New player

[Taxmanrick]

I'm fairly new to holdem. I've been playing a few months on free sites and live games at the local casino. I don't get to play nearly as much as I would like at the casino and am looking at playing online for real money. Any suggestions for me?

[BottlesOf]

Participate actively in the strategy forums. Read the FAQs in the Internet Gambling Forum, micro stakes and small stakes forums. Use the search function. Develop a thick skin. Grow.

[Harv72b]

Read, read, and read some more; these forums and some of the fine poker books you'll find recommended here.

Play, play, and play some more; book knowledge doesn't help until you're able to put it to use in real time.

And play within your finances--regardless of what limits you're used to playing at the local casinos, unless you make enough money that dropping a few hundred/week won't matter as you improve your game, start off with the microlimits (.50/1 & below, preferably far below if you're truly a beginning player).

Don't get discouraged if you lose some at first, and don't be afraid to ask questions here. You're already doing well with that second part. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Welcome to the forums!

[Taxmanrick]

I have read a couple of books and practice on the free sites. Are there any of the sites that any of you play that you would recommend? Maybe especially good for beginners? Since I don't get to play much at the casino, is the internet a good alternative?

[Harv72b]

[ QUOTE ]
I have read a couple of books and practice on the free sites. Are there any of the sites that any of you play that you would recommend? Maybe especially good for beginners? Since I don't get to play much at the casino, is the internet a good alternative?

[/ QUOTE ]

Pacific is widely considered to be the easiest site to win at (lots of very bad players); it's also a good site to start out on because it spreads limits all the way down to .02/.04. The Party Poker skins are what most of the regulars play here; they also have a lot of weak players, but only offer games down to .50/1.

Understand that the real money games online are generally much tighter than what you're used to at the casino (probably, unless you've been in some abnormally tight casino games). So even if you've been winning at 2/4 in a casino, it's a very good idea to start off a lot lower online. And even though the games are tighter online, the ability to play more hands/hour and the lower rake scales make it generally more profitable (to say nothing of no commute costs or tipping).

[Taxmanrick]

Thanks for the advice!