Poker Thread

stackcash

stackcash

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I have a long running love/hate relationship with No Limit Hold 'Em. It seems like I get motivated to really study the game and play regularly about once a year...and then that motivation fades since I don't have a group to learn with.

Do any of you guys play regularly? Where are you playing? What are you studying?
 
Saiten said:
Played professionally for a few years from 2006 - 2010. my main limit was NL400.

One of the best things I ever did for my game was signing up for a video coaching site.
http://www.deucescracked.com/ or http://cardrunners.com/ were pretty good back in the day.

Cool vid (part one):
Click to expand...
Willing to share any example of what you can learn from video coaching websites? I just see most of them as fishy at best and all the "real life stories of people who became rich by playing poker" extremely exaggerated to sell whatever they're selling ( be it a book, a video guide, or a series such as "From Busto to Robusto" ).
Of course, I have never played professionally and I suspect I am missing a lot of stuff, but I watch WSP games and play online from time to time, that's why I am wondering whether there are actual things you can learn besides odds and probabilities.
 
I play poker everyday, I feel like I could do well with real money but who knows that might lead me down the path of no return lol
 
Saiten said:
Played professionally for a few years from 2006 - 2010. my main limit was NL400.

One of the best things I ever did for my game was signing up for a video coaching site.
http://www.deucescracked.com/ or http://cardrunners.com/ were pretty good back in the day.

Cool vid (part one):
Click to expand...

That's awesome. Based on that time period, were you slaying online poker - or were these live games?

Would you say those courses are similar to books like The Little Green Book...or anything by Sklansky? I have the Little Green book coming up next on my reading list.

Right now, I pretty much just know my starting hands and how to read completely awful players. I know nothing about post flop strategy, betting strategy, getting value, etc....basically anything that's not pre-flop play. I'm not even sure I need to know much more to win at $1/$2 or $3/$5 games.
 
Marc said:
Willing to share any example of what you can learn from video coaching websites?.
Click to expand...

There are different forms of coaching videos:
1. The most basic. You watch a recorded video where a known player (who has a proven winning record) commentates his or somebody elses play.
2. Theory: Basically a teaching lession about certain Poker concepts, you would otherwise have to study on your behalf.
3. A multiple part series where the coach is trying to achieve a goal. Examples: Bankroll building, beating a certain stake, how to play correctly with a very loose agressive style, etc.

Let's say you are playing microstakes nl10 (0.05$/0.10$ blinds) and struggling to move up to the next higher stake (in this case nl20). It depends how aggressive your bankroll management is (more aggressive = higher risk of ruin), but let's say you want move up when you've got 20 Stacks of the next higher limit (so you need 400$ in this case). Right now you've played XX.XXX hands on NL10 but you are still breakeven or losing money - it's safe to say you are too bad to move up and would lose your money in the long run if you did (because higher stake = better players = smaller ROI).

So you have to improve your game.

There are multiple methods:

Study theory: odds and outs, what hands to play in which position, correct bet sizing, how to play your draws, best spots to 3-bet, what boards to c-bet, etc.

Get hand history reviews from better players: You post your hands where you are unsure about your play on a poker forum (example), where other players give you feedback.

Get a private coaching: You pay somebody to look over your shoulder and give you advice (expensive but probably the best).

Watch coaching videos: You can look over the shoulder of a winning player (who has already beaten stakes above you) and see what he does. It's a little bit of a combination of the points above. I my opinion the easiest form of learning poker (when somebody is teaching you and gives real life examples).

For learning poker I recommend these sites: pokerstrategy.com and twoplustwo.com

-----------------------

Sorry if something isn't clear, my english isn't too great.
 
Good stuff.

In the USA - it's illegal to play online poker. I mean, I can sign up and fund an account....but getting a withdrawal is nearly impossible.

Do you know if there are any good sites or simulators to practice on? Most of the play money sites are just full of fish that go all-in on every hand. I'd like to be able to play against someone with a similar skillset as I'd find in a live game in Atlantic City.
 
Saiten said:
There are different forms of coaching videos:
1. The most basic. You watch a recorded video where a known player (who has a proven winning record) commentates his or somebody elses play.
2. Theory: Basically a teaching lession about certain Poker concepts, you would otherwise have to study on your behalf.
3. A multiple part series where the coach is trying to achieve a goal. Examples: Bankroll building, beating a certain stake, how to play correctly with a very loose agressive style, etc.

