Guest Post, Chippies!

This post is from one of my favorite players "Chip_Tricks". I call her chippies and she has been a huge help to me and our Tour. Always playing in our low limit buyins, moderating our forum and torturing our players whenever they decide to play a pot with her. She is one of our top players and I get a complimentary table change whenever she is at my table.

Have a good story? I'll send you a sweet Shark Logo Tee-Shirt if it's posted. Email it now (in word if you can) to shark@sharkpokertour.com


Hola senior Sharkman---

Okie dokie Sharkman I've decided to take a stab at the guest post - mainly cause I want a shirt (might have to make 2 guest posts cause hubby is bein such a girly grrrrlllllll that he wants one too !! ) I have decided to take a what-the-hell-I'm-just-gonna-ramble approach like my hero da Sharkman. You decide what, if any, of this gets posted on the famed blog (oh I hope I am worthy......if not, bite my huge %*$(#& you one-toothed-%*#&*-sharkman :P).

Some of ya sharkarmyites might have seen me on the tables.....most all sites I have chip_tricks as my SN. My name is Michelle (yea i'ma grrrrllllly grrrrrllll, and I won't answer to my name if ya call me dat during a game cause I soooo prefer to remain genderless so call me anythang but). I am not a poker pro or expert on anything but BS, but I have been "learning" the ways of the wicked for about 3 years online.

My first taste of poker was not online but at a church festival. I will never forget my first game. I was 22 at the time (much older now at 36 shhhh), and was boredchitless on a Sat night, so I hopped into my POS car and drove around a found a festival with huge tent with a bunch of people sitting at tables, and I thought cool, a party with beer and food I'm there.......had no idea they were playin cards. Got myself a spot to park, and I headed over to the big tent after catchin a nasty draft they called beer and saw they was playin cards in der. I watched for a little bit (it was a $1/2 table), and I was like ok I wanna play.

So I sat down at the table next to the one I was watchin and broke out a c-note and felt my first chippies....gotta admit it was a rush sittin there with no clue what I was doin with those chips in front of me. To play off my nervousness I started playin with those chips cause they were changing "dealers" and cards and everyone seemed to know each other at the table and I was just some loser outsider sittin there with me beer. I don't remember a dam thing from that night other than 3 things......1, I had no idea how to play; 2, I was so glad they had a chart hanging on the tent pole showing how hands ranked against each other (think I got a stiff neck from keeping my eye on that chart while playin HA !); and 3, I had a blast winning and losing and couldn't wait to do it again !!!!! Thus began my search every weekend of that summer to find a church festival that had a poker tent !!!!! I played all summer long and eventually got good (well maybe no! t that good, but I was a better donk than the other donks that played) and won overall for the summer. Then it hit ----- no more festivals until late spring next year --- ACKKKKKKKK !!!! So I had to wait, but I was hooked from that summer on and continued to play at those festivals - GOD love those festivals - for the next 3 years.

Then sadly, I got married and had to give it up due to cash shortages because of those dam grownup resposiblities. The only time I got to play was at home games at my friend's house...where she didn't even play....I had to play with her husband and his friends....but whothehellcared I got to play and I had some runs and won a few times. That was the bulk of my poker play until a few years later when the casinos came to town. But that's a continuing story for another day.............

If the oh-thou-great-poker-guru decides to use my rambling in his blog, I'll make it a continuing story of my poker life since the ever-so-pathetic beginning. I am so not a pro and have no place giving advice, but as my story progresses I'll share all the mistakes I've made, the successes I've had, and everything I have learned, and how I got to where I am today. My poker philosophy is simply this :

There is no right or wrong way to play poker. Poker is a game of strategy, skill, and luck (everyone has their own opinion as to the percentages each of these has in relation to the game). I have no interest in placing a "value" as to the importance of each of them as I believe each hand has it's own unique combination of strategy, skill, and luck based on the players at the table. Gather all the information you can by reading books by the pros, watching the game, asking a pro all the questions you can, then develop your style of play.....and then practice, practice, practice........as the great Sharkman has told me.

This philosophy has served me well thus far, however, I know I have so much to learn as I want my game to continually evolve to a higher standard, and I look forward to getting advice and help from the great players we have on this awesome shark army.

Until next time.......
The up-n-comin-poker-lovin-grrrlllllyyyy-student,
Michelle a.k.a CT