You better count your money while you're sitting at the table: I don't care what Kenny Rogers sings or what anyone else says, "Never count your money while you're sitting at the table" uh, that to me is the worse advice ever given about poker. Keeping track is the best way to know how much to risk, how much you've lost or gained and most importantly, when to quit... So count, keep track, it's the best way to know where you stand.
Don't drink while you play: Boy, I've sure been guilty of this. I mean one or two beers are one thing, but if you want to party at the poker table I guarantee it's going to be very costly. Play at the table and drink at the bar. When drinking one cannot determine the difference between intuition and alcohol induced false confidence. Focus, patience, and intelligent decision making is compromised when consuming alcohol. "Don't drink and drive, and don't drink and play." It's challenging enough to win sober so, drink wisely.
Ladies and gentlemen: the key phrase ladies and gentlemen. Poker is a gentlemen's sport-it always has been-and if it's a gentlemen's sport that a woman plays then, she must be a lady. So don't throw cards and chips, use foul language or mistreat the dealer or anyone else. It's a poker room not a playground. We represent poker, and it is our responsibility to keep it honorable. Yes, boys and girls, let's remember this. If we do, we can change the vibe in all the poker rooms throughout the world. Think big. Papa always tells me to think big, "think always big." He taught me to leave a room with the same grace I entered with. Let's give it our best shot!
Please, please, please don't nag, bitch, or moan at the poker table: Oh my goodness, this is the most annoying thing anyone of us can ever do. We hear enough whining in our daily lives; we do not need to hear how one played the hand well and the other guy didn't. We only mind bad players when they win our money. I don't hear us complaining when we win money from bad players.
Don't harass your opponents personally because they won. If you cannot handle losing, don't play. Losing is just as much a part of the game as winning. I personally try not to write bad beat stories-not because I don't have them-but because we hear them everywhere!
WSOP 2007-if you busted out the first day, do not lose sight of what you've accomplished: This is to all the people who qualified for the $10,000 seat by winning a satellite. I have a friend who qualified for a $10,000 seat with a $20 satellite and unfortunately busted out on the first day of the main event. The bottom line is that he won over $10,000 with his $20. Many so-called "great poker players" busted out the first day. Don't lose sight of what you've accomplished, satellite winners, winning those long shot satellites is a victory in itself.
Until we meet again, remember an overnight success is usually many, many years in the making...