Let's say you are playing microstakes nl10 (0.05$/0.10$ blinds) and struggling to move up to the next higher stake (in this case nl20). It depends how aggressive your bankroll management is (more aggressive = higher risk of ruin), but let's say you want move up when you've got 20 Stacks of the next higher limit (so you need 400$ in this case). Right now you've played XX.XXX hands on NL10 but you are still breakeven or losing money - it's safe to say you are too bad to move up and would lose your money in the long run if you did (because higher stake = better players = smaller ROI).

So you have to improve your game.

There are multiple methods:

Study theory: odds and outs, what hands to play in which position, correct bet sizing, how to play your draws, best spots to 3-bet, what boards to c-bet, etc.

Get hand history reviews from better players: You post your hands where you are unsure about your play on a poker forum (example), where other players give you feedback.

Get a private coaching: You pay somebody to look over your shoulder and give you advice (expensive but probably the best).

Watch coaching videos: You can look over the shoulder of a winning player (who has already beaten stakes above you) and see what he does. It's a little bit of a combination of the points above. I my opinion the easiest form of learning poker (when somebody is teaching you and gives real life examples).

For learning poker I recommend these sites: pokerstrategy.com and twoplustwo.com

-----------------------

Sorry if something isn't clear, my english isn't too great.
Click to expand...
what website would you recommend for playing online poker? I most definitely want to deposit a few hudnreds now and play for a while.
 
Marc said:
what website would you recommend for playing online poker?
Click to expand...

I would recommend Pokerstars (biggest playerbase, best UI, best tournaments). You might want to sign up through an affiliate site to get a bigger sign-up bonus / access to freeroll tournaments / other benefits, but I don't know what's good these days. I think through pokerstrategy you earn points (depending on how much you play), which give you access to their training videos and other stuff.
 
Saiten said:
I would recommend Pokerstars (biggest playerbase, best UI, best tournaments). You might want to sign up through an affiliate site to get a bigger sign-up bonus / access to freeroll tournaments / other benefits, but I don't know what's good these days. I think through pokerstrategy you earn points (depending on how much you play), which give you access to their training videos and other stuff.
Click to expand...
do I just start playing at whatever bets I feel comfortable with and go up if I win, lower if I lose and stall if I'm not winning nor losing?
 
Marc said:
do I just start playing at whatever bets I feel comfortable with and go up if I win, lower if I lose and stall if I'm not winning nor losing?
Click to expand...

One of the first things you learn in poker is bankroll management. It's also one ofthe most important. Read this: Bankroll management
 
Saiten said:
It's legal in some states: Where can US players play

and


I don't know about any Simulators, but maybe it's possible to play with play money through a vpn.
Click to expand...

Awesome list. I've been reading that BetOnline is basically the place to go now if you don't want any trouble. Maybe I'll just put $200 in with no plans of getting it back. Just use it to learn and practice.

Unfortunately, it doesn't like PokerStars is on the list of approved sites for NY.
 
stackcash said:
Awesome list. I've been reading that BetOnline is basically the place to go now if you don't want any trouble. Maybe I'll just put $200 in with no plans of getting it back. Just use it to learn and practice.

Unfortunately, it doesn't like PokerStars is on the list of approved sites for NY.
Click to expand...
Take care, just played on pokerstars for 2-3 hours with $1 big blinds, hands tend to get around $50-$90 when people don't actually fold. 90% of the players at these sums have got no game and their mindset is "I have high card/pair/pocket kings, I will keep adding to the pot". Have not seen 1 player bluffing so far, it's like playing AI.
 
Marc said:
Take care, just played on pokerstars for 2-3 hours with $1 big blinds, hands tend to get around $50-$90 when people don't actually fold. 90% of the players at these sums have got no game and their mindset is "I have high card/pair/pocket kings, I will keep adding to the pot". Have not seen 1 player bluffing so far, it's like playing AI.
Click to expand...

You were able to sign up and deposit money in the US? What state?
 
stackcash said:
You were able to sign up and deposit money in the US? What state?
Click to expand...
Not from the US, from Romania. Lost $250 in one hand, I had queens full of sevens, he had kings full of sevens. Raged, decided pokerstar's not worth it unless you can play at bigger tables where people actually play/bluff/don't auto-fold when they don't have pocket rockets. Will probably invest $1000 + when I get some money and see how that goes. It was fun though, a fun evening.
 
That sucks. My experience is that people are super loose at those low level games.

