New Guy Seeks Full-Ring Limit Online, Micro or 'Play Money'

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duecesdown

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Hello, folks!
Newbie here!

Got interested about 8 weeks ago in the rules of HE on a Hoyle Casino 2005 PC game playing against computer characters in limit games. The computer gives 7 opponents. To make it short, I got totally hooked on Holdem overnight!

I bought the 'Dummy' book and now I've bought and read a couple of books by Ed Miller and Lee Jones and a book on figuring odds by Matthew Hilger. I have a 'play money' account at Full Tilt, who tells me I'm in California and can't play on their site for money even if I want to. I also have a small deposit at Bet Online.

Now I realize you can't really learn even basic HE without playing real people, so I am looking for low-budget online practice before hitting the local Native American Casino for $2/$4 Limit HE. I can't afford to lose hundreds and hundreds of dollars at a casino or online just learning the basics. I see plenty of 6max games on Full Tilt and BetOnline, but that is not what I really seek. I am looking for the full table of 8 or 9 players, play money or very, very small stakes real money.

Any help, please?
 
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duecesdown

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63 views and no answers?

I use mouthwash, really....:)
 
Poker Orifice

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Forget about playmoney.

You will need to find 'US-friendly' sites that you can then play some microstake games on. (you can find this info. on this site, look under 'poker rooms')

ie.
AmericasCardRoom or BlackChipPoker (they are on the same network WPN)
Bovada

There's also Carbon, FullFlush, & Betonline but I would avoid those ones. On that note, I'd recommend reading up on each of the sites, finding the pluses & minuses for each (ie. Carbon has great software, fairly decent game (tournament) selection but currently cashouts on there are extremely slow (avg. wait time is ~3.5mths) )

Some sites lowest stakes are 10nl (5cent/10cent blinds, buyin for $10 (100bb)) Others have 2nl ( 1cent/2cent)
Some sites tournaments have late registration for 3hrs. (some folks really hate this... others don't mind it as it boosts up the prizepools).
etc. etc. etc.
You have ample resources on this site (Cardschat) alone to help you decide what might be best for you.
 
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duecesdown

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Thanks very much for answering my post.

Here, at the start for a newbie, the number of options seems almost TOO many - limit versus no limit versus tournament, live versus online, freeroll (?) versus play-for cash... Whew!

Thanks again! :)
 
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IF I were you (based on the little bit of info. you've given here)...

I would make a deposit on both A.C.R. & Bovada (maybe $50 on each?)

Here's a screenshot of the lobby on A.C.R. of the 2nl & 5nl tables. Bear in mind this is NOT during peek hours of play (but is at the start of it).... the numbers will increase later in the evening & of course on the weekend). screenshot taken at 5pm ET
 

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Thanks very much for answering my post.

Here, at the start for a newbie, the number of options seems almost TOO many - limit versus no limit versus tournament, live versus online, freeroll (?) versus play-for cash... Whew!

Thanks again! :)

Forget about 'limit'. You will NEVER find enough (or any) games that are LIMIT these days (especially in micros & especially on US sites)

After getting your feet wet, I would suggest either playing 2nl cashgames or micro buyin SnG's. For SNG I would recommend 9player regular speed games (maybe Turbo). Stay away from any Hyper-Turbo or games where you're only starting with 500chip chipstacks (25bb) & stay away from HeadsUp Sng's as well.
 
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screenshot of Bovada micro cash table lobby
& micro Tournament lobby
 

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Add in any freerolls & micro buyin MTT's too but try to focus on either one or the other (at least for awhile) as the games are played quite a bit differently & it'll stunt your learning process/curve at first if you're jumping all around & mixing the two types together.

CC games are also an excellent oppurtunity to play against 'some' good tournament players for free (also can add a few $'s to help a beginning micro bankroll out). Some of the players in these are quite good so it won't be anything close to easy money at first but there's also alot of new players in them too (& some old f4rts who have played for years & still play like crap). The games are very friendly.
 
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duecesdown

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The books I have read say a newbie should start with fixed limit.

Is the prevailing opinion different here at cardschat?
 
dj11

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I am PO's counter.

The best place to find LIMIT games will be at pokerstars. Same set up as a Full Tilt, they know where we are and real money poker is out.

Once you weed your way thru the micro PLAY MONEY games you can find higher buy-in play money games that approximate real money poker. PO will not agree with me, and I don't mind that at all.

I maintain that via play money poker we can learn every single thing about real money play with one exception, and it is a huge exception!

We can not learn how to deal with scared money. Sounds trivial eh? It is not, it affects every part of the game we can not really afford to be in.

