Am I wasting my time?

Hi,

I've played hold'em recreationally for about a year now, but have started taking it really seriously in the last 6 months. I've played quite a bit with friends and whatnot, but lately have only played for play money online. I have gotten frustrated with this b/c we all know that nobody plays correctly and nobody cares about what they are calling with. I just recently put money into an account to play in small money tournaments, and I realize that I have to shapen up against the tougher competition. What I am wondering is, was it a huge waste of my time to play in these play money games, even though I have tried to play the way that I have been taught to play? And should I ever think of playing in them again to try to sharpen my skills? Thanks. I read this forum frequently and appreciate all the good advice.

you're never going to get better unless the stakes mean something to you. if you wanna be good at cash games, you gotta play cash games. no other way around it.

Agreed.


I got my first Hold'em experience by playing in the free money tournaments at pokerpages.com. However, after a couple months, it became obvious that the games were only worthwhile as a way to learn the pure basics. After that, you have play in games in which the stakes mean something to both you and your opponents.


The best ways to improve from this point foward are:


1. Playing in real money games/tournaments.

2. Reading reputable poker books/magazines

3. Discussing/thinking about poker (especailly on this Forum).

If you're serious, you should invest in Turbo Texas Hold 'em. It's not without its flaws, but it is a valuable way to sharpen your skills. also, check out the University of Alberta Artificial Intelligence project, which offers a reasonable game online for free.

regarding fake money sites....


if your playing a full table, you usually wont find this type of table, unless its LL..2-4, or 3-6 up here. if you only play these types and try to transfer to cash, youll probably be playing too loose. i learned that the pretty quick.


BUT 1 table ive found very useful is 5 handed max tables....ive found it great for practicing shorthanded play. why? because its the closest to playing real with fake. your hands youd play almost the same as in a real money game.


tourneys can be kinda cool for the experience.

get wilson software for practice...itll save ya tons in cash. well worth the investment.


just some thoughts...


b

I agree with previous two posts: Turbo Holdem is an excellent way to learn. Aside from the analysis the package provides, you learn that you can have some nasty swings (ie hands between pots)which will help you prepare when nothing seems to go right for you in real cash games.


Also, pick up Holdem Poker for Advanced Players(Malmuth/Sklansky) and Holdem Excellence (Lou Krieger) is good if you're just starting out.


There's no shortage of low limit play on any number of sites (there's a nickel/dime game on Planet Poker which can be pretty damn tight at times) and there's a good $0.25/$0.50 game on Ultimate Bet. It's fast-paced and some of the players are quite entertaining.


True Poker has a lot of tourneys (some for as low as a $1 entry fee) and I think you'll enjoy the back-and-forth banter between some of the players.I haven't tried it, but I understand PokerStars also offers a lot of tournament play, as well.


Good Luck

Thanks. I have my money in PokerStars, and we'll see how that works out. I've read Sklansky's "The Theory of Poker," and I will start on other books right away. Thanks a lot.

You can get an awful lot of great advice and general information here. If nothing else, you can certainly get a great insight into the different ways that people approach the game.


But be careful! I have seen some unforgivably BAD advice posted here. It's human nature to "believe everything you read" when trying to soak up the massive amount of information available on such an esoteric topic as the one we so enjoy.


There is, for instance, a poster in the "middle + high stakes" forum who, although an apparently accomplished and successful player, would lead you straight to the welfare line if you attempted to follow his lead. He is simply in posession of an entirely different set of skills than the average player, and if you had never followed any the earlier threads in which he had participated, you might never know how to look at his take on the game.


But exceptions aside, what you want to look out for is flat out bad advice all packaged in the vernacular, sounding authoritative, and probably well-intended.


All this said, I guarantee that viewed with a critical and discerning eye, you can extract more valuable hold'em information from this forum alone than from any poker books ever published with the exception of three.


I'm sure everyone here has his or her opinion on what those books are (Hint: they can all be purchased through 2+2).


Damn. Now I'm a shill.

http://www.cs.ualberta.ca/~games/poker/

The Poker Pages School, Poker School Online is a pay site that costs $15 a month. You play with a "play money" bankroll and the site tracks your rankings. Top rankings for the week, month, ect. win you sponsorships into major tournaments. Because of the sponsorship insensitive the games are played in a much more "real world" fashion. There is also a wealth of good information available by Nolan Dalla, Mike Caro, and Lou Krieger.


BTW, I don't work for this site; I am just a satisfied customer.