General ramblings of a poker newbie

[Denman]

I'm not exactly a poker newbie, but a newbie to the concept of poker online. I always thought it would just be full of pro's and very difficult to win any money on. Went around my mates this new year and we where having a few games of texas hold'em and I won easily every time. My mate tells me he plays online and makes roughly £500 a year from doing so playing roughly for a couple of nights each week. He reckoned I could make a lot more if I went online as he assured me I've not played many players as good as you online. Decided to start off on paddypowerpoker, it's the bookie which I had the most money with so decided to transfer £10 to my poker acocunt and give it a go. Since new year I've been on almost every day for at least a game or two, the first week was a bit up and down and I was still around the same £10 (although the balance is shown in $ for some reason). But since the beginning of this week I've just suddenley had a few biggish wins, won a tournament of 30 with a $1 buy-in and came third in a tournament of 100. Moved upto the $5 sit and go tournament now and I think I've been in the money each time. I'm upto over £60 now, which even suprised myself. But I was mostly suprised at, how can I but this in a nice way, how shocking some of the players are. Some very, very loose players who seem to want to play ever hand and call every bet. I've moved up the tournament tables and even at higher stakes I find the general level of play isn't too great and a lot of players are very predicatable and easy to read once you've been at a table for a while. One thing I haven't quite cracked is the cash tables, don't like the big swings in it you can be doing great one minute and the next it's all gone. Much prefer tournaments were you know your potential liability beforehand and can just play your normal game. Any advice on cash tables would be greatly appreciated. Likewise I know there's a great benefit to be had from being able to calculate odds in various situations. I'm okay with numbers so I can workout generally when I would be getting value on a call in a certain position but I don't know the excact percentages. I don't know what everyone else uses, do you use some special software that runs alongside your table or do you have be a quick method to calculate it in your head? Finally could anyone suggest a good poker book I could read?

[GaF]

Re: General ramblings of a poker newbie :welcome to the world of online poker :ok For tournaments, I would recommend the Harrington on Holdem Trilogy (definitely the first 2 volumes) - not so new any more, but you need to be aware of a lot of the concepts discussed in the books. For Cash games - I'd say Poker Software is pretty essential for most players - Holdem Manager would be the first choice - you can trial it free for 15 days (i think). Also might be worth checking out some coaching sites - deucescracked give a free weeks trial (you have to pay, but cancel within a week and its a no quibble refund) - all their videos are free of DRM, so you can download their entire catologue in that week if you were so inclined. If you play on Full Tilt, then the poker points you earn will count towards (but not be consumed) on full or partial monthly subscriptions to cardrunners and/or stoxpoker - http://www.trulyfreepokertraining.com/. Also through Full Tilt, there is the Full Tilt Poker Academy, which at a glance looks pretty good to me - it's free once you've played a pretty small number of hands. Good luck :ok

[GaF]

Re: General ramblings of a poker newbie

Likewise I know there's a great benefit to be had from being able to calculate odds in various situations. I'm okay with numbers so I can workout generally when I would be getting value on a call in a certain position but I don't know the excact percentages. I don't know what everyone else uses, do you use some special software that runs alongside your table or do you have be a quick method to calculate it in your head?

Download pokerstove - it's a free download :ok

[GaF]

Re: General ramblings of a poker newbie You can check how good (or bad) your opponents are on various web sites: Sharkscope for STTs OfficialPokerRankings for MTTs PokerTableRatings for Cash

[GaF]

Re: General ramblings of a poker newbie This series may be of interest to you if you want to play online to qualify for a nice high value live game: http://www.punterslounge.com/forum/f84/vip-poker-league-season-2-a-94977/ Some history here: http://www.punterslounge.com/forum/f84/vippokerleague-10-000-live-final-luton-90477/

[Denman]

Re: General ramblings of a poker newbie Thank GaF lots of useful information for me to look through there. :)

[BAM]

Re: General ramblings of a poker newbie

For tournaments, I would recommend the Harrington on Holdem Trilogy (definitely the first 2 volumes) - not so new any more, but you need to be aware of a lot of the concepts discussed in the books. :ok

Do you think these books have any relevance now, as I would not recommend them to a newbie IMO it will lead them up the garden path.

[GaF]

Re: General ramblings of a poker newbie

Do you think these books have any relevance now' date=' as I would not recommend them to a newbie IMO it will lead them up the garden path.[/quote'] I know what you're saying - but I think everyone should be aware of what's in them, if only to be able to use it to get into the head of so many of your opponents. What better reading do you feel there is for a new online player?

[Nade]

Re: General ramblings of a poker newbie Gaf has covered most of it, i can add that the easiest way to work out odds (for dummies like me) is to think how many 'outs' you think you have, how many streets of action are left then times it by 2. So if you have a 4 cards to a flush draw (9 outs) with the turn and river to come you 9x2 for each street = roughly 36% or 2:1 I think the Harrington tournament books are absolutely nailed on essential for everyone even if they're out of date now in possible game situations there's tons of pointers in there that make for great foundations in how to play no limit hold'em. (and gaf do you have to quote these tracking sites at every whim??)

[Denman]

Re: General ramblings of a poker newbie

Gaf has covered most of it, i can add that the easiest way to work out odds (for dummies like me) is to think how many 'outs' you think you have, how many streets of action are left then times it by 2. So if you have a 4 cards to a flush draw (9 outs) with the turn and river to come you 9x2 for each street = roughly 36% or 2:1 I think the Harrington tournament books are absolutely nailed on essential for everyone even if they're out of date now in possible game situations there's tons of pointers in there that make for great foundations in how to play no limit hold'em. (and gaf do you have to quote these tracking sites at every whim??)

Thanks Nade I seem to recall hearing the method above now you mention it. I'm considering buying one of the harrington books but don't know whether it would be to in-depth and difficult to read. Anymore suggestions for books? I plan on purchasing two books, would also like something that covers the cash games as well as tournaments and more up-to-date something which would compliment one of the harrington books preferably.

[averick]

Re: General ramblings of a poker newbie Cash games: Professional No Limit Hold Em by Ed Miller et al Harrington on Cash Vol 1 & 2 Theory of Poker by Sklansky (Shouldn't be your first book, but one of your first few) Little Green/Blue Books by Phil Gordon are also pretty good as he puts across his ideas in a clear and easily understandable manner. It covers a mix of cash games and tournaments in a hand by hand analysis format. For a slightly more advanced read I would recommend No Limit Hold Em, Theory and practice by Miller and Sklansky, but you need to have a decent grasp of the fundamentals first. A few months down the road you will also want to read some books that focus on the metagame aspect but for now it isn't the most important thing. Tournaments: 1. Harrington on Hold'Em 1-3 2. The Poker Tournament Formula 3. Kill Everyone (Shouldn't be your first tourney book as it is slightly more in depth) 4. The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition It would be good to reread the books as you will get new insights that you missed out on during your first read. It also helps you to digest the concepts better. Once you've good a firm grasp of the fundamentals from the books signing up for an online coaching site like DC will keep you up to date on the style of play at today's cash tables/tournaments.

[Denman]

Re: General ramblings of a poker newbie Thanks for your help everyone. I've decided to order The Harrington On Hold'em I and the Phil Gordon's Little Green Book. :)

[averick]

Re: General ramblings of a poker newbie Best of luck mate :ok Haven't read the HOH series but I've been hearing that book 2 is the most useful. You might want to check that out and get it along with book 1 too :)