[Movember]

(Original post by DudeRugs)
play 1c-2c games on pokerstars (9/10max tables), start with $10 dollars. Consider that $10 your learning fee (put on $2 per game, 1 table at a time, 5 buyins).
Only play these starting hands: Ace jack, Ace Queen, Ace King, and and pocket pair from 99+

Pre flop (when no cards in the middle)
-Raise pre flop with any of these in any position. Don't ever call preflop (while you learn), instead reraise people with (JJ/QQ/KK/AK/AQ) or fold if others are raising and reraising. Its pretty safe to go all in no matter what with QQ/KK/AA/AK pre flop.

Flop (3 cards in the middle)
-If you raised pre flop - Raise on the flop, if you miss and they call, don't put another penny into the flop.

Turn (4th card in the middle)
You don't even want to carry on with thinking at this point, your option is to be happy to go all in or just check/fold.

This is pretty much very very very simple strategy if you have no clue how to play (It's mainly to make $10 last long enough to get a feel for the game). You won't play many hands, it will probably bore you but you will get a feel for the game and it will help you learn from peoples advice more.
While playing 1 table, read basic strategy. Start with pre flop starting hands and position. By the time you go broke you should be able to be profitable in 1c-2c games, or at least be able to understand guides better.

Tight = playing few starting hands
Loose = playing loads of starting hands
Aggressive = raising alot
Passive = check/calling alot

Try to play Tight/aggressive. Don't play many hands, but play them strong.
Also don't get angry if you get sucked out on. It happens. A lot.

this is generally what they say in some of the articles on pokerschoolonline. what do you mean 'sucked out on'?

(Original post by HeyyImRyan)
Agree with this post totally, but make sure you develop strategy fast. Tight aggressive against anyone with any skill is a great way of getting whittled out - it seems terribly fishy when you're folding a dozen hands and then suddenly raising pre-flop I like playing tight aggressive, but assess the situation too. Sometimes if I know the others in the pot are idiots then I'll probably call a 2 or 3-bet just as a long shot/ so they think I'm an idiot.

It's always good looking like a fish, it means people are more likely to play loose against you or try and 4/5-bet you to get you to fold on the river (happens a lot, like poster said, you have to be confident you'll win and call, or just back down and take the pride beating but keep your cash).

yes the pokerschoolonline articles begin with tight-aggressive play but they go into much more detail so you wont always be betting a few hands and folding many.

(Original post by benq)
The world strongest poker community and school:

www.pokerstrategy.com/

thank you for this link. having a quick browse the articles look nice and accessible, unlike other sites i have been on. i will look at them in more detail after making my notes from pokerschoolonline.

(Original post by shyopstv)
Also, just as important as strategy: Be prepared to lose money. Even if you read all the strategy guides in the world, poker is to some degree a game of luck so you will lose sometimes. And if you play it more than just recreationally, you will lose often. Dealing with that thought in the right way will stop you from handing over more money from stupid, irrational plays.

yes i am prepared to lose money but in the long run, the most skillful players should profit. i have read articles on downswings and upswings.

(Original post by Sternumator)
You need to read the books to learn quickly. I don't think there is any point in watching tournaments on tv but hsp is good. Other than that it is just practice, the most important thing is not to get carried away if you have a good run and think you are better than you are. Also, learn omaha instead of holdem, there are loads of good holdem players, much more money in omaha.

do i need to buy books to learn quickly? the articles i have read so far online have been very good. would books add a lot more?

i have heard of omaha but i havent looked into it yet.

[Movember]

(Original post by CaligulazBaby)
lol, nice




I agree the hoh trilogy is gold dust but sklansky's theory of poker is a touch advanced for a beginner. Obviously any reading is better than none but if I remember correctly 90% of the book covers high stakes limit he, razz and stud. I'd suggest Phil gordon little green book instead. The guy's a socially inept dweeb but his advice is sound and it'll help you think like a good player.

OP I'd very quickly remove any thoughts of making money from poker out of your mind now. Everybody spends their first year sucking at the game, the second year getting good and if you're not making money by the end of the 3rd year (which most don't) then relegating it to a hobby is the best bet. I read somewhere that only 7% of all online poker players show long term profit...

I'm a semi-professional player, started in 2005. The recession killed the game in 2008. The hobby players couldn't afford it any more and the tables are mostly full of competant regulars now. You can find freeroll tournaments all over the place where a website will offer $5 $10 prize pools so you can play for free and still learn a bit. Reading books + playing a ton of hands = best way to improve quickly.

