Confession 002 — Beginner’s Anxiety

I confess. I get a little anxious when learning new social games.

Whenever I’m learning a non-social game on my computer, I’m not particularly stressed. The computer never seems to lose patience with me, or take offense to my inexperienced style of gameplay. I can make errors as I learn without shame and I can generally take as long as I like to think about a move or a play.

The online world is a whole different social space. Experienced players in online game spaces can be unforgiving to those less skilled and unfamiliar with the scene. Worse yet, an obvious lack of experience can make you an easy target for those with a more nuanced skill set. This combination of trying not to anger other players while trying not to look foolish can trigger feelings of anxiety for me.

I learned years ago that the physical sensations we often associate with anxiety (like rapid pulse, butterflies in the stomach, flushed face, etc) are literally identical to those we often associate with excitement. Most of the time, the only real difference between being anxious and being excited is how you choose to think about the sensations you are experiencing. Anxiety can often be overridden with excitement simply by thinking about what you are feeling. Also, casinos and poker tables are exciting places and that excitement is infectious.

One thing I am still trying to get a better handle on is betting. Some games have no limits, others are pot limit or some other limit. You can only raise certain amounts. Some bets have to be multiples of the big blind. It can be a bit confusing. The first live game I ever played, I was always betting incorrectly and not understanding what I was doing wrong. I was really embarrassed by my missteps in front of more experienced players.

Fortunately the SwC Poker interface is really fantastic for new players like me. It is designed to keep you from making these kind of embarrassing mistakes, and I genuinely appreciate that. The bet structure is laid out really clearly in the SwC Poker client with large friendly buttons highlighting the most common bet options. As you get more experienced, you can customize the default bet value buttons to more closely match your personal betting style. When you are making a less common bet, the bet value slider moves in legal bet increments. It’s really convenient. Even your remaining time to play is clearly visible and if you do need a little more time, there is even a button for that as well! I am truly grateful for all the thought and effort that has gone into the client design. It has made getting up to speed at SwC Poker so much easier than I thought it would be.

One great place for beginners to get their feet wet is the sit and go tournaments. These tournaments are attractive because they start quickly, are typically inexpensive, and usually finish in under an hour because there is only one table playing. They are essentially a microcosm of the longer, more complex MTT tournaments. Participating in a sit and go tournament and observing other players can give you a really good sense of the elements of gameplay like the importance of chip stack size over the course of the tournament, the importance of position at the table relative to the button, and how gameplay aggression changes over time. You can learn a lot playing any of the games at SwC Poker, but the sit and go tournaments are really excellent classrooms for the new player.

The key is to get out there and get in the mix. You do learn the most while you are playing.

THE KING OF HEARTS

I talk about online bitcoin poker from a beginner’s perspective with the goal of demystifying the various poker game forms as well as all aspects of online play, table and lobby etiquette, and anything else related to this space. I’m enjoying spending time with you.

Poker Vocabulary and Abbreviations
MTT — Multi-Table Tournament
button — a marker indicating the dealer position
to bubble — to finish a tournament just barely out of the money
sit and go — a single table tournament that begins when it reaches a set number of players

Please send all questions, comments and suggestions to confessionsofapokerhusband@gmail.com.

My opinions and observations are my own do not reflect the opinions of SwC management. I will respond to all messages and I welcome your feedback.

Originally published at swcpoker.eu.