Choosing the right game in poker is probably the single biggest factor in determining whether you are going to win or lose. It has been said that "you don't have to be the best poker player in the world, just better than the people you are playing with". This statement is 100% correct. I have met a lot of really bad players over my course of playing professionally in Las Vegas in the last 7 years, and a lot of these bad players are the best players in their home game, or the best players in their small town. Roy Cooke, a local Las Vegas pro and author calls this the "Home Town Hero Effect". These guys beat their regular game in their hometown and when they come to Vegas they just sit down and play and can't figure out why they loose and end up going home without their poker bankroll. The answer is simple in most cases, bad game selection and lack of skills.
Key Factors in Game Selection:
· Knowing your own abilities, strengths, and weaknesses at the game and the limits you want to play.
· Knowing your opponents strengths, and weaknesses, if they play tight, if they play loose, if they usually win, if they are big losers, etc.
· Ability to compare your poker skills with your opponents.
· Having the proper bankroll to play the game.
The information about your opponents isn’t always possible to know if you are playing in a new environment or on the internet against unknown players, but you should be able to get a decent idea by just observing the game for a short period of time. Some key observations to look for:
· The number of hands the player is playing, if somebody is playing almost every hand you can just about guarantee they are a fish and a losing poker player. It’s just not possible to play every hand and be a winning poker player. The percentage of hands played is one of the single biggest factors in determining whether a player is a winning player or losing player.
· Do the players call raises with bottom pair and gut shot straight draws when they aren’t getting the proper odds to draw?
· Do they call all the way to the river with any pair?
If you are playing live poker these are observations you should make while waiting to get into the game. In most brick and mortar card rooms, there is more than one game to play in. Choosing the best game for your playing style will often mean the difference between winning and loosing. If it isn’t possible to observe the games while you are waiting, when you get seated in the game, take your time and pay extra close attention to the players and their playing habits. If the game you were seated in isn’t that great, look around and see if there is a better table that you can transfer to. There is another famous quote that is very applicable to this poker tip “If you can’t spot the sucker in the first 5 minutes, look in the mirror”
If you are playing online poker you can you use some software tools to keep track of the players and evaluate their play. One of the very best pieces of tracking software on the internet is pokertracker, another excellent piece of software is pokeroffice. These software applications will track or monitor your opponent’s abilities for you and give you a lot of information about their playing styles and habits. Some of the information these programs track is:
· % of hands played
· % of hands raised
· % of hands won
Remember the importance of Game Selection. You could be the 6th best player in the world but it doesn’t matter if you are playing with the other 5 best players in the world.
Jason | 
