Dont be fooled by those trying to teach "new" strategies

     I found this online and am sharing it with you to show you that there are many trying to twist the game into something it isn't.  After evaluating hand after hand from the some of the first WSOP games to very recent games, I can assure you that the game is the same.  Still 2 cards dealt.  Still 5 river cards dealt.  Still betting in each round.  Best hand or the best bet still wins.  I was heads up with a player the other night that said a push on my part was a bad play.  I had 104os and pushed in to buy the blinds.  We were even stack at the time.  He called and I hit two pair beating his k4.  Bad push?  I disagree because poker is still the "dance" it was 30 years ago. 

     Poker is still the game of aggression and still a game where luck fixes errors.  Yes, luck fixes errors.  The 102os hand didn't get called "Doyle Brunson" randomly.  Twice he won the WSOP with it, and in back to back tournaments, being highly aggressive after being called by better hands.  The comments below are a sales pitch.  Something to confuse players.  Something to make it appear that there is something new.  NL Hold'em is not a new game, and what worked then works today.  The difference between then and now is that more players understand the aggressive style and odds much better than they did before.  More information is readily available.  There are many places that teach styles.  The problem I had with most of those 'teaching' places is the creation of 'more' than there is.  NL Hold'em is a simple complex game.  It's complex in that there are many facets, but simple in that rookies can come in and begin to win relatively quickly with some understanding of cards and betting.  Take it in steps.  Poker is a staircase where very few reach the top stair; however, you do not have to reach the top to do well.
     I am going to break down the fallacies of this statement (and point out the truths) so that hopefully, you will see how the strategies of poker do not have to be as difficult as many make it out to be.  I left the name of this "poker teacher" because my interest is not in tearing him down, but lifting you up.

"The most important thing I have come to realize over the past many years is that the ability to adapt is the most important thing you can do in this fast changing world of online poker."

     You need to find what works for you.  As you find a method that wins games, keep that but then add more.  When you go to war, you don't take just a spear, though it may be all you have at first.  You use that until you understand how to use other weapons.  His statement is intended to concern you that you may not keep up.

"Many of the books written just a few years ago are no longer accurate, as the online poker game is constantly adjusting and morphing into something else. Being able to adjust your game and keep one step ahead of your opponents is key to becoming (and maintaining) yourself as a winning online poker player."

     Bahaha....this is pure laughable.  Players are still playing aggressively, still playing passively, still mixing it up as they did years ago.  I guess he doesn't want you buying books of pros that have made millions, but paying him for his 'lessons'.  It might make sense if you were only playing the same players over and over, but you aren't.  Some players constantly are working hard at improving, others are hoping they improve by playing every day.  Adjusting your game is nothing new.  It's just smart poker.

"To give you an example, just 3-4 years ago, the basic tournament strategy was to raise in late position --usually just against the blinds or one weak limping player, and then continuation bet on just about any flop. Your opponent(s) would usually call with very little, then check/fold most of the time when they missed the flop. Now because so many players have been doing this, the next level thinkers now re-raise (3 bet) the raiser, either from the blinds, or from later position then the raiser. The player who re-raises does not even need a strong hand, he just knows that the origiinal raiser is attempting to steal the blinds, and probibly does not have a hand."

     If he thinks, any of what he just described is old/new play he has no understanding of the history of the game.  He is still describing things that have occurred in the first WSOP.  The difference between then and now is a larger field of experienced players.  I have played more games than any of the players that played in the first WSOP up to that point.  How can I claim this?  Because many of you have too.  The advent of online poker where you can play 4,5,6,12 games at once has allowed players to advance at a rate that is faster than they could back then.  Dealers were slower than an online shuffle.  There is no waiting.  When the hand is done, the next hand is dealt.  Now, five hands can be dealt and played in the time it took one back then.  The game has not changed, the experience of the players has.  At the top levels of play, it is still the 'dance' it was so many years ago. 

     What is new is there are lower level games that were not available before.  Poker originally was only a big dollar game.  There were no 1 dollar buy ins.  With cost so minimal, many bad players push in with garbage hands often and out of position.  Another game is in the site lobby waiting to be entered, so some players push and hope for luck since, sometimes, it works for them.  It is important to know there is a big skill level difference as you move up in buy-in levels.  The way you play will be different in low dollar games than it will be in high dollar games.  The difference is T-ball compared to the Major Leagues.

"Now even further is the bluff 4 bet, when the player who originally raises knows that the player who 3 bet is likely weak, and now 4 bets, often shoving in his stack to defend his original raise."

     So, if he was able to make his point in the previous paragraph, to draw in new players to pay to listen to his teaching, why did he add this second part.  To confuse and make it more complicated.  New players will not understand what he is saying.  The strange part of this is, 3 bets and 4 bets refer to Limit Hold'em and he then refers to NL Hold'em.  I'm not saying that some don't refer to 3 and 4 bets that way, I'm saying, those that started it were confused and he uses it to confuse a new player.

"This is just one small example of how poker has eveolved[sic] over the past several yeras[sic] into an overly agressive[sic] game, especially preflop.     Receive a Free 7 Day Trial"

     Other than needing a spell checker, finally, something correct, partly.  Yes, it is a very aggressive game preflop sometimes, depending upon with whom you are playing, but it has not evolved, it was very aggressive game years ago too, at some tables and at others not.  The same as today.  Don't get sucked into thinking there is a wealth of new information out there or that you can't learn enough to begin to succeed.  Poker is a game that while you can learn much by reading, it takes practical experience too.  It is not so much about the information you hold in your head, it's more about the way a certain player will play, and, you understanding your opponents style.  The game becomes easy when you understand that as much as everything changes, it all stays the same.  Don't get confused, you can do it!  I'm here to help and I am not asking you to pay me either...free trial or not.