Newbies questions - lots ;)

[luckydog]

Books are a must in my opinion unless you have someone to teach you or enough money to learn the hard way.
The standard advice I have seen around here is to have a bankroll equal to 300 BB (big bets) at the level you intend to play.
This is because everyone has losing streaks and you need enough money to survive them.
Many people have gotten by on less and done just fine but as I say that is the advice I have seen on 2+2.
Most sites seem to have .05/.10 as their low limit but I believe that there are some sites out there offering .01/.02 limit games.
With $9 you would be well funded at the .01/.02 level and if you catch on quickly you can always move up.
I would wait until you have read at least the pre-flop portion of WLLH or ITH before you start playing with your money. You can save a lot by knowing what hands to play in each position.

Luckydog

[iNsChris]

So Internet Texas Hold Em i should buy?

Or the other book?

WHich has most content, Is for beginners yet makes them become advanced and is well written with good explanations (and maybe colourfull.. "Not boring looking")

[Mangatang]

Winning Low Limit Hold'em by Lee Jones is the best book to start out with.

[iNsChris]

i noticed this book was written years ago?

Would the advice still be ok ? The game hasn't changed i know, but i would have thought new ideas would come into play and new theorys meaning even after this book i am far behind ?

I understand i will need two books to get basics then advanced - After reading amazons reviews it sounds like its a bit to basic ?

Just wondering - Thanks!
anyone here who has read both? If previous posters have i apoligise as i haven't seen you say it, cheers in advanced.

[CT11]

This books age doesn't matter. The reviews may say it's basic but trust me if your starting out thats a good thing. A lot of the "simple" concepts take a little getting used to. They may be easy on their own but just keeping track of every thing you should be thinking about at once is very difficult at first. Eventually it becomes quick and then you have more things to focus on.

Any new theories coming out will probably be much more advanced. I think the basics won't change until the game structure changes.

I started off with just WLLH and it made be a break even player from the start. I found 2+2 pretty quickly after that and some other books.

I don't have enough hands to tell you I'm a winning player today but I can say I'm pretty sure I'm not a loosing player.

~CT11

[luckydog]

No one book is going to take you from beginner to advanced.
Your idea of a good (enjoyable) book to read may be very different than mine and I don't really think that any I have read so far I would call entertaining. [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]
I think if I had to pick one to start with I would get Winning Low Limit Holdem (WLLH) but I would also plan on getting Internet Texas Holdem (ITH) and then others like Winning Small Stakes Holdem With Expert Play (SSH) and Theory of Poker (TOP).
Even though the statistics are the same, each book has some differences based on what the author thinks works best so they are all worth a read to find what works for you.
I have only been playing for about two months and although I have a long way to go they have helped me tighten up my game.
The other thing is time. If you were going to learn a sport like soccer you would expect to invest a lot of time practicing what the coach told you. This is no different. You need to practice what you have read and see what effect little changes make in your results.
Best of luck on your poker journey.

Luckydog

[MrHorace]

Chris,
Mangatang is solid in his advice so if he recommends WLLH by Lee Jones, by all means heed that advice. However, I really liked Internet Texas Hold 'Em a lot. But it is about the sixth or seventh book I've read. It's a good compliment to Ed Miller's Small Stakes Hold 'Em book. ITHE has lots of examples, which I thought were really good.

Good Luck,
Mr Horace