Improving my poker game
Discussion
Wasnt sure if this was the right place but couldnt see anywhere better.
After recently taking up casual texas hold 'em games with friends after a fairly long hiatus, id like to improve my skill. Ive just never really been any good at employing strategy or playing for the long term, I tend to just go from hand to hand. However, I really enjoy the game and would like to build up to playing in local tournaments eventually.
Does anyone have any decent tips for improvement or resources theyve used? Any recommendations for poker books, forums, etc. would be much appreciated!
After recently taking up casual texas hold 'em games with friends after a fairly long hiatus, id like to improve my skill. Ive just never really been any good at employing strategy or playing for the long term, I tend to just go from hand to hand. However, I really enjoy the game and would like to build up to playing in local tournaments eventually.
Does anyone have any decent tips for improvement or resources theyve used? Any recommendations for poker books, forums, etc. would be much appreciated!
I’ve played at quite a high level, WSOP etc and one of the biggest mistakes is playing far too many hands. Someone raises in early position you should almost never be calling AT if you’re sat in mid position for example.
Any books you could find will be wildly out of date. The game is changing constantly. I played about 700 tournaments in 2018 then about 10 last year and I’d get hammered if I sat down at high stakes now being so rusty.
Best thing you can do is watch someone like Tonkaaaa’s videos. He’s very very good, I’m not sure if the full length real time playing videos are online anymore or just highlights videos which won’t be much use. Or download twitch which was originally for video games I believe and watch some of the pros livestream in the evenings.
Any books you could find will be wildly out of date. The game is changing constantly. I played about 700 tournaments in 2018 then about 10 last year and I’d get hammered if I sat down at high stakes now being so rusty.
Best thing you can do is watch someone like Tonkaaaa’s videos. He’s very very good, I’m not sure if the full length real time playing videos are online anymore or just highlights videos which won’t be much use. Or download twitch which was originally for video games I believe and watch some of the pros livestream in the evenings.
I borrowed a book off a friend by Daniel Negrano (can't remember the title). Which goes through the normal stuff like pot odds, hand odds, betting patterns and the like. Which was good for improving my standard game.
I doubt you can learn good strategy from a book, as the way poker is played changes fairly quickly (ie 3 betting, 2.5 betting or going in cheap with a good hand).
The best way is to play a lot of poker. And unfortunately that means playing for money, as free poker is worse than useless.
I doubt you can learn good strategy from a book, as the way poker is played changes fairly quickly (ie 3 betting, 2.5 betting or going in cheap with a good hand).
The best way is to play a lot of poker. And unfortunately that means playing for money, as free poker is worse than useless.
never sure if its mainly skill or luck, can't see why anyone would check, raise or all-in with say a 2 and a 5, but, like you say, they play every hand.
however i'm basing my experiences on online poker, never played it in the flesh or for big money, so the crazy players will not get far one
presumes in real tourneys.
i find playing it orgasmic and rage inducing in equal measure ,
he over bets and wins the pot with a pair while I fold on 3 of-a-kind.
agree about Play Money, it's the worst way to learn the game.
however i'm basing my experiences on online poker, never played it in the flesh or for big money, so the crazy players will not get far one
presumes in real tourneys.
i find playing it orgasmic and rage inducing in equal measure ,
he over bets and wins the pot with a pair while I fold on 3 of-a-kind.
agree about Play Money, it's the worst way to learn the game.
Edited by Big-Bo-Beep on Friday 24th April 19:59
Big-Bo-Beep said:
never sure if its mainly skill or luck, can't see why anyone would check, raise or all-in with say a 2 and a 5, but, like you say, they play every hand.
however i'm basing my experiences on online poker, never played it in the flesh or for big money, so the crazy players will not get far one
presumes in real tourneys.
i find playing it orgasmic and rage inducing in equal measure ,
he over bets and wins the pot with a pair while I fold on 3 of-a-kind.
agree about Play Money, it's the worst way to learn the game.
In terms of online vs live, live tournaments are infinitely softer at all stakes but there’s still bad players in any game. however i'm basing my experiences on online poker, never played it in the flesh or for big money, so the crazy players will not get far one
presumes in real tourneys.
i find playing it orgasmic and rage inducing in equal measure ,
he over bets and wins the pot with a pair while I fold on 3 of-a-kind.
agree about Play Money, it's the worst way to learn the game.
Edited by Big-Bo-Beep on Friday 24th April 19:59
Some good replies so far and definitely things I wouldnt have considered. I wouldnt have guessed the game changed so much in a relatively short time.
I'll try and find that Negreanu book, calculating odds is something im not clued up on. But I think the main thing to get more of is practice. Once ive done some reading and watched some streams as suggested i'll definitely get myself involved in a proper game at some point soon.
I'll try and find that Negreanu book, calculating odds is something im not clued up on. But I think the main thing to get more of is practice. Once ive done some reading and watched some streams as suggested i'll definitely get myself involved in a proper game at some point soon.
In my view the easiest way to improve to begin with is to play. There are tournaments on the largest online sites that cost £1 or less to enter. You can also watch the bigger tournaments online - open a table, try to work out what you hands you think the players will have based on their betting etc. The 2+2 forum is still pretty good for beginners and strategy, will also included pointers to the latest training sites and resources.
The standard in your local casino's £20 tournament will be way below what you see in a $1 tournament online. Similarly for cash games, the standard in a 10c/25c online game is streets ahead of what you find a £1/£2 game in your local casino.
The standard in your local casino's £20 tournament will be way below what you see in a $1 tournament online. Similarly for cash games, the standard in a 10c/25c online game is streets ahead of what you find a £1/£2 game in your local casino.
Donbot said:
Big-Bo-Beep said:
never sure if its mainly skill or luck
You calculate the odds of the cards that are in front of you. That's the first skill check. You'd be surprised how well you can do on micro stakes just knowing the basics.
Donbot said:
You calculate the odds of the cards that are in front of you. That's the first skill check.
Absolutely. My brother plays to a reasonable standard. He's no Victoria Coren but he's decent enough. Wins on line tournaments. Ask him at at any point what his percentage changes of winning are, based on his own hand, and the other cards on view, and he can give you a percentage with a few points of the actual figure. He's a senior bank employee.
Gassing Station | The Lounge | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff