Texas Hold'Em help

[jbmagic]

Since i got my Texas Holdem Poker set for Xmas, i been very interest in this great game..


any tips for a newbie?

what limit is good to start out, where i can build a bankroll slowly up.

what a great book to get? and best website for great information

i downloaded pokerstars, so i been just watching the real player money play and been playing a little on the play money...

[Ramzavail]

just practice with fake money and try playing with fake money as if it was real money.

ie: going all in on a pair of 2's b/c it doesn't matter anyway, its fake money.

[Subby]

A few things:

1) Stay on the play money tables until you have read and understand Hold 'Em Poker by David Sklansky. That does a great job of grounding you in the basics and really hammers home the importance of position and starting hand values and pot odds (the holy trifecta of solid poker). I would then start applying the concepts you have learned and start playing some micro-limit real money games at Stars.

2) While you are applying what you have learned, pick up and read Matthew Hilger's Internet Texas Hold 'Em. Others might suggest Ed Miller's Small Stakes Hold 'Em here, and while it is a superior book, I think the concepts are fairly advanced for a beginner.

3) Start hanging around the 2+2 forums. Best poker advice on the Internet and its free.

4) Set goals for yourself - don't wallow around at one level too long. Try and move up levels.

5) Once you hit the $1/2 level and your bankroll is $400 or more, start looking for sign-up bonuses at other cardrooms. The Party Poker network, the Cryptologic network and other sites like Absolute and Paradise and Pacific all have sign-up and reload bonuses and many pay monthly bonuses. Don't be married to one site - it doesn't make sense. And don't ever go straight to a site and sign-up like you did at Stars. Or get a friend to refer you. Always sign up through an affiliate like BonusWhores.com or PokerSourceOnline or Pokerlistings.com. The bonuses are much much better.

6) Buy Pokertracker. For $55 it keeps track of every hand you ever play and gives you a ridonkulous amount of analysis and stats on not just you, but your opponents as well.

7) At this point, pick up Miller's Small Stakes Hold 'Em. It will help you put the hurtin' on the ridiculous number of loose games out there.

The key is to have fun. Be a tight and aggressive player and don't post your bad beat stories. Or read any books by Phil Hellmuth.

Of course, if all you want to do is be a gamblin' maniac, that's cool too - just ignore everything prior to this except the have fun part

Good luck!

[AnalBumCover]

Texas Hold'em Poker set, as in poker chips and cards? Well, if you want to get into playing/hosting home tournaments, you can go here:

hxxp://www.homepokertourney.com

It has all the information you need to set up a home poker tournament.

[Northwood_DK]

I like this page better then 2+2.

http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/index.php

If you only want to start with playmoney then play some Sng. After the first rounds you will actually see some "real" poker.

[jbmagic]

thanks so much.. this game is really fun and challenging...

what is slowplaying?

what the difference between micro-limit and play money....it seems like there not much money you can make on micro limit. how is it different than playing with play money? is it the play quality of the players?

what is sign up bonus, reload bonus and pay monthly bonus mean?

as i sign up for poker stars, will it be too late still to get the bonus, when i am ready in the future to play for real there?

what poker sites is great to join beside partypoker, pokerstars? just the ones mention in this thread that you guys recommend?

thanks

[timmynausea]

You could also check out some freerolls. There are tons of free multi-table tournaments where you could win a little cash. They are pretty crazy at times, but better practice than play money once some of the maniacs get eliminated. Also a way to get a little tournament experience for free.
Check out http://www.sweetfreerolls.com for a big schedule of the freerolls.

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

thanks so much.. this game is really fun and challenging...

what is slowplaying?

what the difference between micro-limit and play money....it seems like there not much money you can make on micro limit. how is it different than playing with play money? is it the play quality of the players?

what is sign up bonus, reload bonus and pay monthly bonus mean?

as i sign up for poker stars, will it be too late still to get the bonus, when i am ready in the future to play for real there?

what poker sites is great to join beside partypoker, pokerstars? just the ones mention in this thread that you guys recommend?

thanks

1) Slowplaying is when you make a deceptive action to mask your hand (either by checking or "smooth"calling), in hopes of inducing more money into that pot at some later point in the hand.

