Poker Winner Blog

Participating in the Future of Poker at(RGP)

Think of the Internet newsgroup(RGP) as your one- stop poker newspaper, discussion club, information bureau, and personal advisor. Like all Internet newsgroups, RGP is a global, interactive electronic bulletin board serving thousands of people interested in the same subject— in this case, poker.

As with other bulletin boards, you can read messages already there, respond to them (using either private e-mail to the author or a public message called a post that is meant for all RGP readers), or create your own messages.

RGP is not a chat room; you cannot conduct real-time discussions in newsgroups. Also, expect a slight delay between the time you post a message and when it actually appears onscreen. (Newsgroup messages are relayed through a series of servers before reaching the site that appears on your monitor.)

Finding RGP

RGP is located in the part of the Internet called Usenet News, or Usenet. Usenet is like a huge electronic bulletin board hanging in cyberspace. It has thousands of subdivisions called newsgroups.

Newsgroups are organized into categories called hierarchies. You can find RGP under the category or hierarchy called “rec” (short for recreation), under subcategory “gambling,” and is devoted to the specific topic “poker.”

As you can see, newsgroups have nothing to do with the daily news. On AOL, they are found under keyword: Newsgroups. Once there, click on the following: Add Newsgroups-rec-gambling-poker. You will have the opportunity to add rec.gambling.poker to your “Favorites” list, where you store sites that you return to again and again.

Other ISPs handle newsgroups much the same way. If you don’t find RGP easily under “Newsgroups” from your ISP’s home page, try typing rec. gambling.poker into the Internet address window and click on Go. (You don’t have to put the cumbersome http : // first when going to a newsgroup.)

Benefiting from RGP

RGP represents the future of poker because it represents the entire poker community, from experts to rank beginners. As an open forum where one can exchange ideas, theories, opinions, and personal experiences, it is like a healthy extended family whose members agree to disagree sometimes. All members learn from each other’s mistakes and experience.

Regular participation in RGP is the third leg of your comprehensive self-study course in poker. (The other two are interactive poker software games and Internet play-money games.) Here are some of the key ways RGP will help you become a better player:

If you’re looking for specific information, someone in your extended poker family either will have the answer or know who does. Looking for a game in Missoula, Montana; Marblehead, Massachusetts; or Magnolia, Mississippi? Want to find out which Internet poker casinos are the most reputable? Seeking info on the best games in your area or an upcoming tournament? Just post a new message and ask.

• If you give an opinion or propose a theory, you’re likely to get a cheerful little earful of the opposing view (just like you would at home). This causes you to think through your ideas to define them clearly enough to defend them, and to benefit from counter-arguments and the experience of other players.
• l In the course of defending their own viewpoints, in answering questions, or just as a service to the rest of the group, members will include links to other Internet poker sites in their posts. (The text of these links, called hyperlinks, usually appears underlined and in a different color than the surrounding text. When you rest your mouse pointer over a hyper link without clicking on it, the pointer will change into a tiny hand.) Explore these sites and record or bookmark their addresses.
• Many game-specific and/or hand-specific situations are described in detail by players looking for feedback. You can participate in these discussions or just read any responses posted by experts, who often respond to the most interesting posts.

Posing an interesting question or theory in a new message may spawn a lengthy thread (the initial posted message plus its trail of responses). If the subject is interesting or controversial enough, the thread may go on to weave a life of its own, generating responses from responses to the point where everyone from world champions to railbirds chimes in with his or her two cents. You’ll wonder how in the world your seemingly innocent little post wound up causing such a fuss!

Such “superthreads” are the crown jewels of RGP posts. By following their strands from message to message, you’ll reap a whirlwind of poker knowledge, insight, and vicarious experience — three factors that translate into profits when it’s time to cash out your chips at the cage!

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