Since the first day I started playing Texas Hold’em I have kept a poker log book. I keep track of where I play and the limits of the game along with the hours I play and how much I win or lose in each session. I also make notes in my log book about the players at my table in case I am in a game with them in the future.
Some of these notes include any tells I may have picked up on them. I also note what type of player they are; aggressive, passive, loose or tight. Most importantly I make a note the types of starting hands they play.
Recently I have been checking out some of the online poker sites. Many of these sites offer Freeroll tournaments with actual cash prizes. These are used to introduce players to their sites by giving them a chance to win real money with no risk. Because the tournaments are free they attract a large number of novice and beginner players. I have been playing in many of the Texas Hold’em tournaments and have discovered that many of these novice players have no concept of proper starting hands or the importance of position.
I started a log book to keep track of these online players and I make notes about their play. One advantage to playing online is that you can make entries into your log book as the game is being played. One of the biggest mistakes I see these players making is in the starting hands they chose to play. Many of them will play any two suited cards from any position in hopes of making a flush.
I used to write out Any Suited from Any Position in my log but I was doing it so often I started to abbreviate it by using the letters ASAP. After writing this a few times I had a revelation about the relationship of the two acronyms.
ASAP means fast and when some of these novices play ASAP (any suited from any position), they will occasionally get lucky and make money fast in early rounds when they successfully make a flush draw. However the majority of them go broke equally as fast when they continue playing ASAP in the later rounds when the limits are much higher. I have seen many of these players get busted out in the later rounds only to see them bemoan their “lousy cards” or bad beats in the chat box before they log off to wait for the next tournament.
Many of these online freeroll tournaments have very short rounds with the limits doubling each round. The shorter the tournament, the more the luck factor will play in determining the winner. Some of the players, who play any suited sating hand, will get lucky and win the tournament form time to time. This only reinforces their thinking that they are playing correctly.
The truth is that in Texas Hold’em you can not play any two suited cards from any position if you expect to be a consistent winner. Playing a hand such as 2-6 under the gun is a lousy choice whether it is suited or not.