At the start you should avoid cash games, including 0.01/0.02 games because you will lose money quickly. Playing limit poker will give you a better idea of the strength of hands when it comes to showdown after the river. Once you feel genuinely semi-competant at judging the strength of your hand then make a $110 deposit and play $5.50 SnG's.

Whoever said play Omaha...lol. Don't even think about playing it. While they're completely correct that it's easier to make money...it's a game with such high variance that you can say goodbye to 10 buy ins very quickly if you don't know what you're doing.

Never pay more than 10% rake for any tournament or SnG. Never pay more than 5% rake in any cash game.

Here's my list of qualities possessed by a winning poker player.

1 - Natural raw intelligence. This pretty much goes without saying, every decision in poker boils down to being a math decision and every chip you put into the pot is a quantative investment based on presumed hand equity. If you can't grasp this then poker aint for you.

2 - Math OCD. you have to play literally thousands and thousands of hands before you become competant, let alone a winning player. Then off the table homework consists of relentless number crunching. For example what's your equity in 4bet shoving QQ from the small blind v's a 3bet from an aggressive player on the button.

3 - Even temperament. If you let emotions guide you then again, poker aint for you because anger will lose you money quicker than a divorce without pre-nup.

4 - Free time. The best players in the world play at least 50 hours a week. You wont catch them up playing 49 or less...

5 - Healthy lifestyle. You need a healthy mind to play good poker and eating crappy food, partying all night or having no friends will drain you.

6 - Understanding your mind state. This goes hand in hand with number 3. If you've just split up with your long term girlfriend then it's highly unlikely that you're going to be bringing your A-game to any table.

7 - Money management. You need AT LEAST 20 buy ins for any cash game or SnG. Then anything up to 100 buy ins for high variance games like mid-stakes Omaha or higher, or large field tournaments. Can you resist chasing your losses at a higher stake to win back money you've just lost?

"Damn I'm 2 buy ins down, if I can double up at a higher stake I'll win all that money back..."

There's other stuff that I'm probably missing out but meh, I think you get the idea of how difficult it is to make any sort of living from playing cards.

EDIT, 8 - There's one more thing I forgot.......................... .....









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Patience..............


You've been dealt 83 off suit all day. Suddenly 84 suited looks pretty.

thank you for the advice. i will bear this in mind.

(Original post by Henwin)
In my opinion the best thing for it is practice.

In the last couple of days I've been playing $5 Tallin games on bet365. 10 players, prizes for the first 3 places.

I know how to play but I'm no expert, yesterday and today I've managed to make £25.

Even in the game I lost, it only cost about £3.50 to enter so it wasn't too much trauma.

I'd suggest starting there to be honest - if you just lie low and only play premium hands to begin with, you'll very easily end up in the last 4 and be in a good chance of at the very least getting your money back.

As far as I'm aware, many sites have the Tallin games - I've seen it on bet365, betfred and genting after being introduced to it by my dad (who does supplement his income with a tidy £1000 minimum each month through online poker!) as a starting point.

well done on your winnings! how much does your dad play and how much did he practice and study the game to be winning that much each month?

(Original post by Tycho)
Don't be lured into the illusion that everyone is making money from it or that it'll be easy. Most people lose money. This is not a disadvantage for you though, because clearly people need to lose money for you to make money - you just need to be better than them at it.

Don't risk what you can't afford to lose. You will lose lots of money before you start winning much, so don't let that destroy you financially before you are on your feet.

Be ultra patient. I always find that when I play Poker I win much more than I lose if I have tons of time to be patient and concentrate. When I rush I lose loads.

Never start a new game immediately after a heavy loss. Your mind will be thinking of trying to make back what you lost, and not where it should be - on the cards.

Good luck.

thank you for the advice.

[A123W]

Best place to start out imo, www.pokerstrategy.com (good forums, strategy advice etc.)

When you pass the quiz they will offer you a choice of poker rooms to sign up, and it's up to you to decide which one you take and they will give you a $50 starting capital. Make sure that you haven't already signed up to that particular poker room though. There will be restrictions on which limits you will be able to play but that is part of the learning process of bankroll management.

888Poker is a good poker room, the traffic isn't that great but players are not as good apparently. I am not much of a hold'em player so I don't know if it's true or not (omaha hi/lo players are pretty bad there). And they give you $8 for signing up so you can try it out for real money to see whether you like it or not.

Good luck

[TheDefiniteArticle]

(Original post by ste_mc_efc)
there are other considerations too.

