13 replies to this topic

[josh0k]

Hey Fourm,This is my first post and to be honest i don't even know if I'm doing anything right so cut me a little slack :)Anyway, today I made my first deposit of a minimum 25$ and started playing online poker.I write about it in more detail in my newly started blogI hope you take a look!Background information about me and a brief introduction:I'm an 18 year old college student.I got interested in poker 2 years ago via videos of WSOP, High Stakes Poker, and other poker videos on youtube.I found FCP through Daniel's youtube channel and just recently I've really started getting into poker.For about half a year, I played play money games on PokerStars. 320 sit-and-gos, 5-10 NL hold'em, and just messing around.Now I decided that it's time I play with some real money ($0.02/0.04 NL haha) and I finally took the big step.I want to get involved in a poker comunity so that I can get better, not only by playing poker everyday, but by also talking to people who play poker and know it better than me.To kick it off,I'd love to hear some constructive criticismAdvice on how to start playing poker consistantlyAdvice for a newbieAre there any good articles/books/videos that people recomend for starters?Thanks for the help,Josh K

[Jam-Fly]

you seem to be on the right track and approaching things in the right way which is a good start. At the start, don't be worried about making a profit etc. try to improve your play and learn the game. Don't play too many tables at once, just focus on thinking through every single decision and build a thought process for why you are doing certain things. Split your time into play and study. Nothing improves your game more than play, but study is important too, even more so when you're starting out. Very rough guide, I would recommend a minimum of 30% study and 70% play. Some people recommend 50-50 when starting out, but I think 30% should be minimum. This changes as you get better (in favour of more play). I don't know exactly what stage you are at or how much you know, but some stuff to focus on when starting out:- Fundamentals. Poker is an ever-changing game but fundamentals never change - an underpair will always be ~18% to beat an overpair pre-flop. Stuff like Phil Gordon's LGB is great to give you good grasp of the fundamentals of the game (I haven't opened the book in a few years, but I'm pretty sure most of that is still applicable now - which cannot be said for a lot of books). - Go on to forums like twoplustwo and read hand histories from games you play in and see what the advice is like. FCP has a strat forum that is worth checking out, but it's definitely not what it used to be. Read 2+2 and you'll get some good information about the correct choices to make in some tough situations. Obviously do not take anything as gospel, some answers are totally wrong, but reading hand histories and hearing peoples thought processes will get on you the right track of what you should be thinking. Obviously hand histories from the games you play (which is low stakes NL cash by the sounds of things) are more relevant than games you don't play.- If you want, create an account and contribute. Either contribute in other peoples threads or even post hands of your own for analysis. I'd encourage to post the hand the FCP strat section and 2+2 strat (the more activity in this place the better!...but there's no doubt you will get more answers at 2+2).- I wouldn't worry about HEM or PT (tracking software in case you didn't know) just yet. They're basically too expensive for low stakes players. Just play fewer tables and focus on the games you're playing. Once you improve and grow your bankroll, you can look into getting some software.- Download pokerstove (it's free) and play around with it. Part of your training for learning the fundamentals should include learning about 'ranges' and 'G-bucks' and the like. Once you understand what all this means, play around with pokerstove, it will give you a good sense of the percentages (before you even start with ranges, just playing around with it to see the percentages of stuff like 56s v AKo pf, or 67o vs KJ on a 45J flop etc. is a good idea).

[FCP Bob]

You should check out this thread in NL Cash Strathttp://www.fullconta...topic=140799=The regulars in it are a helpful group who have a lot of experience in the micros and in trying to move up.

[Jam-Fly]

FCP Bob, on 01 June 2012 - 12:34 PM, said:

You should check out this thread in NL Cash Strathttp://www.fullconta...topic=140799=The regulars in it are a helpful group who have a lot of experience in the micros and in trying to move up.

+1 to that

[josh0k]

Hey thanks so much guys,Thanks Jam-Fly, It's really awesome to have people giving me the right direction to go rather than aimlessly wandering around haha.I'll definitely take a look at the book/articles and have a good readI'll also try to contribute here and there to help other beginners grow with meI'm excited to be part of this communityI've got a lot to learn!

