Dialing it in… I’m starting to get Omaha8 dialed in. I’m enjoying the challenge of learning the game, although I admit it’s been a bit of a struggle at times (I expected it to be easier than it’s actually turned out to be).

One of the biggest problem areas for me has been finding the right balance for post-flop aggression. When I first started playing I was way too passive (due in no small part to the fact I really wasn’t sure what I was doing yet)…as I became more comfortable with O8 I began to become more and more aggressive and quickly crossed over into chip spewing land. I was still playing hold’em, trying to bully my opponents out of the pot which just doesn’t work in low limit O8.

I’m now in the process of reigning in my overall aggression and instead of firing chips wildly into the pot, I am looking for more tactical spots to apply some focused aggression (ex: finding good spots for promo raises, etc). I am starting to think and play like an O8 player (rather than a hold’em player) and my results have begun to show some promise (which is a nice change of pace). I have still got a lot to learn though, lol.

I am writing my goals for 2012, with the New Year weekend upon us I thought I would mention a few goals…

1. Become a better O8 player, this is kind of obvious. I’d like to be playing at the 10/20 & 15/30 level by mid yer or the end of summer.

2. Eat healthy and exercise more (lose at least 25 pounds). This one is obvious too, well needed and better late than never. I need to reduce my gravitational field, small objects have begun to orbit around me which is annoying as hell. A bigger mass has more gravitational power I guess.

3. Blog more. If for no other reason than to entertain myself, and hopefully my readers too. If you like online poker, then you might find something interesting to read as this is the topic of this blog.

It has been said that poker comes down to a subtle mix of luck and a good dose of mastery. The fact is that chance is part of poker, but can you create you own luck?

First every player must accept that luck is short-term, but knowing that the long term will undermine its work. However it is difficult to think of this vague concept that represents the “long term” when it comes to an horror that just happened, when we come to lose to the nightmare river card. Because 98% of bad beats occur at the river, which makes them even more cruel. So instead of complaining, let’s analyze the luck factor.

In the moment of distress commonly known as the bad beat, the player often passes through disgust, anger, misunderstanding, a feeling of injustice that is rarely accepted. There is no one to blame and the lack of a scapegoat can bring a player to believe that he is doomed, or that the Goddess of Luck has deserted him. The problem is that bad beat often lead to huge pots lost such as a 200 BB pot on a 2 outers. And it is not clear that luck will catch up at some point in the future.

No one can say with certainty what the word long term means. Does it mean one hundred thousand or one hundred millions hands for the luck factor to level out? Nobody knows for sure, and it is possible to run bad in 10, 20 or more live poker events. In addition, each tournament has a different prize, so even with equal luck two equally skilled players will not win the same amount of money. So some players will get more chance than others during their lifetime, and there is nothing they can do about it. Or is there? There are two important things to do to create your own luck.

Get the poker knowledge. Create a positive environment necessary for chance to grows, this is the power of positive thinking. It is necessary to have the ability to create it. Stop thinking you are an inveterate loser, because the more you lose, the more likely more bad beats situation will manifest themselves. Believe in your mastery of the game and in your lucky star. And use whatever incentives the rooms offer you, such as a PokerStars Bonus Code to get a 100% bonus.

Get poker experience: There is no beginner’s luck. Just that novice players tend to end up in incredible spots, where only luck can come to their help. As a result, we tend to believe that they attract good luck, whereas experienced players will be less subject to chance. Not true.

So if you take a bad beat from outer space worthy of the greatest miracles possible, remember one thing: if the chance was not part of poker, then this game would have no interest. You must accept to surrender your fate in the hands of Lady Luck. So yes it’s hard when you lose a 99.5% favorite shot, but get used to it. Do not forget that poker is just a game, and you could still be way less fortunate than playing online poker.

Good Luck.

There are lots of fish in poker and Doyle Brunson was one of the first one to watch them and catch some of the big ones. Patrik Antonius is another player, much younger, who loves to catch fish at the poker tables. And both have been doing very well at it, catching millions of dollars in the process.

Patrik is a great guy. He has two passions in life: catching fish and playing cards. And he is good at both. In fact he is good at any poker variation, and if you challenge him he will always answer with a bet that he can beat. This is in his blood. Playing with a fish, he would raise early in the game in order to impose his tempo and constantly put them under pressure.. This is the best way to catch the biggest fish at the poker table. He will follow all the way to the river if necessary.

Many of my relatives love to play cards. I guess there is not much else to do when you reach a certain age. Some are over seventy years old, but despite their age they remember a lot of card tricks and there are hard to beat. They play mostly gin rummy, and also a bit of baccarat, even some blackjack and poker. But they do not play for money, just for the fun.

They use chips to play but they are worth one cent each, just to spice it up a bit. This way they cannot lose their shirt. They are good at Texas Hold’em and Stud poker in particular. Stud poker and gin rummy are the games of the old generation, now people play mostly texas holdem. My relatives really love to play cards.

Some excel at rummy, one of their favorite games of cards. They also play poker, but not as well, just decent players. Some are very smart people, so be careful of their deceiving looks if you meet them.

It seems that nowadays poker is getting more and more popular, especially on the Web, whereas older people like them still play gin rummy, a game for retired people. In fact retired people play old sorts of card games, including poker and even poker online. But they do not play it the same way the new generation is playing.

The way to win online is to be very aggressive and this is more suitable for younger people. At a certain age, people tend to behave more gently and ultra-aggression does not fit their temper. This is why online poker remains dominated by the younger ones. Of course Texas Holdem is the most favorite poker variation of poker, and aggression is absolutely necessary to win online.