when, where, how and against whom you are going to make this move.  Remember that chip preservation is just as important as chip accumulation.  What good is it to throw good many after bad, just because you believe you are short stacked?  You need to safeguard the chips that you currently have, and place them in spots that you have the upper hand.  Before you begin to panic and make bad plays, consider doing some simple math, and find out just where you stand in relation to your opponents.  You might realize that you are not that far behind.     

I read this next sentence a few years ago and it really made sense to me, so I am passing it on to you.  This person wrote: You need to think of your chips as an army of soldiers.  You need to have a strategic plan for your soldiers and utilize them when you have the upper hand.  If a group of your soldiers goes down in a fight, you are not going to march the rest of army into that same area unless you come up with a strategic plan of attack that contains and conquers the enemy.  When you have done the proper evaluation, and you believe that you have come up with a counter attack, then it is time to move the rest of your army in.  This could not be truer.  I think all of us sometime or another has found our self short stacked early on in a tournament.  This alone is not a reason to panic.  Gain your composure and pick your spots and the results will happen. 

This is probably my shortest blog yet, but the point is pretty self explanatory.  The next time you are playing in a tournament and the starting chip amount is 2000 and you are in level one with 40 minute levels and the blinds are 25-25 and you just lost 800 in the first few hands don?t panic.  Remember you still have 48 times the big blind left and if you manage your chip stack properly and pick you spots with strategic planning you will succeed more times then you will fail.  Hope this has helped.  Until next time, see you on the felt. 

Paul ?The Machine? Valencia 

Mixing up your game play is an essential and intricate part of the game.  This my friends, is a strategy that should be implemented in all types of poker (cash game, tournament, sit & go, satellites etc.)  This tactic unfortunately is a lot easier said then done.  Beginner and intermediate players find this a very difficult concept to implement, because they have been playing one style for so long.  In order to succeed at any level of this game you must retrain your brains thinking process. 

You might be playing AK, 88, KJ, 55, J10 etc. the same way in the same positions all the time, with out giving any real thought to playing them differently in certain situations.  This type of play (Auto Pilot) in the long run is a recipe for disaster, especially against solid players.  Solid players will pick you apart, because they will noticed that you only play in one gear, making you there target for profit.  If you are anything like me, you don?t want to be anyone?s target for profit.  This means that is time to ?Retrain the Brain?.  This game is about thinking, judgment, and making the right decisions at the right times.  This game is about out witting your opponent, why else would you play this game.  This does not come easy; it takes hours of studying, thinking and application through playing.  The Player that makes the least amount of mistakes in the long run will definitely come out ahead and show a consistent profit.   

How do you retrain the brain? This is a good question.  Giving you my opinion on what has helped me to retrain my brain is all I can offer.  Besides putting a lot of study hours in, I began playing a variety of hands differently in a variety of situations.  I implemented this technique pre-flop, post-flop, on the turn and on the river.  Whether it was playing cash games or small buy in tournaments (Home games or Casinos) I had to learn the hard way, and that was by loosing money.  Please don?t get me wrong, I did not deliberately set out to loose money, I just knew that the application of this new strategy was going to come at a cost.  I always went into a session of poker with the same winning attitude; but positive things and results did not occur over night.  As I was trying to retrain my brain, there were plenty of set backs and pitfalls.  Sometimes after a few bad sessions on the felt or long loosing streaks, I thought maybe I was just fooling myself, and should go back to the old predictable style I was accustomed to.  After a few hours of feeling sorry for myself, I would get my mind set back, realizing that continuing to apply change was in my best interest.

 As I started to change my style and implement new techniques to my arsenal, I noticed an interesting change happening.  This change was called ?Consistent Winning?.  Don?t get me wrong, I am not some super hero, I have my share of losses as well, but my win vs. loss ration has sky rocketed for the positive.  Mixing up my game play and not giving up has been the best thing that I could have done for myself.  It has taken me many years to realize that fundamentals can only get you so far.  If you don?t implement change or mix up your game play you will never climb to the top of the poker ladder, you will just continue to climb and fall down.           

