One certain success story of the online poker community goes by the name of Lou Krieger. Introduced to the game at the young age of seven, Lou has progressed through the poker ranks and now offers his sponsorship and feedback on RoyalVegasPoker.com, in addition to having written nearly 400 poker articles, mostly published on cardplayer.com.

"I badgered my mother to let me play," explained Krieger. "I just wanted to stay up, be one of the guys, learn how to swear in other languages…I always enjoyed and relished the whole grown-up feeling."

Krieger continued to play, and win, throughout high school and college, and offered some hints and suggestions from his experiences for beginners looking to enter the world of flops, rivers and hard nuts.

"I played conservatively, and usually won through [my opponents’] stupidity," said Krieger. "In the early ‘80s I moved to California and went to Vegas, where I learned about Hold ‘Em. I asked the floor manager what the [Hold ‘Em] table was, and he gave me the ‘it tastes like chicken’ analogy…you know, you get seven cards…I loved it and wanted more information, so I started reading and really learning about the game."

Besides playing, Krieger’s contributions to the world of poker have been many, mostly in the form of articles about the game on the Internet. Having written seven books and nearly 400 articles for various sources, Krieger has definitely made a name for himself, in addition to improving his skills on the tables.

"The best way to learn is to teach someone else," said Krieger, who also recommended having a partner who critiques your play from time to time. "Find a person who you respect, is a good player and who will be honest with you. Have them tell you about your game."

Krieger also warned about knowing the differences between watching the pros play on television and your own games.

"I caution people who watch TV poker. You’re exposed to the conclusion of a tournament; no-limit, six-handed or fewer. Whereas in a cash game in a casino, you’ve got smaller blinds and everything differs," said Krieger. "Don’t try to translate what you see into a brick-and-mortar casino. The learning process is recursive; you do it, think about it, learn, then do it again. Read, go play, then sit back and think about it."

Furthermore, Krieger said that many people play differently, psychologically speaking, on the Internet. "People play looser online," said Krieger. "It provides all the elements of a video game; it’s not like physically pushing moving chips into a pot. You’re just a screen name and an image; people don’t see who you are."

Krieger also discussed the differences in knowing your opponents in each situation, whether playing on the computer or with people at a casino. "There’s obviously more social interaction in a casino. It’s much easier to get a fix in person; online, you can literally write notes at your desk about how a player bets."

Above all - and it shouldn’t come as a surprise from such a well-published author - Krieger bases much of his advice around reading about and learning the game of poker.

"In the long run, when the impact of the cards begins to even out, a good player will win more with good hands and lose less with bad hands."

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