Daniel Negreanu offers his advice to beginners, those who want to get high in poker but are starting. Enjoy with its 7 golden rules.
If you were to play your first big live tournament and you could ask Daniel Negreanu for advice, what questions would you ask him?
Before starting the main event of the PokerStars Championship Monte Carlo 2017, Canadian professional Negreanu, one of the best players in the world and probably the most charismatic in the world, sat at a table with a group of recreational players.
This meeting was not scheduled or registered in the official schedule of the tournament, it was only a first contact and welcome before the tournament, with good atmosphere, even laughter, while enjoying the good Mediterranean climate of the Principality on the terrace of the Salles des Etoiles on the roof of Monte Carlo Casino.
We were able to take a seat with all of them (recreational and Negreanu) to listen to the questions and answers. We will not expose all of them, but we will focus on the key points that Daniel urged his listeners, with their own words.
1. Do not show (the letters) if you do not have to
There is no reason to show your cards, it does not matter if you had a good play or you were just bluffing. People will analyze how much you have wagered, how you acted in doing it and collected all the details of the hand.
At some point they will use this to confront you. Wait to teach the cards to your opponents until you have more experience (then you will know when and how to do it).
I like that my table mates know what I am capable of doing, but in spite of it, I would not use this type of attitude with everybody, I would always do it or not depending on who is sitting at the table.
I also recommend not playing too much or forcing the situation (overplay) with some hands. AQ is a clear example since it is a very delicate hand.
Do not do 4bet with her because if you get an even stronger bet (or even all-in), your hand is dead. What do you think would force you with a 5bet or all-in your rival?
2. The reading of the rivals is based on small details
Everything depends on noticing something and taking it into account (write it down mentally) for the future, but you should know that it is not always the same for each player, they are always different details and aspects. It is not easy to read the rivals and it takes a lot of time (and maybe also experience).
Be careful not to laugh at you, do not be fooled. I often do "reverse tells" (tells the contrary of the usual or what I want to show). Once, I went bluffing and put my hand on my face. This tournament was televised and my action was shown on television.
The opponent saw my bet and everyone saw that he had tried to bluff. For a year, whenever I had the nuts (the best possible move) I made that same gesture, with the rivals watching my bet again and again.
3. Do not go bluffing
I do not bet bluff, ever. Well, except that time with Isaac Haxton. One thing is to go semifarol, with outs and options to take your hand if they see your bet and another go bluffing, something you should not do when you are a beginner.
4. Do not play loose too early
If you think you should see many flops when it's cheap, you're wrong, doing that is playing poker badly.
Do not dedicate yourself to limping when the blinds are low. With blinds 25/50, there are only 75 points in the pot that you can take, that's all.
Later, when they come into play before, there is much more to gain when you see the flop, that is the time to open your hand when entering the boats (play loose).
5. Get them to recognize that you play tight
If you have not played a hand for quite some time, make sure that your tablemates are aware of it because only then you will get benefits for it.
If the other players at the table do not realize that you have not played a hand in a long time, you will not be able to get anything from that game strategy.
6. Have a goal and a reason
You must have a clear goal, but I also firmly believe that you should not only know what you want or where you want to go, you also need to know how to get it and why you want to do it.
Think, for example, of a poker tournament. Why do you want to win it ?, for the money? Perfect, but ... Why? What are you going to do with it?
Or do you simply want to feel fulfilled? Well, but why is it so important to you? If you do not have a clear reason why you want to win the tournament (in this case), it will be more difficult to achieve your goal.
I've seen billionaires who only talk about making more money, people who will never get ruined or stop being rich who protest because a coffee costs them five dollars (or euros), why do they even worry about so much money?
These people believe the lie that more is always better. They think that if they have more money they will be happier, forgetting that this is not the case.
7. Fail
Failing is important, everyone does it. Yes, I have also failed.
More than once in Las Vegas I was making money, thinking I had the game, as well as the table, totally dominated and only 24 hours later I was bankrupt, I had lost so much that I had to walk back to my hotel.
Those walks were very important to me. I'm still benefiting and I continue to learn from them.
