New player rant. Frustrated about all the conflicting info out there. Any advice ?

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Iroh

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Anyone have articles or videos or advice on what to do specifically bankroll wise for a new micro/low stakes player ? Im gonna have about 100 or 200$ in my account and I want it to last as long as possible while playing a ton of poker and learning. Preferably I would never deposit again but I dont know if thats realistic. Ive heard ignition and ACR are both good for US but that ignition is probably better for beginners? Should I play a mix of cash games and MTTs? My main goal is to get better at poker and go even. If I have to deposit again ok but it should be a long time from now.

Now heres my rant

It seems like everyone has a different opinion on what videos and books are good. How do I know what to trust and what not to trust?
How do I know exactly what style to play and how to learn the game?
Im really frustrated because it feels like everyone has conflicting opinions and I don't know what to trust. Is there any documented players here started where I am (about to deposit I've played freerolls for a couple weeks trying to play solidly with advice I got from Harrington vol1)and got better and their method to do it ? I have a run it once essential subscription and Im reading Harringtons books but some people say that run it once essential sucks only elite is good and the same thing about Harrington and others will recommend them both. Anyone have any advice on cutting through all this information and figuring out what I should put stock in ? I don't even know what to do with my micro stakes bankroll whether I should play sitngos or cash games or mtts or what. Ive heard that new players should play conservatively and others say that conservative play is bad but I really want to get better without picking up bad habits. Can anyone point me in the right direction here ? The good news I really truly enjoy learning playing and watching poker so Im having a blast which I think is probably important.
 
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acemenow

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There are much more experienced players on here than I, but my suggestion would be to start with https://www.cardschat.com/poker-strategy.php

As for books my first book was David Sklansky theory of poker, I think I then bounced around from AUthor to author. Reading Doyles super system. and then a few others before I got distracted with work and other stuff.

I am curious what others think as well been awhile since I thought about this good luck on your journey
 
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ph_il

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Anyone have articles or videos or advice on what to do specifically bankroll wise for a new micro/low stakes player ? Im gonna have about 100 or 200$ in my account and I want it to last as long as possible while playing a ton of poker and learning. Preferably I would never deposit again but I dont know if thats realistic.
...I don't have any good BRM articles on hand, but I'll look some up and post them in another reply.

In general though, if you don't want to have to re-deposit into a poker account again, you just need to have stricter a stricter BRM plan. I don't know if you're planning on playing cash, MTTs, or SNGs but most BRM plans are something like:

Cash: 20-40+ buy-ins
SNG: 50-100+ buy-ins
MTTs: 100-200+ buy-ins

The higher you get in stakes, the stricter your BRM should be as skill level increases. As a newer player who is learning and probably starting in the micro stakes, having more buy-ins to use and learn with would be a good approach.

So, if you're playing MTTs with $200, having a BRM plan of 200+ buy-ins isn't a bad idea. And there is no problem with increasing it to be even safer. With 200 buy-ins, you can play the $1 MTTs but it'll be fine to play some .50 games if you wanted. You don't have to go ridiculously low and start off with 1c games or anything like that.


Ive heard ignition and ACR are both good for US but that ignition is probably better for beginners? Should I play a mix of cash games and MTTs? My main goal is to get better at poker and go even. If I have to deposit again ok but it should be a long time from now.
....Best thing to do is to DL both poker sites and take a look at their MTT schedule and the cash games that they offer. I know that Ignition doesn't offer a lot of games that are $1 or less. So, if you're following a really strict BRM plan, it might not be the best option for MTTs. I don't know about cash games on Ignition.

I do know that ACR offers MTTs with buy-ins <$1, so that might be more for you as a starting player. They offer .10 $100 GTDs to .55 $25 GTD on demand games. However, some of their games have really long late reg and a lot of traffic, so you should prepare for long games and a long grind if you play. A positive with ACR is that you can also get 27% rake back. I don't play cash on ACR, but I think they offer .01/.02 tables as their lowest.

As far as mixing it up, it's up to you.
Above. I'll answer the 2nd part later.
 
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karl coakley

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I think this explains it all....

I'm a firm believer in learning the game by playing the game. I'm not saying there aren't a lot of great resources around to help players improve their games or that poker books and tutorials don't have their place. They do.
However, the problem I see with people who rely on these kinds of aids is that they end up playing poker like someone else or - even worse - like everyone else. -Phil Ivey

http://www.pokerlistings.com/blog/pro-tips/dont-read-this-tip

You are going to have to develop your own style. Books, videos, blogs, ect.. are all good information, but just that information. You need to take bits and parts applying them to your game in a way that makes you successful.

This is why you are reading so much conflicting information on playing styles. You are reading what is working for one person, definitely doesn't mean it will work for others.

I always suggest to new players to learn a solid TAG style, then LAG, and you are going to have to find something in the middle. Slowly start to add a new strategy to your game by trial and error.
 
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amadeusace

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Extremely tight and solid play. There is no room for fancy moves in microstakes. You have it.. they pay you, so simple. Never be afraid to bet because you think they will not pay you, they will and they will pay you a lot.
 
Moonchild

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ohshootmybad made a good post! Bankrollmanagement is really important. And if you're really a beginner, I would NOT play to many different games. First try to get a hang of just one type of game. After that on the other hand it is good to change different types of games.

