Seeking advice in learning Hold'em

[livecards]

Hello all,

I've been lurking for two months and obviously this is my first post. I've been playing online for about 3 months (play $). Based on book reviews and this forum my first read was The Theory of Poker and continue to review and study it. I just received Hold'em Poker and Hold'em Poker For Advanced Players and looking forward to them both. I will then read Hold'Em Theory and Practice, Small Stakes Hold'em, and the Mathematics of Poker.

I envision playing small stakes limit and NL tournaments at the Hard Rock Casino here in Tampa, FL.

I'm seeking advice on my development as a player. I know it is a vague request but I hope the experienced 2+2ers might guide me. I find the play online to be very bizarre and it's difficult to judge my development because of the maniacs in play $ games. Any suggestions or comments would be greatly appreciated and I look forward to reading the insightful posts in this great forum.

Thanks,

Kevin

[1tripz1]

First thing you need to do is get of the play $! Open a real money account and play the smallest stakes to begin with, this definitly has to be your first learning curve.

The theory of poker is quite an advanced read so id suggest something abit more learner based like Poker: the Real Deal by Phil Gordon, a great introductory read.

Lastly, watch as much poker as you can on telly. This is an amazing way to learn especially when a pro is commentating, its like an live instructional video! see what the different pros do in different situations and try and apply them to situations you are in.

finally, practise practise practise. set up some home games, play the micro stakes online, and get your head down!

[Elandriel]

Yeah, get off the play$ first.

[livecards]

Thanks 1TRIPZ1,

I will open an account on Full Tilt and begin at the micros.

I thought starting with TOP would give me some insight into basic theory. I assumed that would be a good foundation. My next read, just started reading it, will be Hold'em Poker by Sklansky.

I watch about 70% of what is TV. It seems that watching it on TV in its abbreviated form can lead to a loose, aggressive style b/c people don't see all the pre-flop folding, blind stealing, and uneventful hands. I watch it in that context so I don't believe it hurts me. It's hard to put the pros play into perspective b/c we didn't see all the hands leading up to the "TV hand."

Unfortunately, I don't know anyone who plays in the Tampa area. I will continue to seek a home game here in Tampa.

I'll continue to practice and learn at the micro level at Full Tilt. Thanks a lot for your advice.

Kevin

[1tripz1]

No problem mate. A series you might be interested in if you haven't already seen it is 'high stakes poker' which is a a days cash game split into several shows, which means you get to see alot more of the plays you want to see. Both seasons have top pros playing and its the only cash game on telly.

[livecards]

I've seen a couple of repeats of last season. I looked forward to the new season.

The main reason of this post is to bump it up in order for the people who had to work will see it and hopefully respond. I won't be obnoxious about it but I will bump it a few times tonight.

Kevin

[Johnny McEldoo]

I think you are already on the right track. Just a small bit of reading/studying should make you a winning player at the low stake games in a very short time.

Some other advice:

1 - Learn proper bankroll management. Most people end up going busto at the beginning because of playing outside of their bankroll. Stay on the lower limits until you are properly rolled to move up. If you can't make the money at the lower levels to do this, then stay there. It's easy to run good and grow a big ego. This game can humble you no matter how good of a player you are so don't be one of the many good players who go broke because of poor money management. "professional poker" is a very good light easy read and contains a chapter on this subject. there is also a lot of good info right here on the boards

2 - keep good accurate records. invest in Poker Tracker or, at a minimmun, keep a simple spreadsheet of your daily win/loss. personally i thought this was unnecessary at first but it really is very important. it's not much of a burden to keep up with especially if you are playing online and sitting at a computer.

3 - playing poker is a very emotionally challenging thing to do for money over a long period of time. try to keep a level head both when you win big and when you lose big. having a losing day does not mean you played poorly and having a big winning day doesn't mean you played great. it's easy to feel that way though. i've been playing for over 5 years and still have to keep myself from getting too cocky after a big win or too discouraged after a big loss. this is really hard for beginning players because it is very easy to think you made the correct play because you won the pot or think you messed up when you lost a pot. always try to find ways to improve but don't get too near sighted into the results of a specific pot.

4 - be sure to continue to allocate some time to review your play and study. playing is the fun part and important to learning the game but you cannot become a sucessful just by playing. try to make goals of X amount of hours studying, X amount of hours reviewing you hands by yourself or with someone who is a more ecperienced player, and X amount of hours playing.

