Wednesday 12 March 2008

Rule 37: It's a mistake to use experience alone to determine what good poker play is.

Long-time experience can be deceptive. Our memory can be selective. It can mislead us, overemphasizing some things that occurred and underemphasizing others. A big win may shine brightly in our memory, yet if looked at closer, it might not be backed up by good play. Always make sure you are playing right first, and then get a lot of experience at it.
Don't do it in reverse. Don't reference your many years of experience
as proof that you mast be playing right. This kind of self-referential
argument is capable of containing numerous errors.
Similar card situations occur again and again, thousands of times. And some players have been playing them wrong – for years. Worse, such a player often learns to do so expertly! In fact, many of them become
excellent players, amazingly adept at «working around» their own flaws and weaknesses. They become experts at starting out with their own self-
imposed handicaps and overcoming them. They are like track stars who
become very proficient at finding ever newer and more innovative ways to
get over the hurdles that they themselves have put in their own way.