For me, Pokerschool.com helped me a lot and watching lots of liveMTT's with analysis, playing lots of freerolls and start with low buy-ins (for a beginner I would suggest 1/100 in MTT's) ... so with 100 dollars in your BR, play 1 dollar MTT's. I'm not to sure about all the books when you're a beginner. IMO, It's so important to first get your poker ABC's right before you can try out different strategies. And like was said before ... you learn a lot by playing a lot, but start low, don't get frustrated, understand and accept variance, ...

And with playing freerolls and microMTT's, know that you'll see other poker than in the highter stakes.

You will improve if you take it step by step! GL!!! And asking questions, f.ex. here will never hurt.
 
wildyetty

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take your time at first figure out what you would rather play cash or MTT. Both have their advantages and disadvantages. When you figure out the game you would like to spend the most time at then focus on those strategies.

Our site has tons of articles you can read as well twitch and youtube have videos to correspond. Don't rush! as well you are not going to master everything at once so pick your spots to focus.
 
Propane Goat

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Good advice here about gaining enough experience to develop your own style, another point to remember is that if you see a piece of advice from a respected source that refers to a certain play being mathematically correct in a some situation, trying it once or twice and losing doesn't mean that the advice is wrong.

Everything in poker is about results over the long term. For example: going all in pre-flop in a tournament with KK only to get knocked out by AA doesn't mean that going all in pre-flop with KK was a mistake. It can be, in some very specific situations, but the reason there is so much conflicting advice is that there is very little in poker that is black and white other than the math.
 
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braveslice

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” Anyone have articles or videos or advice on what to do specifically bankroll wise for a new micro/low stakes player ?”

If you are new player this doesn’t matter, you take always the lowest limit and consider moving up only after you have shown yourself that you winning wasn’t luck. If you lose all you need to deposit, that simple. At NL2 that usually would mean months’ work, and that time you a lot smarter to figure out more.


“It seems like everyone has a different opinion on what videos and books are good.”

Again irrelevant, for new player all information is good. Let say you want to learn starting ranges, you obviously don’t want to read just one advice about it, but from multiple sources.


“Im really frustrated because it feels like everyone has conflicting opinions and I don't know what to trust.”

RULE1: Don’t trust forums
You can’t trust but yourself. What is good for some is not necessarily good for you. What is good for NL25 player most likely sucks for microlayers (Reall microplayers NL2-NL10). Only thing you can do, is NOT TO TRUST anyone in forums, except when you notice (one day) other people are actually listening this person. What you can trust is that all famous or even relatively famous poker teacher/ video makers are all 10000x better than you so by listening them you can’t really lose. Just remember to pick only streams and books for beginner levels.


“I don't even know what to do with my micro stakes bankroll whether I should play sitngos or cash games or mtts or what.”

This is like asking if you shoud play chess, checker or chogi. How can we know what you like? But at the start pick one, not multiple.


“Ive heard that new players should play conservatively and others say that conservative play is bad”

Rember RULE1, you can’t trust forums, so get your opinions from blogs, books and tutorials. See? it got very much easier if you disregard forums, because ALL BUT forums say you need to start as a conservative play and player.


Good luck!

Oh final point, if you play cash transition to tourneys is relatively easy, not sure if it’s that easy other way around. So my suggestion is to try NL2 first and see if you like it, and 6 max, because that is the fastest way to learn. Also again the warning I gave you before, game is different per level, you can't learn how to play at micros by watching NL100 feed.

Thrive for ABC mastery to be able one day surpass it :fight:
 
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braveslice

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Btw I chose this forum after trying many because I find that this forum has many players I can trust. This wasn't the case in other ones I tried.
 
coolDadJimbo

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i've only been playing for about 2.5 years and only now feel like i am really getting the game.... not only does it take awhile to learn the rules, ranges, bet sizing, board reading etc.... it takes awhile to be able to put yourself in the other players shoes and read/guess what they have...

in the past 2.5 year i've read 5 books (including harringtons tourney series and theory of poker), plus peruse this forum daily and have a few blogs and youtube subscriptions.... watched prob every wsop... and still this is not enough...

what i think you need to do is play low stakes and expect to make more deposits.... be patient and focus on learning the game, developing a "feel" for the game...

and, think long-term!!! don't base success on individual hands or a single session....

plus, studying ranges and playing by position is huge... i underestimated position early..

zoom can be frustrating and can eat up a BR roll quick.... but, i think it is a good way to get in lots of hands and accelerate learning.... the drawback, is it takes away from the table reading skills, which can be the most fun part... so, mix in some cheap sitngos or cash... don't worry too much about figuring out what is your best game... try a few differnet things.... i play .25 spin and gos, which i think improves short stacked headsup play.... and i play full ring tourneys too where patience and position are important..

don't be in a hurry.... be patient and forgive yourself for bad plays... study your play
 
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braveslice

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Agreement with coolDadJimbo, stay away from zoom untill you cut the brains of all typical player types
 
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kishiru

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I learned a lot whatching streams on twitch.tv. There are good players and they are explaining what they are doing. Few months ago i wanted to become like them and im on good way to do it :) i suggest u to start watching better players and ask them everything u want
 
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