Good Tips for Newbies?

[mikebreman]

Hello everyone. May I asked if there are some good tips that you could give to Newbies like me in order to really learn a lot for playing poker. I just hoped that you could give some good stuff here in order that I can play poker very well. Thanks in advance!

[ennotserp]

Not so much a tip on playing, but a tip on signing up on poker sites.

Before making a deposit on a site, check out the site's withdrawal policies.
They may ask for information which you do not wish to disclose, even if using a payment processor. Also, their procedure for making withdrawals may not be totally unsatisfactory.

When requesting photo id, this is ridiculous, since it serves no purpose - eg. why can't a teenager sign up using a parent's id??? Surely there are other ways around this policy also.

[villaridge]

ahhhh tips, well there are a lot. when the person that invented the word "variable" he must have been thinking about poker.

Number #1) Realize that poker has variables out the kazoo
Number #2) Start learning each one of them (takes forever)
Number #3) Learn Card strength and odds first
Number #4) Learn Position next
Number #5) Always watch how other people bet and try to match that with what they are playing with
Number #6) Poker is a High Card Game, until you understand the basics of betting, just bet with High cards
Number #1.2) Read. Online poker articles. BOOKS. you cannot win consistently at poker unless you study
Number #1.3) Practice, with the knowledge you learn by reading and studying in games that have a buy-in. People play different when nothing is at stake.
Number ONE) Do not spew money to learn games

That ought to get you started, do all that, and you should be on your way. gl

[fndrbndr79]

I'm assuming you know the basics, like what beats what and how many cards are dealt where. After that, if I had to distill a bunch of poker "wisdom" into a small list, here's what I come up with.

1. Starting requirements. While every game is different, when you're starting out, you'll want to fold unless you've got a decent hand in most games most of the time.

2. Money management. If you don't sweat your bankroll, it will sweat you. If you walk into a cardroom with $x, be prepared to walk out without $x. Don't play with money that's anything other than disposable. If this means staying at very low limits, that's fine. Those games are easier anyway. If you ever get to the point where you're winning, you'll want to start keeping records to see when you're winning and when you're not.

3. Patience/level-headedness. While I dislike quoting movies for poker wisdom, Matt Damon's character in rounders is correct that playing poker well is a grind. Know that you will get drawn out on, you will lose pots to guys who you played like a fiddle, and you will play brilliant poker and lose to morons. Congratulate them on their awesome luck and pray they make the same stupid move next time.

4. Start with one game. Your environment may do this for you. I like the novelty of new games, but have still only bought in consistently to two or three types of games. I play almost exclusively live NLH cash games these days because the fish are there and "there" in my case is the US, where my online options are limited. I also don't like the variance of tournaments, even though I'm probably a better tourney than cash player. It's easier to learn one game than a dozen.

5. Read. Study everything you can about the game. I'd recommend starting with something fairly conservative. If you're up to it academically, Sklansky's works are good, but I found them only marginally approachable, and I've taken graduate level game theory classes. Also read the blogs here, the stuff on Caro's site, and any other poker blog you can get your hands on. If you buy a book and it doesn't do you any good, buy another book. Those that don't directly improve your game may give you some insight into the play of your opponents, which is at least as valuable. Of five randomly selected nonfiction books on my shelf, one is probably a poker book (I kept a ton of books from when I was in college).

OK, my short list turned into a short blog post. Hopefully it helps. Good luck out there, and welcome to the hobby.

[pdias666]

if there was only one advise to guive:

Bankroll management.

either if you play for fun, or for living, if you break you can't play. keep alive by playing within your BR

[thomasyopp84]

Another tip to a poker newbies is to read m, join in the forum and participate in the events. And ask questions to the amateur and professional poker player.

[experiencesin]

Read poker books. know your outs and odds. Understand position.