Quick Tips From Johnny Chan

By Johnny Chan

NAVIGATING YOUR WAY THROUGH NEWBIES

When you play against a newcomer, someone you’ve never played a hand of poker with before, you just patiently watch and don’t try to run over him, because you can’t run over a sucker. A sucker doesn’t know any better, and that can make him difficult to play against initially. So just be patient and watch how he bets, how he plays his hands, and take it from there.

In the beginning, a lesser player may have certain advantages, especially against the pros with whom he has familiarity. But in the long run, he doesn’t have any advantages. The advantage almost always shifts to the better player.

PRACTICE, PRACTICE, PRACTICE

If you’re just starting out, play a lot of cheap poker games, play a lot of satellites. Get to know the players. Learn from the best—that’s how you become the best.

As far as practicing by playing online, it’s just not the same. When you play in a live tournament for big money, for real money, you’re going to be playing against players, face to face. Online, you can’t see your opponents. It’s not the same. So I wouldn’t suggest playing online for practice; I would suggest playing live in any satellite. There are satellites all over. When I learned how to play poker, I didn’t learn it online—I learned it from people, learning how to read people’s minds, playing people from all walks of life.

PARDON THE (LACK OF) EXPRESSION

There’s no trick to having a good poker face, really. It’s about practice. You learn over time, whether you lose or you win, whether you have exceptional cards or no cards at all, you react the same way. You have to think of the game in these terms: Each individual hand is not a big deal. Whether you lose this pot or you win this pot, you’re going to play a million more pots after that, so what’s the big deal? Keep everything in perspective, stay calm, and you’ll be less likely to give anything away with your face.