Still Losing

By Jack Kregas

This is not a rehashed book of theories. This two part book, Tournament Play and Cash Games, is for serious players who are willing to change their mind set and accept mathematical and proven strategies that will see them at more final tables and in the money.

 

Cash game players will have a new and tested concept that turns losers into winners provided they are prepared to face criticism and fear while learning how to beat the casino.

 

This book is NOT for those playing poker as a social night out with friends. THIS BOOK IS ABOUT PLAYING TO WIN!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jack Kregas
• Release date: Mar 19, 2023
• ISBN: 9798215043578

Jack Kregas

Jack Kregas was born in New England in the north east of the United States. After a stint in the US Army, he was discharged in Europe and the next forty years were spent skiing and living life to the max as well as creating several successful businesses.Winters in the Alps and summers windsurfing on Maui, Jack departed Switzerland for Maui full time with his Australian wife and small daughter. After five years he moved the family to Australia and became an Australian citizen.Jack now lives in Brisbane and plays golf and tournament poker. After having published his first book in 2015, an autobiography, It's All About Me and a few others of his adventurous life, he has written another thirteen books the latest being THE VEGAS TRANSACTIONS published in July 2021 and How to lose at Texas Holdem in September 2121.

Book preview

PART 1

TOURNAMENT PLAY

PREFACE

In my mind tournament poker is not gambling. You pay a fee to play. You know in a short time what the payout is and how many get paid. Tournament chips have NO monetary value.

If you play in the Saturday golf tournament you pay a fee to play and, if lucky, win a pair of size 9 shoes for your size 12 feet.

You pay a fee for your child to play soccer.

When you pay a set fee to play, it is not gambling. It’s a hobby to me.

The other side to this is the person who plays high buy-in games with rebuys and add-ons on a consistent basis. When these games are costing far more than the individual can afford to lose that is gambling.

1. WHAT TYPE OF PLAYER ARE YOU?

Let me repeat myself. This book is not for the social player although they will gain valuable knowledge.

This book is about playing to win.

Winning is the goal in mind before sitting down at the table. It means having patience to wait and play high start-cards. Before I get into that, let’s find out what kind of poker player you are.

There are seven types of poker players:

Someone who plays premium start-cards aggressively.

Someone who plays premium start-cards passively.

Someone who plays draw hands and junk cards aggressively.

Someone who plays draw hands and junk cards passively.

Someone who bluffs excessively.

Someone who never bluffs.

Someone who doesn’t know the difference

between any of the above.

Winning players are in the number one category. There is no such thing as a winning player in the number two, three, four, five, six, or seven categories.

Tight aggressive is the best and safest playing style. It may not be the only way, but it is the best way to win at poker consistently. And the key that unlocks the door to winning is that you must play excellent start-cards.

Poker is no different than most things in life. It follows the rule that you will get out of it what you put into it. Therefore, you must ask yourself:

What is it that you’re after? What is your goal?

If winning poker is the goal, then it takes a mindset believing that you can win. It takes knowledge of the game and the ability to put that knowledge to use. Simply put, the more knowledge you have the further ahead you are than your opponents. It also puts you ahead of the luck factor.

Luck will always shine on someone. That dreaded river card will at times kill your best laid plans and undo hours of good play. Luck can never be entirely avoided. However, knowledge, experience, and confidence with forward thinking will see one player consistently outplay the opposition. Essentially you make your own luck by avoiding bad luck. This means giving your opponents limited chances to damage your stack by treating each chip with importance and value. It means playing only premium hands.

How many times have you been busted out of a game? When did this happen? How did this happen? It is very likely that it happened in the first hour. In every instance, it’s because you either called an all-in bet, or went all-in. You couldn’t have lost all your chips any other way. At this stage you were not blinded out.

I have sat back and watched this happen time and time again. Going all-in or calling an all-in with low pockets such as 5-5, 9-9, or even J-J. It is not only low pockets, but some are often taken out with A-A, K-K, and Q-Q. They get a call and then are sent home when being outdrawn. I can appreciate the aggressive play, but these sorts of players have no idea of how these premium cards should be played. This book will show you when to be aggressive and when NOT to risk the tournament on pocket aces so early in the game when the stakes are