[DiamondDixie]

I highly recommend reading Kill Everyone if you're into multi-table tournaments. I'm not a cash game player, at least not unless I'm playing live or I'm burned out on MTT variance, so I can only really speak about tournaments.Join a training site, of course I recommend PokerVT, Daniel's site. It's best to start off right instead of developing a lot of bad habits you'll have to spend time breaking.As for books, Kill Everyone really covers so many of the tournament fundamentals and the Math and it goes into very good details on all the aspects of tournament play. So it's a great book to start out with, the latest edition has updated comments from Elky so it's very up to date on new strategies.Also whether you play cash games, tournaments or sit n goes read Jared Tendler's The Mental Game of Poker. Your mental game will make all the difference in whether you become a winning player or not and this is one of the best books out for improving that aspect of your game.As mentioned before, posting hands and discussing strategy on forums and with other players is a very good way to quickly improve your game. I think if I had to say what has helped me the most it's definitely the help I've received from associations on forums like this one and the one on PokerVT. As a off shoot of that talking about hands and such with the friends I've made through these forums has also been just as instrumental in my growth as a a player as forum participation.Good luck, you'll need it! Poker is a tough game and it will try your patience to the core. There will be times when you'll wish you'd never played the first hand of poker and other times you'll think it's the most wonderful game ever.

[Fluffdog87]

Read Daniel Holdem book and learn small ball. Practice a lot online and with friends at home games that are friendly low stakes. Study a lot and be willing to change most importantly! Gl!

[KingJames]

Oh yeah, lot's of good advice itt. glgl

FCP Bob, on 01 June 2012 - 12:34 PM, said:

You should check out this thread in NL Cash Strathttp://www.fullconta...topic=140799=The regulars in it are a helpful group who have a lot of experience in the micros and in trying to move up.

def this. Hi!

[rcgs59]

welcome to the forum, definitely join pokerVT , as well reading Daniels books and a few others. PokerMind Set is good, and the bibles of poker, Harringtons and doyles books

[josh0k]

Thanks again everybody that's been helping me out!Is there a Beginners' question thread anywhere here?I have some questions that (I think) are novice and rather than creating multiple threads for simple questions and answers, I was wondering if there was a thread where people answer these type of questions?I was wondering what the difference between Cash games that say stuff like "6-max, turbo, shallow"I understand the "6-max" but what does "Turbo" and "Shallow" mean?Does it effect my game and how?Which one should I play in or does it even make a difference?As I play more I'll have more questions, most of them I can answer by browsing the fourms but sometimes I can't find answers cause they seem too basic -__-Thanks again for all the help, this is truely an awesome community that I'm proud to be a part of

[FCP Bob]

You can always create a thread in General Strategy and ask away.

[KingJames]

josh0k, on 03 June 2012 - 01:40 PM, said:

I was wondering what the difference between Cash games that say stuff like "6-max, turbo, shallow"I understand the "6-max" but what does "Turbo" and "Shallow" mean?Does it effect my game and how?Which one should I play in or does it even make a difference?As I play more I'll have more questions, most of them I can answer by browsing the fourms but sometimes I can't find answers cause they seem too basic -__-Thanks again for all the help, this is truely an awesome community that I'm proud to be a part of

In cash games, turbo just means that you have less time to act before the software will activate your time bank or auto fold your hand (if you have no time back left or no time bank on that site)In tournaments, a turbo means the blinds are raised more often (shorter levels) to have the tournament or sit-n-go end faster.Shallow means that the maximum buy-in for the game is 50x the big blind. In most online no limit and pot limit games the maximum buy-in is 100x the big blind. The minimum is generally between 20 and 30 big blinds. Some sites (PS for instance) has deep tables where you can buy in for 250 big blinds. On the deep tables, the minimum is often 50 big blinds as players who like to play deep often despise short stacked players.And yes, the buy-in amount of a cash game severely affects your strategy. Too much to go into much detail, but in a short or shallow game, big cards and pairs are your go to hands. In deep games, position and post-flop ability are often more important than the hand you hold (sigh, lame poker cliche but still).Post a thread with more questions as bob said. Or keep asking here.glgl

[mrpaddyx]

The one tip i'd give is try to observe good bankroll management. In practice this means don't put too much of your poker money into one cash game or tournament. The general rule of thumb is to never have more than 5% of your bankroll in play at any one time. (A rule btw, i have spectacularly failed to observe in the past). By treating your bankroll with respect it should lessen the chances of going broke.

[josh0k]

Thanks again to everyone, I've been checking everyday and it's nice to see the variety of helpful commentsI took some suggestions and I started a Poker Beginner Questions threadFeel free to go over there and check it out and give us some help!