Please help my wife....

[jeccross]

I actually tried a similar thing with my sister, I wanted to play in a tuorney and wasn;t gonna be there for the start so I gave her some instructions for the first 1/2 hour or so, she didn't win a pot but only lost about 1/4 of my chips.

[kongo_totte]

[ QUOTE ]
You think KK and AA hold up well against 4 or 5 other players ?

[/ QUOTE ]

If I got 9 players to call an all in pre-flop when I hold aces every single time I would be a rich man. True, your winning % will drop but your odds will go way up.



http://twodimes.net/h/?z=964916
pokenum -h ah as - ad kd - qd qh - ts js - 5h 4h - 6d 6c - 8c 8s
Holdem Hi: 501942 enumerated boards
cards win %win lose %lose tie %tie EV
As Ah 122496 24.40 377857 75.28 1589 0.32 0.245
Ad Kd 41644 8.30 458709 91.39 1589 0.32 0.084
Qd Qh 77434 15.43 424158 84.50 350 0.07 0.154
Js Ts 69753 13.90 431839 86.03 350 0.07 0.139
5h 4h 65689 13.09 435903 86.84 350 0.07 0.131
6c 6d 51336 10.23 450256 89.70 350 0.07 0.102
8s 8c 72001 14.34 429591 85.59 350 0.07 0.144


Every player calls for $10 EV: $7.50/hand.

http://twodimes.net/h/?z=188924
pokenum -h ah as - js ts
Holdem Hi: 1712304 enumerated boards
cards win %win lose %lose tie %tie EV
As Ah 1355912 79.19 349220 20.39 7172 0.42 0.794
Js Ts 349220 20.39 1355912 79.19 7172 0.42 0.206

EV: $6/hand.

[Tilt]

Of all the types of poker, I really think NL holdem ring games are the toughest to master. The variance is higher, and the decisions of the game are just fundamentally difficult when the stacks get deep.

Sure, the average play at the lowest stakes is so awful in part due to the recent inlflux of players, but I think your wife is likely to be one of the fish when she starts there.

My reccomendation is that she start with micro limit and SNG's. Both are more formulaic and require less deductive skill. In micro limit, you can win $ with a fixed formula of calling/folding/raising standards. In SNG's, a beginner can sit tight until the blinds get bigger and then start pushing alot of hands. Pushing preflop = easy decisions.

Having her read like 50 hand histories a day here is good idea. After logging a few thousand hands at the other games would I reccomend she move over to cash games.

[meow_meow]

I've actually been thinking about something similar for a while.

I think you can make it much more interesting for her (and profitable), by adding limping (and folding to significant raise) with any pocket pair, any 2 broadway, and connector and one-gapper down to 65 and 75.
Post flop push with 2 pair or better (as long as no pair on board and not monotone or 1-card-straight possible). Check and call small bets with top pair, OESD and flush draws, check and fold otherwise. I'm sure this works for 6-max, I've no idea about full ring.

I do like still open-pushing with AA-TT and AK.

I'm not sure how the games on absolute are, but at the party 6max 25NL, I'm fairly certain you could make money with this, bonuses aside.

[SCfuji]

forget absolute 1c/2c limit holdem on ultimate bet.

[schwza]

i think your plan looks pretty good. you might want to pull JJ from the list. (but it would kill me to come into the room and see my wife open-fold JJ on the button).

i'd recommend she multi-table: a handful at absolute (it should take no attention to push or fold) and play for real at a .01/.02 nl table to see if she likes it.

[grimel]

[ QUOTE ]
So I have decided to let the wife clear some bonuses on Absolute while she's on maternity leave. She has never played poker in her life and isn't particularly numerate.

What strategy would be the safest (i.e. not to be rude, but the most idiot-proof) way for her to break-even at micro-limits?

I’m thinking No Limit is a lot easier than Limit so how’s this for a plan for NL $0.1 / $0.25?

[/ QUOTE ]

At that level, limit is no fold 'em. Pushing big pairs can make you broke quickly.

Two books "Learn How to Win at Texas Hold 'em Poker For 5 Bucks" (2nd choice) and "Learn to Play Poker Like the Pros" (1st choice). Use the beginner's strategy and ease into the intermediate strategy. That should be at least break even microlimit NL hold'em. One thing not mentioned, if she is going to do the push on hand X she shouldn't push $20 if the only people left have $10 - make it $10. Introduce doubt (not really possible at that level, but hey why not) as to buying the pot or strong & trying to stack them.

[IdMan]

This thread discusses Ed Miller's strategy found in Getting Started in Hold'Em which is similar to what you are talking about. It is probably ideal for her.
A No-Limit Experiment Thread

[teamdonkey]

what a lucky woman your wife is, to have a husband trying to find an "idiot proof" way for her to scratch out a few extra pennies on her maternity leave.

if she wants to play poker, why not give her a small bankroll and actually spend some time trying to help her learn?

[subzero]

" I told him that if he got A-A, K-K, Q-Q, J-J, A-K, or A-Q suited, to raise, reraise, or cap it. In short, just put more money in. If he got 10-10, 9-9, 8-8, any suited blackjack or suited 20-point hand, he could call one bet. But if it was raised to him and he couldn’t reraise, he couldn’t call two bets cold; he would have to fold. That’s insanely tight, you might say, and so it was. ..."
Taking David to Bay 101, by Lee H. Jones [article]