After over 200 000 hands that I played in the last two years, I feel qualified enough to share some "gems" with potential players, and/or new players, especially naive, warmhearted people who hope to meet friends at some tables, have some good time, and eventually make some positive memories.
So, here are some (golden) rules I believe each and every one of you should remember before starting the next game:
01) THERE ARE NO FRIENDS AT POKER - expect them to crave your money. They might be calling you "bro", but what they really want is your money, not your company.
02) DO NOT EXPECT TO RECEIVE WHAT YOU HAVE GIVEN - there are some players to whom I donated nice sums of money. Later on, they found new "friends" and started to insult me. It honestly hurt me, quite a bit, but then I realized people and situations have no power without our reactions. DO NOT expect them to be polite, nor to help you just because you've been polite and/or you have helped them!
03) LUCK DEVOURS SKILLS EVERY TIME - no matter how skilled you are, do not underestimate your opponent. You might be wiser, skillful, you might have tons of victories at tournaments and cash tables, but if the variance is on "his" side, your stake will collapse in no time.
04) THERE ARE NO "STRONG" CARDS / ALL CARDS ARE EQUALLY "STRONG" - aces and kings are worthless unless they come out on the table. Deuces and aces are equally strong because those cards have an equal chance of jumping on the table! I've seen a pair of deuces "rekting" aces and kings many times.
05) UNTIL PROVEN TO BE LEGIT, ALL POKER SITES ARE RIGGED - many players have accepted the wrong perception regarding the legitimacy of poker sites. They start playing with beliefs that the site they are playing on is legit, only to find themselves scammed, sooner or later. The wiser you are, the less time you will need to realize some site is rigged. Start cautiously, with belief that you gonna get scammed. Don't make a huge deposit, rather, make a small one, like 10$, and play on small tables, to learn RNG's tricks.