For example if you won a freeroll satellite to a big tournament, which you would never play off your own bankroll and you're on the bubble and the mincash is a significant amount of money.

That still loses significant EV. You bringing up the bubble did remind me though of another scenario - you're a dominating stack on the bubble which allows you to freely steal (almost) blinds from others, it folds to you in the SB with AA and the BB is the only really massive shorty at the table. You want to keep the bubble effect running so you fold your AA.

[ste_mc_efc]

(Original post by TheDefiniteArticle)
That still loses significant EV. You bringing up the bubble did remind me though of another scenario - you're a dominating stack on the bubble which allows you to freely steal (almost) blinds from others, it folds to you in the SB with AA and the BB is the only really massive shorty at the table. You want to keep the bubble effect running so you fold your AA.

yeh, but there are other considerations than simple ev, bet it chip or dollar. which was my point

[TheDefiniteArticle]

(Original post by ste_mc_efc)
yeh, but there are other considerations than simple ev, bet it chip or dollar. which was my point

Eh, I suppose that if the money were going to bring you a significant improvement to your life that you wouldn't otherwise have, you might have a point, but as there is no chance of a loss in this situation, I don't think any other sub-scenario really exists.

[TheDefiniteArticle]

(Original post by A123W)
Best place to start out imo, www.pokerstrategy.com (good forums, strategy advice etc.)

When you pass the quiz they will offer you a choice of poker rooms to sign up, and it's up to you to decide which one you take and they will give you a $50 starting capital. Make sure that you haven't already signed up to that particular poker room though. There will be restrictions on which limits you will be able to play but that is part of the learning process of bankroll management.

888Poker is a good poker room, the traffic isn't that great but players are not as good apparently. I am not much of a hold'em player so I don't know if it's true or not (omaha hi/lo players are pretty bad there). And they give you $8 for signing up so you can try it out for real money to see whether you like it or not.

Good luck

Confirm, 888 players are horrid.

O8 players are pretty bad across the shop to be fair.

[TheDefiniteArticle]

Also, only play limit if you have very strong mathematical ability and have a desire to scratch your own eyes out in frustration (the first part of that is actually advice).

Don't play tournaments to start off with. The low buy-in ones have REALLY soft fields but for a field of ~300 players you still need to be getting 1sts, 2nds and 3rds frequently to make a decent sum. Variance is horrid too.

[Henwin]

(Original post by Movember)
well done on your winnings! how much does your dad play and how much did he practice and study the game to be winning that much each month?

Thank you! I lost the knack today, only played 3 games and didn't place in any of them but I've still only lost £10 and it was good practice - I've withdrawn £30 too, so I'm definitely up. Like I said, the 10 person $5 games are a great place to start!

I couldn't say how much he studied as I don't think he ever read any books or anything. He's learnt through playing and watching tournaments on tv, over many years.

He plays biiiig games though, like these tournaments last all night and the stakes are high. To win big amounts he's risking hefty entry fees too, although he mostly wins seats into the really big games by playing for the entry rather than prize money.

[JessicaUk]

(Original post by Henwin)
Thank you! I lost the knack today, only played 3 games and didn't place in any of them but I've still only lost £10 and it was good practice - I've withdrawn £30 too, so I'm definitely up. Like I said, the 10 person $5 games are a great place to start!

I couldn't say how much he studied as I don't think he ever read any books or anything. He's learnt through playing and watching tournaments on tv, over many years.

He plays biiiig games though, like these tournaments last all night and the stakes are high. To win big amounts he's risking hefty entry fees too, although he mostly wins seats into the really big games by playing for the entry rather than prize money.

I have always wanted to learn how to play poker correctly, and not just accept the rules which the guys explain to me...always resulting in me losing. (Not money though, lol!!) xxx

[owen1994]

Just need to finish these final exams before I can start making some consistent earnings through poker SnGs / cash games. What do people think about tournaments at casinos? I think the only good ones are the freezeouts. Rebuys and addons are so **** because it means that you have to spend more usually otherwise you will be left very short in relation to everyone else. The fact that they can rebuy also makes them more willing to play marginal hands. Although, this in the long run is good as your getting called by worse most of the time, it still sucks so much when you lose to a marginal hand, or you go all in with a strong hand and 3-4 other people call with **** hands and obvs gets lucky.

[ste_mc_efc]

No point playing regular tournament in casinos if you're at the stage of being a winning player. maybe if they did a weekly/monthly bigger game with decent guarantees it would be worth it

They are generally too small a buy in and too poorly structured to have a decent hourly rate in, plus you can only play 1 a day so downswings can last a very long time. Play online where you can play multiple tournaments at once.

