A Little Help From Your Friends

From tight/aggressive to loose/passive, there are various playing styles to learn. From playing on the money bubble to Independent Chip Model, there are multiple strategies to integrate into your game. From floating the flop to the squeeze play, there are numerous intriguing moves to master. Additionally, the game is ever evolving and has rapidly changed over the past decade since the “Moneymaker Effect.” A move that was bold and brazen just a few years ago may be commonplace in today’s poker world. With countless variables in a rapidly advancing game, poker is so complex that it is almost impossible to master.

To improve one’s game, players have turned to live seminars, private poker lessons and online training sites. While all of these options provide viable opportunities to improve one’s game, I strongly believe that everyone must incorporate one specific training tool to their game: poker friends.

Poker is inherently an individual sport. Players register for tournaments to compete against other players to not only earn money, but also make the final table and win the tournament. To improve one’s game, a player must work hard to make proper decisions at the right time during the tournament. However, players need to recognize that they may not have all the answers. Thus, they need to be humble and realize that speaking with fellow poker players may create an opportunity to learn and provide a different perspective that you may not have had before.

“Sometimes you think you know everything, but the more you learn, the more you realize you don’t know everything and that you have to keep on learning. Talking with friends is an excellent way to improve your game,” explained 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP) main event champion, Jonathan Duhamel, who often talks to other PokerStars pros (like Daniel Negreanu and Jason Mercier) and his longtime poker friends from Quebec, Canada.

“After talking with your friends, you are going to think more about the game, things that you were not thinking about before and also get lots of new theory. Afterward, you can then put these theories into practice and then you will really improve your game and get better,” professed the Canadian poker pro.

Additionally, poker can be very emotionally draining. During a tournament, often only the champion is pleased about the result. Since winning tournaments are rare, players can easily become tilted which can affect their game. Also, players can often experience very bad swings where the luck factor swings in favor of your opponents. During these stretches, it will seem that you lose every flip and you cannot complete one single draw. Ultimately, talking with your poker friends can help you calm down and play optimally, even when things are not going your way.

“It is very important not to have an ego about your poker game. It is good to get other opinions from your buddies. But also it is important to have an emotional balance as well,” stated 2011 WSOP Circuit champion, Huy Nguyen. The Oklahoma poker pro often travels the tournament circuit with other WSOP Circuit champions Kyle Cartwright and A.P. Phahurat.

“Poker is such as tough game and there are so many things that can easily put you on tilt. Fortunately, I have some great players to talk with while playing tournaments on tour.”

Today, many young poker players travel in groups, discussing poker plays and strategies relentlessly. While these players room together, they think and examine poker 24 hours a day. As they eat meals together, they debate poker back and forth to find the optimal strategy for any given situation. However, this collaboration is not an unusual concept.

In the 1990s, Daniel Negreanu would travel across the country playing poker tournaments. During these events, “Kid Poker” would hang out with fellow 20-something upstart poker players, discussing poker concepts and strategies. Maybe you may recognize some of his buddies who are now some of the most successful poker players in the world: John Juanda, Allen Cunningham and Phil Ivey.

After the Moneymaker victory, another brash group of young players emerged, led by two-time WSOP bracelet winner, Scott Fischman. The boys, known as “The Crew,” consisted of successful young players that included WSOP and World Poker Tour champions Dutch Boyd, Joe Bartholdi and Brett “Gank” Jungblut. ESPN highlighted “The Crew” in one of their episodes as they exclaimed to anyone who could listen, “We’re gonna to take over the poker world.”

This past summer, two friends were clearly in the spotlight at last year’s WSOP final table. Not only were they friends, but they actually previously roomed together: Russell Thomas and Jesse Sylvia. During their summer together at the 2010 WSOP, they discussed poker non-stop and both helped shape each other’s games.

“He taught me how not to be a donkey,” laughed Sylvia. “And I needed that. I did not have any friends who played poker and needed someone to give me the kick in the ass to tell me that I played that hand poorly.”

Thomas was also thankful with Sylvia’s advice regarding his own game.
“While I coached him a little bit about hand reading and ranges…he has taught me too as we have a little bit different styles…he is looser and a little more aggressive,” recalled Thomas.

During their surreal WSOP main event run this past summer, the former roommates spent time during breaks discussing specific hands and situations. This collaboration resulted in the ultimate dream scenario: both players making the 2012 WSOP main event final table.

Overall, today’s poker world is evolving rapidly. If you remain content and stagnant, revolutionary concepts will appear and pass you by. Never be content with your game and always try to improve.

So as you continue to work on your game, remember:

To remain humble and keep your ego in check,
To ask your poker friends for their opinions and advice, and
A little phrase that John Lennon and Paul McCartney penned:
“I get by with a little help from my friends…”

Bernard Lee is the lead commentator for WSOP Circuit live stream, poker columnist ESPN.com, author of “The Final Table, Volume I and II” and radio host of “The Bernard Lee Poker Show,” which can be found on RoundersRadio.com or via podcast on iTunes. Follow Bernard Lee on Twitter: @BernardLeePoker or visit him at www.BernardLeePoker.com.