Cheapest way to learn poker?

[suprblah]

What's the best way for a new poker player to get quality experience? Because I am not doing too good financially right now, I want to maximize my poker experience with minimal investment. Poker to me is a just a hobby, I'm not playing it for the money. But I am still competitive and I want to read and learn to play "proper" poker.

Right now, I've been playing $5 or $10 NL SNG home games with acquiantances. The problem is, these home games are just too crazy: there's a range of skill levels from weak tight beginners, to LAG players, to total maniacs. I can't afford to keep throwing away $10 buy-ins and play these totally non-standard games.

So, in summary: I am an intelligent, 24 year old university graduate with not too much cash. I'm prepared to read all the books necessary, and really study the ins and outs of the game. I feel that this effort alone should make me better than 50% of the players out there.

How do I get over this beginner's hump without losing too much money? Do I play online at Party Poker? At home games? If NL SNG's reward agressive play, should I stick to micro limits? Should I get Poker Tracker? What books should I read?

I'm unsure how to answer all these questions. If you guys could guide me in the right direction, I can enjoy playing poker and save a lot of money that I can't afford to lose. Please reply. Thanks.

[edge]

I started on PokerStars at the $5 buy-in NL table. I believe there are some sites with very cheap SNGs, and basic SNG strategy is very easy to learn. Just read the one-table tournament forum and you should be well on your way. I bounced around from the $5 NL table to $5 SNGs and some trips back and forth from ring games and SNGs and now I'm doing quite well.

Find a site that offers very low buy-in games of whatever you're interested in, and start playing and reading the relevant forum. Experience is very important, moreso than just theoretical knowledge.

[ackid]

Sorry to say, but thier is really no cheap way to learn poker. You just have to get in there and lose your money. This is what they call the price of a poker education. Books due help. Try winning at low limit hold em buy Lee Jones. Not sure about tourny. books though.

[henrikrh]

The cheap way will always be the inferior way, buy some good books and play low-limits. All good players lose money as they learn and it makes you understand the game in terms of bankroll and other factors that most beginners don't consider. Definently get online, for a small sum and try and move up with that.

Maybe I'm not the best person to be giving advice.

[afk]

[ QUOTE ]
Sorry to say, but thier is really no cheap way to learn poker. You just have to get in there and lose your money.

[/ QUOTE ]

Sure there is. The initial investment for a few books can a few bucks but for playing itself there's nothing wrong with starting at nickel and dime online. Relatively speaking that's a cheap lesson.

[TaoTe]

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This is what they call the price of a poker education.

[/ QUOTE ]

"You paid to play; lessons are extra."

[TaoTe]

To learn the basics, play money is a good place, but you seem beyond that. Small buy-in tourneys are a good idea. This has been said below, but I wanted to elaborate. The small buy-in's are a great place to see a lot of hands that people play and get a good understanding of what works for you. The general theory is that good SNG play is semi-formulaic. Play only premium hands while the blinds are low, but once they go above a certain limit you must be willing to move it all with a Q5o. Anyway, that's not the point. The point is, you're probably going to lose some money. A $5 SNG can run for an hour or more, and since you consider it entertainment, that's less than it would cost to go to the movie theatre, and poker is much more fun than most movies.

In summation: learn to lose; try to win.

[littlebu]

I am new to the forums. I used to play a lot of home games but felt the way you do about most of them. The post that helped the most is up at the top of the forum in the links for beginners called how to build a bankroll by homer. If you are particulary(sp) interested in sng's Pacific has them from 1.50 up. They are also helpful as others have said in that they usually last about an hour and you can see a bunch of hands relatively cheap. These are where I started to pad my bankroll enough to get the full bonuses as stated in homers post. I am still working my way through them all as I only play an hour or two a day.

[La Brujita]

Date Ed Miller. As an alternative buy Ed Miller's Getting Started in Holdem.

I just bought it for a family member who wants to (strangely enough) get started in holdem. It is an excellent book.

[Student]

The evidence available to the online player is very different than it is with home games. Furthermore, you intend to play in SNGs, a form of NL HE tournament. This is another major difference. Your solution is the same I'm using, namely to find the cheapest games around. You have vastly more poker-playing experience than I have, but the same objective, which is to play tournament NL HE.

I did some research and found that the cheapest SNGs are on Golden Palace, where they have games as cheap as 10 cents for the pot plus 1 cent entry fee. Pots at these 9-player tables are split 50% to #1, 30% to #2 and 20% to #3 (45 cents to #1, 27 cents to #2 and 18 cents to #3). Golden Palace also has games up the line, in terms of levels. Presently I limit to PokerStars, but when I get past their 1/2 cents NL HE ring games, to where I can win regularly, I aspire to playing SNGs at Golden Palace.

I continue to have the vast majority of funds I started with on PokerStars ($50), but I've found 30 poker books at a cost of $400, total. The Book Forum is excellent for getting an idea which books have been discovered to be excellent and useful. "Harrington on Hold'em", Vols 1 and 2, are probably the best for your goal of playing NL HE tournaments. Miller's "Getting Started in Hold'em" is excellent, and isn't as much a beginner's book as some believe (teaching NL HE is a primary objective, but limit HE is covered too, by necessity) . "Small Stakes Hold'em" is a limit poker book, but would be useful too.

Dave

[VoraciousReader]

I cut out pieces of your post that I wanted to comment on...

[ QUOTE ]
...I want to maximize my poker experience with minimal investment. Poker to me is a just a hobby, I'm not playing it for the money. But I am still competitive and I want to read and learn to play "proper" poker.
...The problem is, these home games are just too crazy: there's a range of skill levels from weak tight beginners, to LAG players, to total maniacs. I can't afford to keep throwing away $10 buy-ins and play these totally non-standard games...

How do I get over this beginner's hump without losing too much money?...

[/ QUOTE ]

For one thing, those home games may be more "standard" than you think. Virtually any time you sit down to play poker you will find a variety of players, skill levels, and styles. Figuring out who's who and adapting your play accordingly could be great experience for you. FWIW.

Or, you could try this: Amateur Poker League (http://www.amateurpokerleague.com/)

I have played at these games about 6 times. Skill level ranges from beginner to really good. It's good experience against all kinds of players for no $.

Do you primarily want to play tourneys? Stars has single tables starting at $5.50 and multi-tables starting at $1. They also have play money tables, but, imo, the play at those tables encourages bad habits.

I definitely recommend reading: Harrington on HoldEm 1&2, Small Stakes Hold'Em, Theory of Poker. For lots of examples and situations, I like the "How good is your..." series. I read Winning Low Limit Hold'Em first and benefitted greatly, but you sound as though you are past it.

One of the best things you can do is read the Hand Histories here at 2+2, figure out how you would have played it, and then reply or read the commentaries. They will help you in the process of thinking out a hand and factors to consider.

Bottom line, though, is you also need to play. So much of poker is situational. Definitely do the studying, and then just play a lot of hands as inexpensively as possible. Then review all of the study materials. You'll get much more out of them.

[amoeba]

play microlimits cash games.

you only need an investment of $20 + price of books.

[Hedge Henderson]

[ QUOTE ]
play microlimits cash games.

you only need an investment of $20 + price of books.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll second that. Hell, I started with a measly $2. I already owned a few books, though, and had been reading here a bit.