2) Play money is totally fake. You can play play money without ever giving the website your CC info (directly or indirectly). Micro-limit uses real money and you will have to deposit some real money in your account to play these games, and the games range from $.01/.02 to $1/$2 (or whatever you want to call "micro"). There is definitely a big distinction between play and micro games - at micro-limits, even the smallest ones ($.01/$.02), the play will be more reasonable than the play-money tables. As you move up in limits, generally the play gets (slowly) progressively "better", as in more-skilled.

3) Sign up bonus is a bonus you'll get on your first deposit with a new username at a site. Reload bonus is limited-time things that sites offer when you deposit more money in your account in a specified time period. Monthly bonus are reload bonuses, except they happen every month.

4) Not sure.

5) Crypto sites are ultra-pimped by Subby... Ultimate Bet is great for play money.

Hope this helps,
~rpi-fan

[Radii]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

what is slowplaying?

Slowplaying means to play a big hand slowly to allow opponents to catch up. For example, you have a pair of 7s in your hand and two 7s hit the flop, giving you quads(four of a kind). You might not bet or raise very hard right away b/c it's unlikely anyone else made a good hand... you would wait until later to hope someone made a full house or flush or something that might pay your quads off.

what the difference between micro-limit and play money....it seems like there not much money you can make on micro limit. how is it different than playing with play money? is it the play quality of the players?

With every level the quality of play gets a little better. I imagine that is true at micro-limit vs play money even. Most players at micro-limits will play very very badly, but it won't be as loose as play money even. You're right of course that you can't make much playing micro-limits, but there are people who didn't have much money at all, put in just a few bucks to play .02/.04 and worked their way up from there and now have hundreds or thousands. It takes a bunch of patience I am sure but if you don't have the money to invest to learn as you go(which can be expensive) it'll teach you very well as you work your way up.

what is sign up bonus, reload bonus and pay monthly bonus mean?

Many sites give you a bonus when you sign up, that's a signup bonus. For example, you deposit $500, and they will give you $100 free after you play a set number of hands. reload bonuses are the same as signup bonuses but qualify for everyone, not just on a first deposit. Monthly bonuses are mainly referring to the Cryptologic sites(I'd look first at InterPoker)... they give you $90 free every month for playing 450 hands... the problem for a new/very low limit player is that they only have $1/$2 as their lowest limit.

as i sign up for poker stars, will it be too late still to get the bonus, when i am ready in the future to play for real there?

PokerStars is one of the few sites that doesn't do singup bonuses... but scan the popup every time you login, occasionaly they do promotion bonuses, usually you can get $120 in bonus money on a $600 deposit or something like that.

what poker sites is great to join beside partypoker, pokerstars? just the ones mention in this thread that you guys recommend?

Pokerstars is nice b/c of the micro limit games. Partypoker is generally considered to have the most "fish" but I would not recommend depositing money there until you have $500 to take advantage of the full deposit bonus(assuming you decide to work your way up and build a bankroll... many people just play low limits w/ little money for fun, which is perfectly fine of coruse... this advice is geared towards someone who wants to work their way up).


As for books, which you mentioned earlier:

Texas Hold 'em by Sklansky
Small Stakes Hold 'em, ed Miller
Holdem Poker for Advanced Players, Sklansky

There are many many others after that but reading those three will give you a great foundation.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by RPI-Fan

5) Crypto sites are ultra-pimped by Subby...

And me If you have the bankroll and the setup(neteller for me) to move money around easily and often, you can get $350-$400/mo every month in bonus money from Crypto sites... that could end at any time as its getting more popular but so far so good.

[AnalBumCover]

Originally Posted by Radii

As for books, which you mentioned earlier:

Texas Hold 'em by Sklansky
Small Stakes Hold 'em, ed Miller
Holdem Poker for Advanced Players, Sklansky

There are many many others after that but reading those three will give you a great foundation.

I'll add here The Theory of Poker by Sklansky

[jbmagic]

thanks

you guys lost me on Crypto sites..

what does that mean?

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

thanks so much.. this game is really fun and challenging...

what is slowplaying?

This is just one of many such sites on the net, not sure if it's good for anything other than this glossary, but that's come in handy for me a couple of times already when I run across a term I don't recognize.
http://www.pokerfaces.net/poker_scho...s_glossary.asp

[Subby]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

what poker sites is great to join beside partypoker, pokerstars? just the ones mention in this thread that you guys recommend?

"Networks" feature a number of sites that use the same software and combine their player bases, but allow for sign up at each individual site. The sites feed players into the same cardrooms, so at a $1/2 table you could have players logged in from several different sites that are on the same network. The advantage is that you develop a familiarity with the software ad the games are usually much softer as you have a larger number of players.

Party Poker Network (IGM)

This is the big one and features Party Poker, Empire Poker, PokerNow, MultiPoker, Coral Eurobet Poker, and InterTops. Each site has at least a $100 sign up bonus if you sign up through an affiliate and many offer another $100 if you link your checking account to their payment network (which is IGMPay). The interface is decent enough and there are a ridiculous number of fish there. You could spend a few months bonus whoring through all six of these sites. They also have great tourneys, including the Steps tourney at Party and some really nice regular tourneys and freerolls at Empire.

Like Radii said, make sure you deposit $500 at each site as they usually are giving you a 20% bonus to $100 max. The bonuses usually take 5-7x raked hands played to match.

Cryptologic Network

There are six sites on this network that pay monthly bonuses. All but one of them (William Hill) use the eCash Direct payment network. The drawback of this is that they snailmail a PIN to you that you need to withdraw your money. It takes about two weeks to get for each site. Play these mid-month as the tables are pretty tight at the beginning and end of each month from all the whore chasing the bonuses:

Interpoker: $90 deposit match each month, 450 raked hands to clear.
PokerPlex: $50 after you play 300 hands (regardless of rake).
Caribbean Sun: $40 after 250 hands (regardless of rake).
William Hill: 25 pounds (about $48) for 5 hours of play.
UKBetting: 25 pounds (about $48) for 5 hours of play.
TotalBet: 25 pounds (about $48) for 5 hours of play.

Other cardrooms that I have played:

BoDog Sports: Nice software, super-loose games. Fairly new, so there are a bunch of incentives out there to sign up.

Pacific Poker: Maybe the worst software out there. Bad support. You can't multi-table. However, the loosest tables on the 'net - meaning that if you can weather hellacious beats and play solid poker, you will make a killing here.

The Gaming Club: Part of the Prima network, they have really nice software but difficult-to-clear bonus requirements.

I have heard great things about Poker Stars, but have not played there. Absolute Poker offers a monthly reload bonus, but the play-through requirements are pretty onerous. Ultimate Bet is nice, but the tables are tight. Paradise Poker is the favorite of many players, but is another tight site.

Many choices out there - I would certainly do your homework once you have built your bankroll.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Radii

I imagine that is true at micro-limit vs play money even. Most players at micro-limits will play very very badly, but it won't be as loose as play money even.

As somebody who pretty much stays in those murky depths, I'd say there's definitely a noticeable difference (to me, at least) between micro-limit styles & play money styles, at least at Pokerstars. Going from play money to .01/.02 and then to .02/.04 is even a noticeable difference from level to level.

Oddly enough, based purely on my own limited impressions, I feel like .02/.04 & .05/.10 might be played tighter (not neccessarily better though) than .25/.50

And the most bizarre play I've seen anywhere might just be in the opening hands of very low buy-in satellite tourneys, like $3+R. The early all-in syndrome seems to me at least as high in those as in play money. Once you get near a money finish it certainly tightens up, but in the first round ... even I think "what an idiot" a lot

[JonInMiddleGA]

Since this is a newbie thread, I'm gonna lob another newbie question into the mix -- of all the things I've encountered, the most uncomfortable for me is head-to-head. I'm sure the relative scarcity of it has a lot to do with it, but whether it's a table that's slow or the end of a play money tourney or a low-limit sit-and-go, once it's down to 2-3 players I'm feeling like it's only a matter of minutes until I'm done.

