Hello friends,

I am new to this forum (this is post #1). I have played Texas Holdem before with friends but have never taken the time to learn to play properly. It was always just grab a case of beer, some cash and let's play and whatever happens happens. I have taken more of an interest in learning the game lately. I live in Tennessee and starting in July, we will have legal online sports betting. I may be wrong, but my gut tells me online poker will follow at some point, so why wait until then to start learning the game, right? But also, I am going on a cruise in March of next year and the couple that we are going with are already talking about playing Texas Holdem on the cruise in the casino. So, that gives me another, more immediate reason to learn the game better. One think that I think I have going for me is that I do tend to have great memory skills. So things like odds and any other thing that I have to commit to memory, I'm pretty good with that. So my question is where do I start? Is there a certain book that stands out more than others? Certain websites or Youtube videos? And what about practicing on free money sites? I've never enjoyed them because it's free money and people don't play the same way. Anyway, any advice is greatly appreciated. I will stay around the forums and contribute to any conversations that I can, just don't ask me for any poker advice (lol). At least not for a while. Thanks!

i liked part of the story about cruise and casino!
try to start learning with this - https://www.pokerstarsschool.com/

Hello and I wish you good luck in this not easy way.

First you need to decide what discipline you will play. It is traditionally considered that the game of cash gathers around itself strong players, and if you are just starting your road, I do not recommend you to play this format. A little later you can join, but not now. As well as determine the poker room. In the poker community there is an opinion that the weaker players are going on an ACR and 888. So it is best to play there. Partypoker and Pokerstars collects strong players, at first avoid these rooms. After about 2-3 months, you can try your hand there.
Now I think about the most important thing. Where to play and what format? Single table SNG for an ACR and 888 are very simple, as well as tournaments with a small field (not more than 200 people).

You ask for advice on literature and video. Before playing, you need to study the training material, without this I do not advise you to start playing. Recommended literature. Roy Rounder - "poker math made easy." This is an important literature that in an accessible manner will explain to you the mathematics of poker and tell you about the pot odds. Collin Moshman - "Sin*n Go Strategy ." This is a basic book that must be learned in order to understand the basis of a tournament game.
So .. if you decide to link your life with a tournament game, I recommend studying the video course "Raise Your Edge", which made up the Benjamin Roll. This is a very high quality content from the poker pro, which has achieved great results.

If you decide to link your life with cash, you should definitely read Doyle Brunson*s - "Super system." This is the basis of cash games, despite the age of the book, it is very useful.

Composing this text, I used a translator. Perhaps there are a lot of mistakes, but I hope that helped you.

If you want to play serious buy some courses

Start simple.
There are many advanced strategy guides and some down right complicated Poker books out there... avoid them.
Start with learning hand strength and pot odds
When to raise , how much to raise
when to call ,
when to fold
Practice those to get a good foothold and understanding until you are comfortable.
From there the sky is the limit!!
Any in depth questions I'm always looking to help and so is the community
PM me anytime

Thank you for posting

I recommend Jonathan Little. He has a lot of free material has a great way of presenting it and when you are ready to pay for it has good price plans for his coaching. Look him up on youtube sign up for his emails you will be glad.

Do not get the advice of ten different pros as you are not ready to incorporate specific ideas yet. Build your foundation with J Little and you will have a great start and be ready to play any level you could afford to play now. Also your growth will be so much faster than reading books alone.

Hope this helps.

Read, watch videos and find some lower stakes games. Keep notes after each session.

Just wanted to thank you guys for the advice. I'm still out here trying to learn - and it is a slow process. But I'm better now than I was a month ago, so that's good. Thanks again!

Maybe the best advice is to start by following a precise strategy and not varying from it at all. An example of a strategy would be only playing good hands, maybe the top fifteen hands, AJ and up.

I think you better start playing freerolls. This will give you a valuable experience for free.

Play within your bankroll!!!

You need to read about and play as much poker as possible over the next year.

Welcome to our community.
This is a great place to learn the game and improve your skills.
I traditionally believe that books are the most valuable source of knowledge. The most useful books on poker :
Jared Tendler "The Mental Game of Poker"
Ed Miller "Texas Holdem for beginners"
Ed Miller "Professional NL Holdem"
Ed Miller "Small Stakes NL Holdem"
Andrew Seidman "The Easy Game"
Tri Nguyen "The NL Holdem Workbook"

I would recommend learning about ranges and position first and plenty of information can be found on here and with a quick search on both topics.

Hey buddy I hope you haven't lost your drive and passion for the game yet.. I could give you some tips to improve your game and could spend hours typing but I will keep it simple and say to just try and follow your gut instincts. There are many styles or strats you can apply to the game but ultimately to be the most successful you will need to adjust your game to the flow that's itsgoing. Who you're playing against is always a factor. Learn how to shift gears change up your range time the moves you make and bets to profit at the max! Timing is everything bro trust me.. all that other stuff that's useful you can read about it learn with simple math.. good luck sir!

if playing tourneys - the 10% rule works for me
and cash tables - always have 100 big blinds

Advice that I give you friend, if you really want to learn, dedicate a few hours of your day to study.
But without alcohol, the drink will not help you in any way focus on the study.

Alcohol and poker dangerous mix!

Find a starting hand sheet that will tell you what hands you can and cant play. Look up pot odds. Play tight aggressive

people are lazy by nature. the main thing is not to lose motivation and if you can find a coach or like-minded people