Three separate and distinct questions from a newbi

Hello all,


I've played in home games all my life and have just started taking poker seriously in the last two months. I'm truly hooked. I'm trying to learn Hold'em and have read both books by Krieger, the Jones book, Caro's Fundamental Secrets, Poker for Dummies and The Winner's Guide to Texas Hold'em. Since I live in Houston, I'm experiencing poker only through Paradise (my home game is not really poker, alas). I have plans to head to the Louisiana casinos and go to Vegas a few times a year, but have never ventured into a poker room. My first Vegas poker trip will be at the end of August.


I have a few questions:


1. Any suggestions on the next book to take up?


2. I very much enjoy the low dollar tournaments on Paradise--is there a good beginner tournament book out there?


3. Can someone give me a rough idea of when to defend my big blind when there's a raise and I'm unfamiliar with the player? Similarly, what are decent starting hands for staying in on the small blind, when there is a raise and when there is not?


Any suggestions would be much appreciated!

#1 Championship Hold Em by TJ Cloutier and Sklansky's Hold Em Poker for Advanced Players. #2 Tournament Poker by Tom McEvoy is excellent. #3 AA,KK,QQ,JJ,AK,AQ in either blind. As far as calling a raise it depends on who is the raiser and which of the listed starters I have. I play pretty tight in the blinds.

1. Books: Hold 'Em Poker for Advanced Players--Sklansky and Malmuth; Theory of Poker--Sklansky; Inside the Poker Mind--Feeny; Real Poker--Cooke; Improve Your Poker--Ciaffone. Probably in that order. I think all are must reads and at the top of the list as far as books go.


2. Tournaments: there are no books that will deal with the Paradise style one table tournaments. The closest you'll come is advice on single-table sattalite play but that is a world of difference from Paradise since those are winner take all.


3. Big Blind defense against an unknown opponent: several considerations A) is this a steal raise (ie. from the cut off or button when no one else has entered the pot) or a legitimate raise?, B) did the small blind call, c) how confident are you in your post-flop play?


Until you get pretty confident about C, you should probably stick to hands you would have called with in mid-late position in an unraised pot or better plus suited trash down to jacks (Kxs, Qxs, Jxs) and two gappers against steals. It's really about post-flop play in these situations and if you can't resteal a pot, you're better off just mucking wihtout a legitimate hand.


Small blind: I like Ciafonne's advice here. Don't call with anything you wouldn't cold-call with on the button since the button has to be worth at least half a bet. Against a steal many woudl lower this a bit, but I think it's better not to. This is because it's almost always correct to three-bet out of the SB when you are going to play. Therefore the pot will be worth contesting and you'll be out of position.


In low-limit Paradise you wont run into too many of these blind-steal situations, but you should take careful note when they do arise whether or not you are in the hand and try to get a feel how they normally get played and how tough opponents play them.


Good luck,


Paul Talbot

Indubitably! I concur with all previous answers.

Bear Down, Joe! Hey, Greasy Tony and the Dirtbags down at O'Malley's just want to say a bad beat don't hurt as much as a ripped scrotum.


Also, play in as many ternies** as possible.


**Is that the correct spelling/usage?

1. S&M's Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players and Sklansky's Theory of Poker.


2. Not familiar with the Paradise tournaments, but McEvoy's Tournament Poker is a good tournament book.


3. Its going to depend on where the raiser is and the number of callers. If there are no callers and the raiser is in steal position I would call with almost any suited connector, any pair, any ace, any two cards each greater than 9, and any Kxs. I would re-raise with the above average stuff. Any early position raise with no callers -- tighten up considerably -- playing the better half of those five categories of hands, if even that. Lots of callers -- I'd play any hand that I thought played well-multiway. Once you get a read on the raiser you can adjust accordingly.

Thanks for everyone's help! (n/t)