Anybody got some rules of thumb they'd like to offer about h2h?

[JonInMiddleGA]

And, for another "more than one newbie would probably like to know" question ... which sites have the lowest initial deposit requirements? I wouldn't neccessarily mind trying out a second site, but really don't want to put hardly anything in them in case I discover just don't enjoy playing there. (And if they're NetTeller friendly, that'd be a big plus to me, since I'm already set up there).

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Since this is a newbie thread, I'm gonna lob another newbie question into the mix -- of all the things I've encountered, the most uncomfortable for me is head-to-head. I'm sure the relative scarcity of it has a lot to do with it, but whether it's a table that's slow or the end of a play money tourney or a low-limit sit-and-go, once it's down to 2-3 players I'm feeling like it's only a matter of minutes until I'm done.

Anybody got some rules of thumb they'd like to offer about h2h?

This is one of those things where it's hard to learn without just practicing. Stars does have cheap heads-up tables for both NL and limit which are great practice, though. ($.01/$.02)

[jbmagic]

you guys are so helpful..

appreciate it a lot..

i think i go get that book today and start reading..
Hold 'Em Poker by David Sklansky


then start playing for fun and practice..what worries me on play money is player will just play loose and bet all the way to the river because its not there money..

but i will play the correct way to get into a good habit


is it a good idea just to play one poker site only like pokerstars for play money, than downloading and joining the other other poker sites because i will lose the bonus, etc for opening an account..

i should wait until i play for real , to join others..

[Subby]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

you guys are so helpful..

appreciate it a lot..

i think i go get that book today and start reading..
Hold 'Em Poker by David Sklansky

then start playing for fun and practice..what worries me on play money is player will just play loose and bet all the way to the river because its not there money..

but i will play the correct way to get into a good habit

is it a good idea just to play one poker site only like pokerstars for play money, than downloading and joining the other other poker sites because i will lose the bonus, etc for opening an account..

i should wait until i play for real , to join others..

Kudos on making the right decision with respect to book choice.

Don't ever be worried about players betting loose and all the way to the river. This is *what you want*. They establish those horrible chasing habits early and have a hard time changing. Good news for us. Sure, they will hit sometimes, but in the long run, you will profit because you are playing smarter poker and the odds are in your favor. For every fish that chases his inside straight draw and hits on the river to scoop a pot that you were leading, there are 10 others that won't hit and pay you off with their calls. Don't be results-oriented - variance says you will have up and down sessions, but if you play solid you come out ahead in the long run.

I would just stick to Stars right now. Its a great site and offers microlimit tables. Once you move up in ranks and build your bankroll, then I would start shopping around.

[RPI-Fan]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

you guys are so helpful..

appreciate it a lot..

i think i go get that book today and start reading..
Hold 'Em Poker by David Sklansky


then start playing for fun and practice..what worries me on play money is player will just play loose and bet all the way to the river because its not there money..

but i will play the correct way to get into a good habit


is it a good idea just to play one poker site only like pokerstars for play money, than downloading and joining the other other poker sites because i will lose the bonus, etc for opening an account..

i should wait until i play for real , to join others..

Definitely wait until you're ready to load up on bonuses to sign up for other sites.

[Subby]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

And, for another "more than one newbie would probably like to know" question ... which sites have the lowest initial deposit requirements? I wouldn't neccessarily mind trying out a second site, but really don't want to put hardly anything in them in case I discover just don't enjoy playing there. (And if they're NetTeller friendly, that'd be a big plus to me, since I'm already set up there).

Jon - most, if not all, sites are Neteller friendly. Neteller is an essential tool in a bonus whore's arsenal.

If you want to try out another site, you can always sign up, not deposit, and take part in their freerolls. The trick is not signing up at too many places for the minimum in case you eventually build up your bankroll one day and want to start maximizing your sign-up bonuses.

Also remember that Stars is reputedly the best software out there, so temper your expectations when you start branching out.

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Anybody got some rules of thumb they'd like to offer about h2h?

Raise.

