Tom23
10-19-2004, 04:44 PM
About two month's ago I started planning my first trip to Las Vegas. I was really looking forward to going with one exception, I'm not a good gambler. I never liked playing games that I have little chance to win at; slot machines, blackjack, craps, ext. (After reading some poker books I think you would call these negative EV bets). I grew up close to Atlantic City so I've gambled a few times before with the expected results. So I got smart. To make a long story short I began doing a little research
, mainly on blackjack to see if it was a beatable game. As I'm sure you know, perfect play still leaves the house a slight advantage unless you count cards. That wasn't good enough for me. I wanted the edge, and I didn't think counting cards was a real answer to my problem since its really frowned upon. While I was browsing the internet for BJ info. poker kept popping up on a lot of the websites. The more I read, the better I liked it. It looked like a beatable game. So I bought some books and started reading, and reading, and then a little more reading. Finally I figured I was ready and went to Atlantic City for my first live game. Oh yeah, I had been playing a lot of play money and micro stakes on the computer. After that first night I became completely addicted to the action. I have been studying ever since and I made my Vegas trip. I played as often as I could. Since the beggining I honestly can't say I have won at all, but I really have lost very little and had a blast playing. But I know with practice I can become a winning player. So here are my questions:
1) What is the most logical way to really learn Hold'em correctly? For example; To learn to hit a baseball, a)you need a balanced proper stance b) The right grip on the bat c) Keep your eye on the ball and so on. Is there a logical progression to learning poker? All the books I have read like Lee Joneses Low Limit book are very good but I think I have become overwhelmed with information. What I am looking for is an order; a)hand selection b)position c)EV for a any given hand d)tells and telegraghs e) card reading. Should I master one thing at a time before moving?
2) Is tournament hold'em better to learn than ring games? Unfortunately I haven't been able to build up much of a bank roll yet as you would expect, so I really don't have the cash required for say the 2-4 spread limit I have been playing. It is suggested you need 500x the big bet. I can buy into a 20$ tournament and at least start off equal to the other players and not play scared.
3)I seem to do a lot better in live games than I do on the internet. I think its because I need to see the people I'm playing against. Does anyone have the same problem? Atlantic City doesn't have any real low limit games 2-4 is the lowest. The internet offers the micro stakes but I really don't enjoy it as much as the live action. Like I mentioned before I don't have the bankroll yet for the swings of the live games like 2-4 spread limit stakes.
4)Should I focus on one game "period" or learn Omaha and stud also? Would tournament play and ring games conflict to much if I tried to do both? Sometimes diversity helps!
5) Finally, seating at the tables. The low limit AC games are usually full so you can't adjust your seating at the tables in relation to different players, you can't even pick what table you want to play most of the time. What is the best way to deal with this situation? Its a long ride to not play at all because you can't find the right table as suggested in Sklansky's books.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!!!!!!!!!!!
, mainly on blackjack to see if it was a beatable game. As I'm sure you know, perfect play still leaves the house a slight advantage unless you count cards. That wasn't good enough for me. I wanted the edge, and I didn't think counting cards was a real answer to my problem since its really frowned upon. While I was browsing the internet for BJ info. poker kept popping up on a lot of the websites. The more I read, the better I liked it. It looked like a beatable game. So I bought some books and started reading, and reading, and then a little more reading. Finally I figured I was ready and went to Atlantic City for my first live game. Oh yeah, I had been playing a lot of play money and micro stakes on the computer. After that first night I became completely addicted to the action. I have been studying ever since and I made my Vegas trip. I played as often as I could. Since the beggining I honestly can't say I have won at all, but I really have lost very little and had a blast playing. But I know with practice I can become a winning player. So here are my questions:
1) What is the most logical way to really learn Hold'em correctly? For example; To learn to hit a baseball, a)you need a balanced proper stance b) The right grip on the bat c) Keep your eye on the ball and so on. Is there a logical progression to learning poker? All the books I have read like Lee Joneses Low Limit book are very good but I think I have become overwhelmed with information. What I am looking for is an order; a)hand selection b)position c)EV for a any given hand d)tells and telegraghs e) card reading. Should I master one thing at a time before moving?
2) Is tournament hold'em better to learn than ring games? Unfortunately I haven't been able to build up much of a bank roll yet as you would expect, so I really don't have the cash required for say the 2-4 spread limit I have been playing. It is suggested you need 500x the big bet. I can buy into a 20$ tournament and at least start off equal to the other players and not play scared.
3)I seem to do a lot better in live games than I do on the internet. I think its because I need to see the people I'm playing against. Does anyone have the same problem? Atlantic City doesn't have any real low limit games 2-4 is the lowest. The internet offers the micro stakes but I really don't enjoy it as much as the live action. Like I mentioned before I don't have the bankroll yet for the swings of the live games like 2-4 spread limit stakes.
4)Should I focus on one game "period" or learn Omaha and stud also? Would tournament play and ring games conflict to much if I tried to do both? Sometimes diversity helps!
5) Finally, seating at the tables. The low limit AC games are usually full so you can't adjust your seating at the tables in relation to different players, you can't even pick what table you want to play most of the time. What is the best way to deal with this situation? Its a long ride to not play at all because you can't find the right table as suggested in Sklansky's books.
Thanks in advance for any suggestions!!!!!!!!!!!