I'm headed to Atlantic City this weekend. Hopefully I come home at least break-even.
 
stackcash said:
That sucks. My experience is that people are super loose at those low level games.

I'm headed to Atlantic City this weekend. Hopefully I come home at least break-even.
Click to expand...
What do you mean by loose? At the "micro/small" stake levels, I tried bluffing by raising $1/$2 when having a super shitty hand ( e.g. 2 of hearts, 8 of spades ) and everyone instantly-folded ( big blind was 0.25/0.50/1 ). Did not do this too much since I thought people would catch on ( they don't ).
 
Loose passive/aggressive playing styles:

http://www.poker-vibe.com/strategy/texas-holdem/loose-aggressive/
http://www.suntzupoker.com/playing-against-the-loose-passive-player.aspx

Most low stakes games are full of first or second level thinkers.... meaning that you can play at face value and don't really need to worry about bluffing or being bluffed. If someone throws a huge bet, you can probably assume they have a premium hand. On the other hand, if you throw a big bet in the pile, you may get the table to fold to you. Gotta understand who you're playing with and value bet accordingly.
 
stackcash said:
That sucks. My experience is that people are super loose at those low level games.
Click to expand...
Amen to that, low level games are filled with maniac players, most of them don't even know the rules or ranking order of the hands it would seem.

When it comes to learning poker, I don't think there is one course or book out there that can truely teach you, it's all about finding your own individual style.
I friend of mine wrote a book where he analyses every hand of a tournament he won, it's not really a guide or anythng like that just hardcore analasis of his hands from his pov.

One thing I will say though when it comes to learning poker and NL Texas Hold'Em is that playing a bit of other poker games such as Omaha Hold'em can be a great effort fom Omaha you'll learn a lot about the value of your hands.
 
Good advice.

For me, the biggest thing that has helped me at the lower levels is being patient. I've learned there is no need to be in every hand...or even every three hands. Fold as much as possible and wait for your opportunities to take someone elses stack...and then protect your profits the best you can.
 
stackcash said:
For me, the biggest thing that has helped me at the lower levels is being patient.
Click to expand...

Don't be scared to leave the table and find another. One firecracker with a good bankroll can ruin a table--fast.
 
stackcash said:
For me, the biggest thing that has helped me at the lower levels is being patient. I've learned there is no need to be in every hand...or even every three hands. Fold as much as possible and wait for your opportunities to take someone elses stack...and then protect your profits the best you can.
Click to expand...

the definition of grinding at cash tables in poker is "take one big pot an hour" Now that is ofcourse a very simplified version of it, but there is some truth in it.

Also some good money managment rules in poker is for tournaments never pay more than a maximum of 10% of your bankroll.
And for cash tables have at least 50 time big and small blinds combined when sitting down, that ought to give you time to hit the big hands without going in to a frenzy panic attack when you aint hitting the big hands.

on the last note always set a stop loss for a sitting, this is where gamblers and players seperate, gamblers always think they can break even with the next hand, players knows that sometimes you have to take a loss walk away and come back strong the next day.
 
lion1978 said:
the definition of grinding at cash tables in poker is "take one big pot an hour" Now that is ofcourse a very simplified version of it, but there is some truth in it.

Also some good money managment rules in poker is for tournaments never pay more than a maximum of 10% of your bankroll.
And for cash tables have at least 50 time big and small blinds combined when sitting down, that ought to give you time to hit the big hands without going in to a frenzy panic attack when you aint hitting the big hands.

on the last note always set a stop loss for a sitting, this is where gamblers and players seperate, gamblers always think they can break even with the next hand, players knows that sometimes you have to take a loss walk away and come back strong the next day.
Click to expand...

Good stuff!

Just got back from AC. Played the 1/2 cash game for most of the time and tried my hand in a NL tournament.

I was way past my depth in the tournament. I made it about half way through, but that was only because I was playing extremely tight. I took down one pot and stole the blinds 3 times in about 3 hours. The blinds deteriorated my stack and I busted going all-in pre-flop with AQ off suit. Was a good first experience. Definitely need a lot more practice before I can try that out again.

With the cash game, I was much more comfortable. I walked away up $250 for the trip. As expected, my biggest hurdles were dealing with large pre-flop bets when I'm holding a marginally good hand.... and how I should be betting post flop when I wanted to either protect my hand, or deal with a large post-flop raise ahead of me.

I guess I gotta go to AC more often...
 
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