[sabotai]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

subby

when you say 450 raked hands to clear to get the bonus, what does that mean?

does it mean you have to play so many hands to get the signup bonus, when you deposit your money?

thanks

A "raked hand" is a hand in which the house (in these cases, the online sites) take a small portion of the pot for themselves. Usually to get a hand to be raked, it has to have so much money in the pot. So for instance you are at a $0.50/$1 table and the rake was set at $5. This means if the pot was smaller than $5, it wouldn't be a "raked hand". You get the bonus after you played enough raked hands.

[Subby]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

when you say 450 raked hands to clear to get the bonus, what does that mean? does it mean you have to play so many hands to get the signup bonus, when you deposit your money?

Yes, that is what it means. Poker rooms make their money off of ring games by "raking" the pot - ie. taking a percentage of the total pot. Some pots are too small to get raked. Most sites require the hands to be raked, otherwise bonus chasers would play so tight that few pots would ever get built up enough to be raked.

Some sites do not require you to play in hands where the pot is raked, just in hands where you are dealt cards. These are the best, because they go by most quickly.

The worst are sites (like Pacific for example) that require you to contribute to each pot in order for it to count towards your bonus redemption. Those take forever for players that play solid poker.

[larrymcg421]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

And, for another "more than one newbie would probably like to know" question ... which sites have the lowest initial deposit requirements? I wouldn't neccessarily mind trying out a second site, but really don't want to put hardly anything in them in case I discover just don't enjoy playing there. (And if they're NetTeller friendly, that'd be a big plus to me, since I'm already set up there).

In heads up, you have to assume that your opponent has crap, which is different than a full table where you can safely assume that one of the 10 people has hit something decent.

Any pocket pair is huge. Any face card is huge. Kickers don't become quite as much a problem because it's less likely your opponent will have the same face card. So you can play your K2 or Q4, etc. An Ace is particularly good because Ace high will win quite a few showdowns heads up.

Try to always be the first to get your money in the pot. Make your opponent call all of his chips off. If you've got a 3:1 advantage or better, you should move your opponent in with almost any two cards. If you're 1:3 or worse, you should move in with almost any two cards.

Also, the #1 rule I play by: Don't leave dead money on the table.

[jbmagic]

subby

when you say 450 raked hands to clear to get the bonus, what does that mean?

does it mean you have to play so many hands to get the signup bonus, when you deposit your money?

thanks

[Radii]

Originally Posted by jbmagic

when you say 450 raked hands to clear to get the bonus, what does that mean?

does it mean you have to play so many hands to get the signup bonus, when you deposit your money?

Yup. A hand only gets raked at a certain pot size. for example, on the crypto network of sites, at $1/$2 the pot is raked when it reaches $5. So all pots less than $5 don't count towards your hands.

[Subby]

Originally Posted by Radii

Yup. A hand only gets raked at a certain pot size. for example, on the crypto network of sites, at $1/$2 the pot is raked when it reaches $5. So all pots less than $5 don't count towards your hands.

Good god the timestamp bug sucks.

[cthomer5000]

You should start out playing $15/30 at QuikSand's private table.

[Radii]

Originally Posted by Subby

Good god the timestamp bug sucks.

I noticed that after I posted and saw your reply waaay up there.

[Subby]

Originally Posted by Radii

I noticed that after I posted and saw your reply waaay up there.

Hey - that's okay. I would defer to you and about ten other people on here about this stuff anyway

[korme]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Since this is a newbie thread, I'm gonna lob another newbie question into the mix -- of all the things I've encountered, the most uncomfortable for me is head-to-head. I'm sure the relative scarcity of it has a lot to do with it, but whether it's a table that's slow or the end of a play money tourney or a low-limit sit-and-go, once it's down to 2-3 players I'm feeling like it's only a matter of minutes until I'm done.

Anybody got some rules of thumb they'd like to offer about h2h?

Been playing for 2 years and I still am not comfortable head to head, no matter how much I'm up I usually end up finishing in that 2nd spot.

But as I keep hearing and learning, you have to play hands you usually wouldn't - K2 can be a great hand because your competing against one guy maybe for a top pair, and only an Ace can offset you.