For those of you just beginning your poker career, this may seem like an infinite number of possibilities to consider. In actuality, most of the situations you will run across confront you repeatedly. At the very first, poker can be a little overwhelming, but as you encounter situations you’ve been in before, you will get more and more comfortable about making your decisions quickly. This is why we suggest that until you are familiar with the game and the online environment that you play at a single table. You’ll eventually be good enough to play multiple tables without any problem. After you’ve memorized that you have eight cards to complete an open-ended straight, you’ll instantly know how much money has to be in the pot to call (10.5 bets), and you’ll take the appropriate action. The short answer to the question posed in this section’s title is that it can surprise you in both directions. When you know how to frame the questions and know what the numbers are, you can go into depth about opponent playing style, for instance. If you don’t have the numbers memorized, you will be stuck figuring them out or making the dreaded “Oh, whatever…” call. Bad poker player—bad!
