More often than not, we start imitating characters from Rounders. Like Teddy KGB’s “Check. Check. Check.”

Inevitably, I make a comment about how Matt Damon’s narration tells you everything you need to know to play profitable poker.

This is when I get the blank stares.

What the hell? I like to watch the movie just about once a week.

To that end, I will be blogging for the next couple weeks on these gems.

There are so many great quotes, to do it in one post would result in a very long post.

I want to keep it simple and easy to reference these critical tips.

I have created a new category here called “Rounders”. There, you will find all the posts that will contain these important quotes from the movie.

After I complete this project, I will be back to discussing hands from the table.

Here, I will describe what I do until the first hand.

It all begins by asking myself three questions before I decide to step foot into the casino:

1. Am I alert and awake enough to sit through a two hour movie?
2. Am I in a positive state of mind?
3. Am I focused on poker and not distracted by anything or anyone?

If I can honestly answer “yes” to all three questions, then the game is on.

Everytime, without fail, that I answered “no” to just one question, I lost money.

My goal is to earn a profit on the session.

Table and seat selection are important. Most times, you do not get a choice on either one.

But if you do, I look for a weak table. Why? If you are the 10th best player in a poker room of 100 players and sit down with the top nine, you are the worst player at the table. Odds are, you will lose.

I like to sit behind the big stacks so my action is after theirs in most hands.

That said, I prefer to sit in seat 9, 2, 3, or 8. Why? Because all players at the table are in my view.

Ever sit across from the dealer in seat 6 or 7? You have players on both sides of you. Turn your head to see seat 9 and you can’t see the opposite seats. I watch all the players all the time.

When I am in 9 (my favorite) or 2, I see everyone in my field of vision.

If the game is capped, I buy-in for the maximum amount. Never buy-in for the minimum. You will be at an instant disadvantage to nearly everyone at the table.

For uncapped games, I buy-in for at least what the average stack at the table has. If it is a tough table, I will buy-in for whatever the big stack has.

In my next post, I will talk about what I do once I sit down at the table with chips.