So my friend wants to start playing online...

[parttimepro]

Brief history: I'm a winning online player. My friends know about it. One of them wants to get in on this and start playing himself. So, fine, right? The problem is, we have a poker night once a week for small stakes, and he's the worst player there. Weak loose passive, doesn't understand pot odds, etc. He's a smart guy, but somehow never picked up much in the 3 years we've been playing. Maybe once a month he'll win a couple bucks, but he almost always loses his whole buyin. I have a strong suspicion that he'll lose whatever he deposits fairly quickly.

So what can I do? I've talked several times about how idiots are giving their money away online. Now I should tell him he can't beat those fish?

I'm leaning toward putting this off as much as I can, then if he insists, giving him some tips about playing much tighter and waiting for great hands at the Party $25 tables.

Anybody have a similar situation, or some suggestions?

[Paul2432]

Unless your friend has a problem with gambling addiction, I see no need to do anything. If your friend spent money on some other leisure activity would you feel a need to intervene?

Of course, if he wants to talk strategy, or your assessment of his play, then certainly make yourself available for discussions.

Paul

[jskills]

Has he actually read Small Stakes Hold Em? Does he get it at all?

He should really start with Winning Low Limit Hold Em and then immediately read Small Stakes Hold Em. If he cannot read and properly digest those two books, he shouldn't expect to have a very easy time playing online.

[toots]

You know, sometimes having someone read SSH just gives them ammunition to rationalize their bad play.

I just gave SSH to a friend. She's very good at using all that terminology to rationalize (to herself) to play crap hands. She uses all the terms and ideas, but completely misinterprets them, finding outs where there are none, and thinking 10:1 pot odds are good enough for a 24:1 draw.

What she refers to as "super tight" (VP$IP around 25) is what most of us would call "loose." And, sure enough, every time she makes a good fold that would have hit, she sees this as a reason why she shouldn't be playing so "super tight."

Just feed rope, and make sure you're at the other end of the table catching the chips. That's about all you can do.

[jskills]

I did use the phrase "properly digest" after "read" in reference to these books. They come with starting hand charts that should be a great starting point for any beginner.

[smartalecc5]

Do not have your friend play at Partypoker! The rake is too big for the limit compared to other sites. Try pacific poker- he can only play one table (maintain focus) and the competition is rather easy.

[Bill C]

Maybe you could print off this thread and show it to your buddy. If he reads it and if he reads a good book or two then he's on his own. If he loses, he did it to himself.

Maybe he could/should limit his first deposit to a managable amount, and if he loses that perhaps he'll go in another direction. Or perhaps he won't.

bill

[mike3076]

you should definitely encourage him to play online.
i suggest you tell him to first play heads up against you to try it out and get used to fast play.
then you should take him to the cleaners.
if he decides to buy in again at the site-make sure you put him on your buddy lst so you can find his table ,sit down and take him to the cleaners again.he should be good for some extra income per maonth-maybe his money could pay for say,...your monthly electric bill ??

[NiceCatch]

So Mike, do you have like a "friend" for each bill? Do you ever accidentally refer to your friend Jim as "the cable bill?" I'd imagine that would be pretty embarassing... then again, you probably wouldn't care, as long as Jim paid the cable bill.

Seriously, though, the only thing I'd be worried about is if you think your friend might be prone to gambling addiction. Is he at all obsessive with any of his interests? I.e., if he's a sports junky, is he obsessive about stats? That type of behavior can translate over to the poker table, and it could get ugly, especially for a bad player. Obviously you can't tell your friend how to live his life, but you can help guide him.

[parttimepro]

Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'll try to recommend some books or try to teach him some basic strategy. Maybe try to get him to play at the play money tables or freerolls to get used to the online experience.

[ QUOTE ]
Unless your friend has a problem with gambling addiction, I see no need to do anything. If your friend spent money on some other leisure activity would you feel a need to intervene?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not so much worried that gambling addiction. Poker's a little different from other leisure activities in that he's expecting to win money, rather than play for entertainment. I'm just concerned he'll lose $100 and half blame me for it, and/or be envious or resentful that I can make $50-100/hr.

[ QUOTE ]
Has he actually read Small Stakes Hold Em? Does he get it at all?


[/ QUOTE ]
No, neither of us has read strategy books. I've browsed through Sklansky and a couple others, but for the most part I'm self taught. Is SSH applicable to fishy NL games?

[ QUOTE ]
Try pacific poker- he can only play one table (maintain focus) and the competition is rather easy

[/ QUOTE ]
Yeah, I played at pacific for the sign up bonus. You're right about the soft competition, but that site is just depressing. If the Soviet Union designed a poker site, that's what they'd come up with. Plus, I found I got a lot better when I started multi-tabling. Each hand had a much smaller time value, so I wasn't tempted to play A6o just because I was bored.

[ QUOTE ]
he should be good for some extra income per maonth-maybe his money could pay for say,...your monthly electric bill ??


[/ QUOTE ]
Well, he's already paying for my beer. I want him to win. There are enough fish online that I don't have to single him out.