Rebuy tournaments create bigger prize pools, so i'd be more inclined to play them than freeze-outs.

Live cash in casinos is really juicy though and definitely worth it.

[Stevo112]

(Original post by ste_mc_efc)
No point playing regular tournament in casinos if you're at the stage of being a winning player. maybe if they did a weekly/monthly bigger game with decent guarantees it would be worth it

They are generally too small a buy in and too poorly structured to have a decent hourly rate in, plus you can only play 1 a day so downswings can last a very long time. Play online where you can play multiple tournaments at once.

Rebuy tournaments create bigger prize pools, so i'd be more inclined to play them than freeze-outs.

Live cash in casinos is really juicy though and definitely worth it.

I think this guy is semi right...

I kept track of low expense tournament poker and ran at around £8 an hour over a decent sample size. I'm an absolute crusher in my local casino though. I know 75% of the opponents and I know precisely how to beat them. We are talking K2o floating on the button, trips folding etc. Pretty epic style i've got there. I doubt many others maintain that sort of profit rate.

My personal problem is the roulette/blackjack. If they didn't exist in casinos then I would recommend people to take to learning how to beat them. There is a lot of money in tournament poker. Granted your not going to earn megabucks but if you ween into cash from your tournament winnings you can really boost your profitability. As this guy has said, the cash tables are freaking juicy as ****.

Oh and one tip, NEVER EVER sit on a game called "8 card omaha deuces wild river of blood". I won a student loan off that game, back in the day

[owen1994]

Never entered a cash game at my local casino. Simply don't have the bankroll to, the blinds are only £1/£1 but people buy in for 300BB. What I have noticed though at casino tournaments is that people are very very loose and they limp a hell of the lot of the time. They are also really fit or fold which you can exploit through early out of position flop raises.

[py0alb]

Read some books, make notes, formulate a strategy of your own, write it down. Find a poker site to test it.

There used to be a really good one where people played for prestige rather than money by trying to win 12 player tournaments; that tended to see a lot better poker than stupid 50p sit and go tables. You had to earn your way into the better tournaments by winning the smaller ones. Once you can win decent standard tournaments, start playing for money.

Playing multiple tournaments is only a good idea if you're up against noobs and just playing the percentages, and to be honest you're not going to make much money doing that, there are plenty of people out there who just hook up a programme to make the decisions for them and they will always beat you in the long run.

Decent players will also take you to the cleaners every time because you're not concentrating properly. They will immediately spot that you're a percentage player and adjust accordingly. How are you meant to accurately profile your opponents if you're not even bothering watching what they're doing?

So basically, you've got two options. Buy a software program that plays multiple sit n go's for you, and pull in the percentages, or learn to play properly, which means playing tournaments against good players, one game at a time, concentrating properly and making notes on every player's tendencies.

[RobertWhite]

(Original post by Movember)
i'm interested in playing online poker for real money. i knew several people in the past (dont keep in touch with them any longer) who were good at poker and were earning nice 3 figure sums each week so i'd love to get to that stage. i know the rules of the game but other than that i dont know where to start.

i have read that the Harrington on Hold 'em books are a good place to start. i dont want to be forking out too much money for loads of books so i wanted some feedback on a good place to start. i heard that the 2+2 and flopturnriver forums are good but i dont understand most of the terminolgy they were using. even the beginner guides i dont understand.

where should i start?

Professionals scout these sites for people like you who who are inexperienced. I would strongly suggest playing many fake money games online first. When you do get to real money play with really small amounts to get used to the different play style. The professionals know how to win, be careful - I've seen them play in many games for real money and they play seriously and fearlessly.

[Bear_Grylls]

Pokerstrategy is good for you, or yourpokercash, theyll give you some money to join a site and get u playing, to become a profitable player over the long term will take years, dont expect things to happen straight away, yeah sure youll have a good week or two where you run well and think you cracked, then your your aces lose 4-5 all ins in a row, and you start to tilt and blow your bankroll in a night, yep it can happen, then you realise whats poker is about

[arichmond64]

Play sit and gos first, like $3-5 ones. This I'll learn you the basics, and when you become a winning player in these you can move to cash, which is kind of a whole new game in itself.

Cash is where the real players are, and where the solid money is earned, but it's where it's lost too.

There is a lot of natural ability involved, people who are impatient, volatile and illogical will never be successful. Then again, not many people will admit to having these traits.