5 - try not to overdo yourself. when you feel confused or frustrated at the table, take a break from playing or at least switch tables. some of your biggest losses will come from playing when you shouldn't be. if you are tired, depressed, drunk, etc...try to stay away from the tables. you will eventually get to know yourself well enough to know when you should and shouldn't be playing so you can deviate from this advice using your own judgement but when it comes to learning the game, try to do so when you have a clear head and can think and concentrate.

Hope this was at least a little bit helpful...

Good luck to you!

[monkover]

If you wanna watch the high stakes poker seasons that aren´t on tv any more just go to youtube
http://youtube.com/results?search_query=...p;search=Search

enjoy and good luck cheers

[livecards]

Thanks for the tips Johnny

I have a couple of questions regarding your response. Is there a particular book or section of a book that is recommended as it relates to Bankroll Management. I will search the 2+2 forum. I believe I understand it but additional info shouldn't hurt.

I've been thinking about the tracking software. Is Poker Tracker the best. I want to give myself the best opportunity to improve my game and I know this info is going to invaluable.

Is it recommended to review every hand played? I plan on using my online play to improve my game as opposed to an income source, although some extra cash would be nice. My point is that I won't be playing all the time. I will play, review my play, and continue to study many books.

I plan on playing online just to improve enough to move to B&M games. Is my fear of online collusion and artificial intelligence (bots) justified? Even if the bots aren't that good yet, I imagine in a relatively short period of time they will be very good. At the moment, my biggest fear is online collsion. I imagine that it isn't that difficult to pull off without detection.



Thanks for the info Monkover

[Johnny McEldoo]

[ QUOTE ]
Is there a particular book or section of a book that is recommended as it relates to Bankroll Management.

[/ QUOTE ]

A book called "Professional Poker" by Mark Blade is a very good read for anyone who is looking to make money at poker. It doesn't contain game strategy very much but discusses a lot of good misc topics that apply to both online and B&M play. I found it extreemly beneficial and covers many topics including proper money management. I'm sure there are others as well.

P.S. - someone let me know if i'm not supposed to promote a non 2+2 book on these forums [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[ QUOTE ]
Is Poker Tracker the best.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think the consensus around here is Poker Tracker or Poker Office is much better than the others out there. I have never used Poker Office but i have used some other programs and Poker Tracker is by far the best I've used personally.

[ QUOTE ]
Is it recommended to review every hand played?

[/ QUOTE ]

Good question. I would say it's probably too time consuming to review every hand that you play. At the same time, it's worth taking some time to think about some of the hands you play with more time than you have when you are forced to make a quick desision at the table.

Someone may be able to give you some better advice than me on this one but I think you have a couple of ways to go about this.

1 - Take a random sample of 100-200 hands from your play and go over them. Maybe do this once a week or so or after a few thousand hands.

2 - make a note of those particular hands that had you confused at the table and go back to them. Once you start reading more and more, you will be introduced to concepts that you may not fully understand how to apply at first or not sure you applied it correctly. For example, you may not be able to instantly decide if you have the correct pot odds to make a call at first when sitting at the table. You can make a note of the hand and go back to it later and look at it in more detail.

If you get stuck or can't find the right answer, you can post it here and get some help.

I think the important thing is to keep the mindset that it's just as important to spend some time away from the table learning the game as it is to actually play. It will take some time, but try to find the right balance here that works for you. 2+2 is a good example. Look at the high stakes forum and you will see lots of discussions going on even at the high levels. You will probably never reach a point in your poker career where you know everything. I've known a lot of intelligent people who never became sucessful players because all they really wanted to do was "play" and they never wanted to spend time reading & studying the game.

[ QUOTE ]
Is my fear of online collusion and artificial intelligence (bots) justified?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure I'm qualified to answer this. I guess it's a yes and no answer. I'm sure this does exist to some degree but it shouldn't prevent you from becoming a winning player. Especially at small stakes i don't think it's a big worry if you are playing on a reputable site. A lot of times, colluding players don't really make them a better player anyway. 1 colluding dumb player + 1 colluding dumb player = 2 dumb players [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Most sites have many tracking mechanisms to prevent this from being too much of a problem IMO. I have never spent much time worrying about this and have been able to become a sucessful player for some time now.

B&M also has many drawbacks compared to online play such as a higher rake structure and manually dealing cards which slows the game down a lot. so there are pro's and con's to both types of play.