Thing about Stars is that you can find a world full of players waiting for almost every poker variant at all times of the day. ALL other sites compare poorly in the available player pool.

I should add that in SoCal, all those Indian gaming rooms have a full complement of 'regs', regular players, often very friendly with each other. Consider them sharks.
 
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dj11

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The books I have read say a newbie should start with fixed limit.

Is the prevailing opinion different here at cardschat?

No group consensus. It will boil down to personal preference. Limit vs NL is like comparing an old VW bug to a Ferrari. Both will get you there. NLHE is the more popular online, and in 'events', due largely to TV coverage. Doyle once said that NLHE is the Cadillac of poker. Many agree.

The basics of odd calculations will be easier in Limit HE.

Since you say you are looking forward to that visit to the casino, you might want to concentrate on Limit. Peculiar California laws make Limit much more available. And to get in a live NLH game you really would want to have $1000 min in your pocket. Your opponents will likely have $5000 in theirs. And traditionally live players are not shy about betting and raising.
 
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duecesdown

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Thanks, dj11.

PO has been very kind, and answered quite a few questions for me, which I greatly appreciate. Everyone's time is valuable.

I also appreciate your input.

I know some of the books I have been reading have been out for a while now (like Lee Jones 'Winning Low Limit Hold'em'), and I was starting to wonder if I had been just wasting my time reading about Limit HE. I was wondering if it was gone off the Internet and everyone plays No Limit now.

From what you say, it is indeed possible to find either FL or NL, as one prefers. Thank you.
 
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duecesdown

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dj11,

You say - "Since you say you are looking forward to that visit to the casino, you might want to concentrate on Limit."

Yes, I will limit myself to $2/$4 limit (their lowest), no straddle, no kill, and see what it feels like to swim in those waters for an hour or so.
 
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duecesdown

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I just signed up for play money play at poker stars. It looks like a good choice for me to work on the game I have been reading up on, full-ring limit HE, without going broke just getting the basics down, as a rank beginner.
To each their own!
 
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Did you ever find what you were looking for? I, too, am a fan of full-ring Limit Hold'em. The action online is scarce for US players. On Carbon, there are a few very dedicated 6-max regulars that can be found playing at least one and up to four tables, depending on the time of day and day of the week. Bovada is the only other option, and it's the only place where busy full-ring tables can be found. At the lowest stake, .05/.10, the full-ring tables can be inconsistent and ephemeral. Long sessions at that level usually come with some down time and short-handed play. However, it does get busy a few times a week. Further up the ladder, the .25/.50 tables often have very consistent full-ring action. Some days, I have seen four full tables running for several hours. I think the .25/.50 players show up to actually play, while a lot of .05/.10 players buy-in with .50, end up all-in after capping with one of their first few hands, and then leaving when they lose. Other players like to leave as soon as they net a small win or they get caught bluffing. I am currently dealing with the frustration of [not] playing with these types of players, and I am planning on moving up to .25/.50. Besides full-ring, Bovada also has a morning Limit tournament and an evening Turbo. The tournaments are iffy. I usually see 15-30 people in them, depending on the day, but they are cancelled just as often. 6-max cash is more frequently accessible, on Bovada.

As for play money, Poker Stars is always busy. There is a lot of action there, there are a lot of regulars, and there are many different levels to play at. At the lowest level, there is a strange aversion and disdain for raising pre-flop, but the higher levels get more realistic. I spent a lot of time playing Fixed Limit for play money on Poker Stars. It is not bad practice, though I have found some real-money 6-max players to be much tougher than anything that I encountered while playing for play money. On the other hand, full-ring real money games are oftentimes comparable to the play money games. I don't know about the higher limits, though. Full-ring play money is also available on Bovada, but I have only played twice.

One final place where you can find Fixed Limit action is on Bet Online, but it is a whole different animal. The only tables that are busy there are the heads-up tables, and there are about three regulars that lurk at those tables, near constantly. Like a Venus fly trap, one of these players with occupy one seat at multiple heads-up tables, waiting for an opponent that is willing to take them on. Before losing interest, I watched one of these players siphon over $30 from one player, at .10/.25.

I hope that you found what you were looking for. If not, then I am interested to hear what journey you may have decided to embark on instead. Have you expanded into other betting structures or game formats? Have you begun playing live?

Lastly, here is something that might interest you. If you haven't heard of Luka Kovač, then you should give his video series a watch. He is the only dedicated Limit Hold'em pro that I am aware of, and his are the only Limit-focused videos of this type that I have found. He only plays 6-max and tournaments, but his insights can be very beneficial. He streams on Twitch, and he also has a YouTube channel.

 
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