Yahoo Poker

[bbrrady00]

I play Yahoo poker (hold em). Would this be a good learning tool, similar to playing for "play money" at any of the online poker rooms

[namknils]

I do remember playing some serious Yahoo! Poker at one point /images/graemlins/blush.gif. I don't remember how good the players were or if it was similar to play money at the online poker rooms. But I would assume it would be about the same, it is after all play money games.

If you want to try a poker rooms play money games without downloading the software you can go to pokerroom.com and play there. They are a no-download site.

-nam

[Greg J]

wow... yahoo hold em. That takes me back a few years. From what i remember the play was slow as hell and there was capping every street!

From my experience yahoo hold em wont help your game much. the players are simply too bad. I'm not even sure play money is that good, but play money at a paradise or party is probably better than yahoo.

If you want a good learning tool, i reccomend depositing twenty bucks and playing nano limits. Poker stars has a $.01/.02 game, and paradise has a $.02/.04 game. These games are better than play money in the quality of the opponents they offer. This means there are still plenty of complete idiots though.

The general consensus I have gotten from other plyers on here about play money is that it is not worth that much to helping you get better. But, it is better than nothing. If you are learning the structure and rules of hold em, or want to familiarize yrself with the software, then play money is certainly useful. As far as improving yr game goes, it's not worthless... it just might not really be worth your while.

I still play nano limits (I'm poor, and don't have the bankroll yet to move up... but it's growing!). Some posters here have questioned the value of nano limit play, but i have to respectfully disagree. In all honestly, i find the nano limit games to be similar to live casino low limits ($3/6 and $1-4-8-8 spread limit). It might sound incredible, but i swear it's true.

Hope this helps.

Greg

[AKQJ10]

[ QUOTE ]
Some posters here have questioned the value of nano limit play, but i have to respectfully disagree. In all honestly, i find the nano limit games to be similar to live casino low limits ($3/6 and $1-4-8-8 spread limit). It might sound incredible, but i swear it's true.

[/ QUOTE ]

Based on my extremely limited experience, especially in the B&M world (just a couple of 2-4 sessions at Foxwoods), i would tend to agree with this. It looks like on the sites like Paradise, the .02-.04 and .05-.10 games attract people like me who want to learn to improve their game but don't want to waste tons of money doing so. As a result Paradise's play money games seem really loose-aggressive even by playmoney standards, compared to say Party's. Party starts at .50-1 which can be expensive for folks like us, so there's nowhere for the microlimit players to go except play money games.

Not to say that Party's .50 - 1.00 game isn't loose too, of course.

[blackaces13]

[ QUOTE ]
From what i remember the play was slow as hell and there was capping every street!


[/ QUOTE ]

Yup, that's how I remember it too. Don't waste your time, DL from a real poker site and it will be quicker and you may even find a person or two actually interested in learning as opposed to capping every street with the nut low.

[bbrrady00]

I just finished playing at pokerroom.com, and from my very inexperienced knowledge of poker rooms, it seemed easy to navigate, and I will be back to play there. (up $142 in a 5-10 play money game). It would have been nice to have a 3-6 game, as thats what I would like to play in a B&M room.
Thanks for the link. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[SossMan]

[ QUOTE ]
I just finished playing at pokerroom.com, and from my very inexperienced knowledge of poker rooms, it seemed easy to navigate, and I will be back to play there. (up $142 in a 5-10 play money game). It would have been nice to have a 3-6 game, as thats what I would like to play in a B&M room.
Thanks for the link. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[/ QUOTE ]

This is where I play when I'm at work, hence, can't load party. It's kinda fun seeing how large you can make your bankroll. Ive turned 1000 into about 250k over the last year and a half or so.
I like pokerroom.com.

[deacsoft]

Yahoo hold'em = complete waste of time

[donkeyradish]

Yahoo poker will teach you nothing but the WORST way to play poker.

When people don't care if they win or lose they will play no differently than they would if blindfolded. Consequently the games are completely unrealistic.

If you want a simple way to beat Yahoo poker, simply wait for AA and play no other hand. If you can stay awake that long!

If you want to learn to play, like Greg I recommend very low limits (e.g. Paradise Poker has games where you can play for $0.02 at a time, isn't going to hurt if you lose.)

Even at these very low limits you can get a tough game so its great for beginners.

[Recliner]

Play money is a waste of your time, what you should be doing is going after the free money.

The Gaming Club Poker will give you $15 for singing up and Royal Vegas will give you $10. They're in the same network, just differnt skins, so I'm not sure if you can get both. I got $10 from Royal Vegas and the lowest limit they have is .1/.2 which is very loose and easily beatable as long as you play tight.

[AKQJ10]

I took advantage of the Gaming Club's $15 offer. However, I've read elsewhere that some of the Prima sites (not GC) may not be entirely reputable. I see that Royal Vegas is a sponsor on this site so I don't want to offend a forum sponsor! But as always it's good to research a site before depositing anything, of course.

I haven't deposited at GC, but I'm enjoying the $15 and the freerolls.

[Sadat X]

When poker isn't played for money, it is no longer poker. From my experience, you can learn absolutely nothing from play money sites.

[Blindfolk]

If you want to learn what hands to play in what position, you can make playmoney worth it.

[AKQJ10]

Exactly, that's its primary value. Certainly not any approximation of "real" poker, but it's OK as practice for the discipline of not getting caught up when everyone else is capping preflop, etc.

I like to play playmoney Omaha 8 because I don't think i yet have a good sense of what is or isn't a good O8 hand. If my mind's not engaged enough to play micro-limits (!), then I'll play playmoney Hold 'Em. But I have no illusions about it simulating a real game.

[tubbyspencer]

I found pokerschoolonline.com to be very helpful in this regard. It costs about $15/month - but the value is, you're playing agaisnt people that are serious about poker. Or at least serious about trying to learn poker. There are built in incentives for building your "bankroll" - and the higher you go in your bankroll - the better players you face.

Regular Play Money poker is no good - Yahoo or Stars or any of it. Because nobody has ANY incentive to fold for anything - EVER!

[Sadat X]

When you play poker, if the money involved doesn't mean anything to the players, the essence of the game is lost. Don't bother with these games...if you can succeed at a level at which players care about their money, then you know you can be a good poker player.

I may be extremely drunk as I type this, but I believe that poker is half skill and half heart. You must be willing to make that bet/raise in borderline situations in order to be a solid player. With play money, any jackass can make such a move and it becomes meaningless.

[Greg J]

I think the responses here well reflect the value of play money, which is not much at the VERY best. I still say that when you are learning the software of a new site play money is good. Beyong that its value is limited at best. As far as improving your game... it won't help much.

Pogo is now charging a monthly fee to play with your tokens in a hold em game. I think this is just insane: paying someone to play with play money! With the current poker craze though I bet someone does it!

[Blindfolk]

I'm not saying playing with play money will make you a good player.

Let's say that you primarily play Hold 'Em and Omaha/8. If you want to learn Stud, where should you learn about starting hands, etc.? Play money tables is the best answer.