Learning the Layers of Poker
On Learning Poker
It’s absolutely amazing to me. I have seen poker on television, I have watched my husband play it and to me, it’s just a matter of who gets the right cards at the right time, right? I mean really now, what skill can there be in playing poker? The pros are just poker players who are luckier than most.
That’s what I used to think. Then I learned how to play myself. I’m currently in first layer of poker. Understanding the rules of the game, when to bet, not betting out of turn, how many cards to deal and when to deal them. Then there are all the terms; “The Button”, “The Flop…how does anyone remember all this stuff?
With each game I play I have more and more questions about strategy. Why can’t I play these cards the same way every time? What does it matter what position I’m in? What is position? I have a greater respect for all those players that do this for a living. I also have a sneaking suspicion that it isn’t all about luck after all.
It reminds me a bit of learning a language. At the beginning, after you learn all the basic grammatical rules, it may be possible to navigate yourself through a country, find the bus stops or order a meal. It will take much more study, however, to uphold your end of a political conversation. With poker, as with language, it doesn’t take that long to learn the rules, but I’m getting the impression that it could take a lifetime to truly understand the game and even then, most fall short of the mark.
Learning poker is also a lot like peeling an onion to get to the inner core. Each layer reveals something new, there always seems to be another one underneath, and there are a lot of tears along the way! I’ve just managed to sneak off the outer skin of poker. I know the rules, and am beginning to get the lingo, but I still have so many layers to go before I get to the core.
It’s a good thing I like onions!