Easy Money - Not

I was playing TH with some of the guys and had a brilliant revelation. It was to do with odds: how do I know when to bet or fold? In a flash of inspiration I worked out that if the odds of making your hand were less than the return of your bet on the current pot then it was a daft bet. I'm a genius! And if I only play hands with at least one pretty colour card - well, I can't possibly lose. Can I.
Armed with this secret insight I typed something into Google and ended up signed with Titan Poker. I handed over my £50 and got some dollars into my account, went onto the $1/$2 table - didn't want to draw suspicion to my 'technique' by going straight onto the big tables - and lost the lot in about 30 minutes.
Hmmm - maybe I was missing something, thought I.
So I Googled some poker tips. Oh. The 'pot odds' thing I'd 'invented' was actually quite well known in expert circles. Alright, practically every poker player on the planet knew about pot odds and the importance of hand selection. Drat!
But my interest in my new found sport - I don't get out much - was piqued so I went to Waterstones and sought help in the form of a book. They had two: a massive red one for twenty-odd quid and a more manageable tome for £7.99 titled Winner's Guide To Texas Hold'em Poker by Ken Warren. There's a picture of him on the back cover looking all plump and happy and prosperous. The copyright said 1996 but what the hell - Poker then is Poker now n'est pas? So I bought it.
And read it.
A boat load of it made a lot of sense. Some of it was suspect advice but the majority of it looked okay. So I went back on line - to the 5c/10c tables - armed with my new found knowledge and guess what .. I didn't lose!
I didn't win either but I only lost when I didn't follow Mr Warren's advice. When I followed his advice I slowly won back my bank roll.
I discovered something else: It's frikkin exciting! There were times when my heart was in my mouth, times when I actually whooped with joy and times when I called myself all kinds of rude things. I discovered it's really fun.
So, boosted but nervous, I ventured back onto the $1/$2, tables. And lost.

Next: I'll try to summarise Ken Warren's advice and explain why I lost. It's to do with stealing blinds.