Efficient first steps for a long journey

[BigBadBabar]

okay well i completely disagree with previous posters. why not play on sites with bonuses to give you free money while you learn? it doesn't commit you to clearing them in insanely short periods (at least stars doesn't). pokertracker and poker ace hud are the only needed pay programs. pokerstove and pokergrapher are free. it doesn't take a lot of research to look up the terms of a bonus and decide if it works for you.

[bozlax]

Fellas, he said he's a U.S.-based player. That severely limits the number of sites he's ABLE to be on these days (UB, FT, and PS, no?), so talking about serious bonus-whoring is moot.

[BigBadBabar]

absolute, prima multiple skins, cake, multiple cake skins, vegas247 (abs skin), bodog i think, wpex

it's feasible, trust me. besides, even the big three that you mentioned all have great signup bonuses - ub and ft clear in increments and i don't think stars's ever expires

[Bona]

Well I am US and also play on a pre-Frist funded account at Bodog (I don't know about funding it post Frist though) although I hate their software and don't play there very often.

I did see other posters talking about bonus but can he get RB on these sites?
I joined without RB and therefore can't redress that but can he get it on any of them?

[BigBadBabar]

ft has bonus and rb
ub has bonus and rb
stars has bonus
cake and skins have bonus and rb
absolute and skins have both
prima skins have both

[train.]

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i don't think stars's ever expires

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stars does expire now, i think 6 mos

[BigBadBabar]

ah ok ty

[TomTom]

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1. how many poker sites should i join(U.S.)? right now, i'm just on full tilt because it is shiny and pretty.

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One; more then that and you’ll get confused. Play one site, get to know it like the inside of your mouth, then when you don’t have to ask maybe add more. I play Stars, like it a lot, but havn’t played other sites except Party (back in the day)

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2. I know pokertracker is a must, and i don't have it yet. Should i get the other stuff that enhances it? like the hub stuff?

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I waited until I broke even to buy PT, personal choice which probably delayed that event, but when I started using it I had a statistically relevant number of hands to analyze.

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3. I know a large number of sample hands is required, but how many should i have before posting questions about my stats?

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Ummm… don’t post stats. Post hands. Post the hands you think you did the best on and get chewed up for betting too much. Post the hands you think you did the worst on and get chewed up for not betting enough.

Grunch other people’s hands and see how your answers compare.

Post thinking.

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4. While getting hands into pokertracker to prepare for my first review, should I multi table? or just play one table while intently focusing on all of the seemingly insignificant tendencies that may pan out into exploitable weaknesses.

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The fewer the tables the more you can concentrate on each, but the fewer the tables increases the bordom factor waiting for playable hands to come. Two tables is my sweet spot, or just one if working while I play.

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5. What about cardrunner? is it useful?

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The premium domain "cardrunner.com" is now available for sale for $6000 at BuyDomains.com. Oither then that I have no idea what cardrunner is. But 2p2 can and probably should be your best reference.

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6. Anything else that i might be forgetting? like some program that everyone has that i might not have heard of.

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Post your hands.
If your winrate is negative, drop down a level.
Bluffing at microlimits is a leak.
Remember in multiway pots suited hands play best.

[Oink]

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5. What about cardrunner? is it useful?


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If you want to spend money on a site that offers coaching videos you should choose Deucescracked instead of cardrunners.

There are some seriously good "road to robusto" vids on Deuces Cracked by well known and highly respected 2p2 poster "Entity".

The value of a DC membership by far exceeds the value of PT for a beginner IMO.

[detruncate]

Hi MineForTheTaking.

Welcome to the forum. Whether or not you buy PT soon, save your hand historiesso you can import them later. You'll thank yourself.

You might also try the free Holdem Manager beta for now. I'm not endorsing the product... I've been a PT user for a long time and have barely looked at HM... but free is free and it seems to have some interesting features. But given that it'll switch to pay for play at some point make sure you keep a backup of your HHs.

Speaking of free... is gametime+ still functional? It's a free HUD that used to be used pretty widely. I used it for a long time before Poker Ace came onto the scene. Might be worth a shot if you're in the market and playing at a mainstream site.

As others have said, make sure you don't sign up at sites without looking into rakeback deals and how difficult the sign-up bonuses are to clear at your current limit. Bonus Whores is a good place to get info on bonuses. Though I might wait a little while until you're more comfortable with things.

Best of luck and happy pokering.