SSH not for a beginner

[scott111]

I started playing limit hold'em on-line 2 months ago. The first books I read were Hold'em Poker by Skanlsky, then straight into SSH. I'm now suspecting that was a mistake, as many posters here indicate that it's a bit dangerous in the hands of beginners. I also read Theory of Poker.

I'm not doing bad, I usually only breaking even on the 50 cent tables at UB. I have a solid grasp of preflop, it's simple enough, but I get into trouble after that. Getting aggressive at the wrong time is the big one, raising the pot at the wrong time. I tend to lose much more than I win with AA or KK because I feel invincible. And losing big pots to the bigger flush is common.

I'm sure I only have part of the picture from SSH, if I had it all I would be winning!! My main question here is this: Should I continue to try to master the techniques in SSH, or should I take a step back try a different book first?

[Chris Dow]

My advice to you is keep working inside of the 2+2 family of books. They are not easy but they are complete and accurate. I was teh suck before 2+2. Just look at me now...

Read and reread. Think a lot. Reread again.

[KaiShin]

The other often recommended book for beginners is Winning Low Limit Hold 'Em by Lee Jones. Give that one a shot then go back to SSH.

[mr pink]

SSH is the best book out there for the games you are playing. post hands in the micros that you're not sure of, or think you misplayed and ask for advice. comment on how you think others should have played a hand, ask advice, accept criticism in a positive and constructive way in order to improve your game. work hard at it and stay positive and you'll do fine.

good luck

- pink

[ckessel]

In short, I'd step back and come at SSH again from a scenic route.

I started with Winning Low Limit and the Turbo Texas Holdem software. That's probably a better start than SSH just because SSH depends on an instinctual understanding of some post-flop pieces (pot odds and value betting to name a couple). You don't have to be good at them, but need that gut level "this hand seems like a value-bet hand, but how do I do it?" SSH also demands you make plays not for yourself per se, but to put the onus on opponents. Yes, a raise with overcards in "situation A" is poorer pot odds than just calling, but the SSH point it's better to take that hit because of the value in the pressure it puts on opponents. It's understanding when you have "situation A" that's hard. Misapplying it results in loose/aggressive leaks.

Personally, Turbo Texas Holdem worked really well for me. It's probably too loose preflop and too aggressive postflop. However, that's not all bad. It's easy to tighten up preflop. It's hard to learn aggression. And you can play thousands of TTH hands very, very quickly. You can experiment, you can cheat and look at cards, you can replay hands and try different betting strategies (would that SSH tactic have saved me this pot or made it worth more?).

I got to the point with WLLH and TTH that I could beat the TTH advisor. Not by much, but pretty steadily. I slowly made money online. 4 months later I discovered SSH and now I beat the TTH advisor handily (and make more BB/100 online). The most useful thing though was I was able to practice SSH techniques over a few thousand hands on TTH before going back live. And a few thousand TTH hands can be played in a couple evenings easily, it's not a huge time investment. It's nice to have a sandbox in which I can try out ideas or run simulations.

[That guy]

SSH advises agression in a lot of marginal situations that should only be implemented by very experienced players. Reading it is good but don't try all the marginal plays that SSH advises yet. Try to understand the bigger concepts and don't worry about raising K7 on a J 7 4 flop just yet. There are a lot of things to consider in these plays and you won't be able to properly analyze the situation until you do a lot more reading and thinking.

net net, that book can be dangerous for the beginning player...