Application of SSHE material

[NECKBONE]

I recently read SSHE, and understand most of the material. The only thing is, when playing online I sometimes have a hard time applying everything I have learned. Should I be trying to apply one or two principles at a time, and if so, which ones?

Also, I have only recently started playing. I really want to learn to play limit before no-limit, because it seems that limit will give me a better fundamental understanding of the game. However, there is a greater number of no-limit games online. Is limit the way to go when starting out?

Any responses are greatly appreciated. As you can tell, I am about as green as a beginner can be.

[Mr. Sask]

Hi there!

I'm about as green as you too! The impression that I get from most people is to start with limit and work with it for awhile. Continue to read "Small Stakes" over and over again while playing (not literally of course). If "Small Stakes" is difficult to comprehent, Get Ed Miller's "Getting Started In Hold'em" and read it thoroughly, then go back to "Small Stakes".

I think that we both need to really get in thousands of hands in limit and gradually move up in the limits before no-limit can be attempted. Then again, I'm barely a novice yet!

Later...

[IndyFish]

I'm far from an expert, but I would recommend playing micro limits to start with. Pokerstars (for one) has .02/.04 and .05/.10 limits. They also offer the lowest deposit I've seen, which is $25. It's a great place to get started without risking a fortune. Also, with limit (as opposed to no limit) I find it much easier to calculate your odds. You don't have people betting wierd amounts, so the math is alot easier.

As far as which principles to focus on, I'd suggest starting with the ones that will save the most money:
1. Follow the pre-flop guide for starting hand selection.
2. Don't cold-call raises with marginal hands.
3. Don't fold good (but not great) hands on the river in a big pot.
I've been trying to apply the rest as I read the book and see the situations in the game.
Like I said, I'm certainly no expert, but I hope this helps.
Good luck! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[odyssey]

Hello, and welcome to the form.

The advice you have already been given is very good. You will find that as you play more the concepts you have read in SSHE will begin to become clearer to you. Keep reading, start playing at the lower limits, and practices...practices...practices. This form and the players on here have help me more than anything. Good luck! [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[Tony_P]

[ QUOTE ]
I recently read SSHE, and understand most of the material. The only thing is, when playing online I sometimes have a hard time applying everything I have learned. Should I be trying to apply one or two principles at a time, and if so, which ones?

Also, I have only recently started playing. I really want to learn to play limit before no-limit, because it seems that limit will give me a better fundamental understanding of the game. However, there is a greater number of no-limit games online. Is limit the way to go when starting out?

Any responses are greatly appreciated. As you can tell, I am about as green as a beginner can be.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hi Welcome to the forum.

I highly recommend learning limit first, as limit play emphasizes the mathamatical concepts of poker.

Here are my tips:

Play only one table at a time at stakes you feel comfortable with. Not everyone needs to start at .02/.04., but to start out .5/1 or 1/2 is the highest you should go. Common wisdom on here is that your bankroll should be 300-500 Big Bets (for limit play). But if you are playing to learn and are willing to replenish if you bust, you can just buy into a site with 50-100 BBs to keep you going for a while.

Focus on pre-flop play first. Keep SSHE pf charts with you and use them until you become comfortable with preflop selection. Post and read hands in the Micro Limit & Small Stakes Limit forums.

[Splossy]

I'm only a beginner myself but what I'm finding useful is using Poker Academy. OK it's not real people but it plays a pretty decent limit game as far as I can tell.

There are no time limits so you take as long as you like to look up some theory and then put it into practice.

I found the 20 second limit on online play to be too short for me to calculate pot odds and hand odds etc so I was getting a fuzzy head and just playing by instinct. Having spent some time with the software I can now do it all a lot faster.

[donkeyradish]

Yes certainly

If the only thing you applied perfectly was the pre-flop advice, that alone puts you in strong shape against below average players.

The key is to be selective about who you play against. Find players who play bad.

[bjarne]

Play, read SSHE, play, read SSHE, play,....

I've been playing limit for about 14 months by now. And everytime I reread SSHE
I realize that I didn't understand fully the concepts I thought I understood or
that I'm applying them incorrectly.

Don't be afraid to try and apply the concepts. Just be careful and watch out for
FPS (Fancy Play Syndrome). Most hands should still be played in a very straightforward manner.

I usually focus on the concepts in one section at a time. For instance
right now I'm focusing mainly on my river play and learning to optimize my value betting. Trying to polish my skills on all streets at the same time just causes me to mess up.

Another good thing to do is to replay the session afterwards in PT and go through your played hands slowly, street by street while looking up things in SSHE when you are uncertain of whether you played it right or not.

[ottsville]

Great to see another new player here!

Unless you are some kind of super genious, you will have trouble applying everything in the book. I've read it five times now and learn something more every time through. Think of it as learning to do surgery...you're not going to just jump right in and cut out a tumor, first your going to learn anatomy, then your going to learn how to hold a scalpel, then you going to learn where to cut, then what to cut....before you know it you're cutting up someone's bankroll.

Although SSHE is an easy read, the theories in it are deeply rooted and not evident on the first read through(or even after multiple read throughs). Slowly apply what you read....study, play, review, study, play, review.....Your game will get better and when you read through you'll have these "aha!" moments wher you say, "NOW I understand that..."

Two things I would reccomend: The first is not to worry too much about learning the starting hand chart; instead of focusing on learning the starting hands, focus on developing your post flop play. . Print out a hand chart(several members here have nifty ones they've made -search the archives or check the FAQ here) and just refer to it while your playing. You will learn it through play. Also print out an outs/odds chart like is in the book(work on memorizing these).

Something else that may help is to study/learn with someone. You've got a good forum here for your questions/thoughts, but I noticed that several newer players have responded to your thread. Why not see if several people want to get together(Im or chat) and discuss basic poker theory? We're currently doing an online study of "Psychology of Poker" and I know that discussing the book with people has helped me to understand and to reinforce some of the points in the book. Perhaps that would help you and the other new players and even some more experienced players.

The limit/no-limit discussion has been hashed out here many times. There are plenty of limit games on-line and at a huge range of limits. IMHO, learning limit will give you a good foundation and you can decide where to go from there. There's lots of money to be won either way.

[phydaux]

I just finished my 3rd read of SSH and am on my second read of TOP.

My last time through SSH, I found something on almost every page that I just KNOW wasn't in the book the last time I read it.

Now, how I managed to highlight something I've never read before, that's something I struggle with...