The unfortunate part of this game is that it takes money to play, and while you start implementing this new tactic into your arsenal, you will probably loose more money then you will win at the beginning.  If you think and breed change, change will happen, you just have to stay with it and not give up.  Remember the old poker adage ?This game takes a minute to learn and a lifetime to master.?  If you live by this motto, then applying change should become second nature to you, and your results will continue to improve, and you will grow as a player.        

In an interview that I saw Phil Ivey in a few months ago, he was asked this question ?How have you gotten so good at this game, you always seem to make the right moves at the right times and you seem to always know what type of cards your opponents are holding.?  Phil Ivey made one simple response ?It has taken many years of playing, and a lot of lost money to get where I am today.  Experience has been my instructor?.    

I hope this article has at least got you thinking about applying change to your game.  If you would like to discuss specific topics regarding mixing up your game play please feel free to contact me.  Until next time, I want to wish everyone good ?Skill? in all your future poker outings. 

Paul ?The Machine? Valencia.          

The changing faces of poker; change with it or get left behind.     

This topic is extremely important for both cash games play and tournament play.  In this day and age of poker, the climate has changed drastically due to two reasons.  Reason #1: The inception of internet poker.  This has totally changed the face of poker.  The stereotypical poker player no longer exists; you know the one, fat old grumpy cigar smoking gambler.  Now you see everything from the eighteen year old straight out of high school to the stay home mom playing the afternoon tournament online after dropping here kid off at baseball practice.  Reason #2: Can you say ?Chris Moneymaker?.  Reason #1 and reason #2 have a little bit in common.  Before any of us new era poker players knew who he was, Chris Moneymaker had won a seat into the world series of poker playing an online satellite on Pokerstars.com. 

I would bet (sounds like a gambler) that the large majority of the knew era poker players (including myself) watched the 2003 World Series of Poker on ESPN and said ?If this guy can make it, so can I?.  After Chris Moneymaker won the 2003 World Series of Poker, hundreds of thousands of people began learning (The right or wrong way) Texas Hold?em Poker.  These players (All races, genders, ages, and financial statuses) flocked to the online pay sites and to there local casinos with huge aspirations and dreams of being the next Chris Moneymaker.  For some people this was short lived, and for others (Yours truly) it became a way of life.    

Well many of you right about now are saying ?What does the above history lesson have to due with the topic at hand.?  Well, it has a lot to due with it.  Any serious player that began playing this game after Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker went out and bought every poker book in sight and began studying and applying there new found techniques.  This my friends was called the ?Poker Boom?. 

The problem with most of the books and literature written during the time Moneymaker won the World Series of Poker was that they were written by professionals that have never faced the online poker boom.  These writers have played there whole life in Brick and Mortar poker rooms, because that was the only place they could play.  Many of these books were written way before the internet and Moneymaker changed the face of poker.          

These books (I have many of them) have been written by extremely successful poker professional and have some of the best information and study material around.  Most of these books give you a great starting base regarding fundamentals.  Most of the techniques in these books will allow you to beat the average player in the casinos.  The problems with the books are that books don?t play poker.  They can give you all the fundamental techniques needed to play, but they can not give you the experience that live play can.

 The internet has changed the way players play, for the good or bad.  If you intend or have any aspirations of becoming a great player, you need to change your game play in order to compete with the best players in the world.  You need to study books, magazines, internet programs and discuss poker with players you respect.  Nothing will help your game more then playing with different players at all different levels.  This is the reason why internet players have become so tough; they have played thousands of hands against thousands of different players.  You don?t have to look far to find a great example of the way players had to change to compete against the new face of poker.  Just take a look at this year?s World Series of Poker; they called it the year of the Pro.  For the past few years the pro?s have not played as well as expected.  This is due to the emergence of amateur and internet players rise to casino poker.  The pro?s realized that if they wanted to compete at the same level that they were accustomed to, they had to change with the times as well, and change they did.  Thirty eight pro?s won a bracelet out of 55 events.  These top pro?s made slight adjustments to there already solid games and it paid off. 

If you are as serious about this game as I am, you will do everything you can to get better and succeed.  This game has become increasingly tougher with the changing faces of poker.  Either change with them or get left behind.  

Paul ?The Machine? Valencia