New to poker, How should I start?

M

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Hey,
I want to start playing online poker and I have some questions.
First off I think I should start with 1/2c stakes? So I guess I'll deposit around 70$?
Second, At what site should I start out, any suggestions?
And third; any tips on learning poker and all that stuff? I'll be using pokeroffice 5.
Thx in advantage.
 
Beanfacekilla

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Hello and welcome.

I would start out playing cash, and an occasional cheap multi table tournament. $70 should be fine for .01/.02

However, boavada is a decent site, but the smallest game there is 2c5c. You would need at least 100 to even think about playing those stakes.

Honestly, you are probably going to lose at first. Poker is so involved, it simply takes years of experience for some to profit.

Go to you library and check out a bunch of poker books. Read on this site. Post on this site. An experienced player should know general odds of making his hand, how to calculate pot odds, and how to read opponents. There are too many things to list.

I will run a scenario to calculate odds of making a hand:

You hold A-K of diamonds.
Flop comes 10-diamonds 3-diamonds Jack-spades

You have an inside straight draw (the queen makes broadway), a nut flush draw, and 2 over cards to the board.

Started the hand with 52 cards. 2 were dealt to you, and 3 community cards. 47 cards left in the deck.

your outs: 3 queens, 9 spades, 3 aces, and 3 kings. a total of 18.

How many times does 18 go into 47? about 2 and a half.

Your odds are 1 in 2.5 of making at least top pair, or roughly 38% to hit a card to improve your hand. That is a decent situation to be in, with only ace high. However, if you hit the A or K, it might make someone else a straight, so those might not be clean outs. It helps you, but it helps them way more.

There are literally thousands of little tidbits just like this. There is so much strategy involved with poker. People with high I.Q.'s often dominate in poker. It is essentially about playing you opponents, rather than the cards in your hand.

I hope this helps. Just my opinion, take it or leave it.
 
Arjonius

Arjonius

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Try different types of games then play whichever one or mix you enjoy.
 
mrmonkey

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Welcome to the site, and good luck on the start of your online poker journey!

First off, do you have ANY poker experience? Home games, live casino, basic rules and strategy (like starting hand charts)?

It would probably be easier to help advise you if we know what your current knowledge and experience with poker is. Also, if you are located in the USA your choices for sites will be limited.

One thing I will definitely advise you before you sign up with any site is to investigate the promotional opportunities they offer. Some sites offer special promotions and incentives like rakeback ONLY if you sign up through a particular affiliate, and once you make an account there is no going back since almost all sites never allow you to create more than one account.
 
frozensprx

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im a pretty new player too, and one thing that rly helped me was I printed out all the percentages of different hands preflop (like AK vs 99) and then the odds of drawing to hands etc and put them on the wall so while i played i could memorize them and always know the odds of hitting my hand.
 
M

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Well I 've played for fun online a few months before on 888poker,
And yes I know some basics like starting hands indeed.
 
Reptar7

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Hey,
I want to start playing online poker and I have some questions.
First off I think I should start with 1/2c stakes? So I guess I'll deposit around 70$?
Second, At what site should I start out, any suggestions?
And third; any tips on learning poker and all that stuff? I'll be using pokeroffice 5.
Thx in advantage.

Are you American?
If yes, close this window and forget about poker.

If no, go play on pokerstars. Get a HUD and start keeping track of stats. Work your way up to at least 12 tables. Play tight and aggressive. Easy game.
 
bz54321

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If you are American dont give up on poker!

I would suggest finding a merge skin and fun stepping your way to a dollar or two.

Fun Steps are single table tournaments games were you get a dollar after getting first in the 3rd step.

Google "Poker Fun Step" or search this site.

Or if your goal is really to make money then play in a real game and put the whole 70 on the line.

To learn try playing lots of different styles then try mixing the styles. And pay no attention to a-holes who try to give you grief about playing this way or that.
 
Last edited:
M

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Well I'm from the netherlands so finding a site shouldn't be a problem,
I've also decided to go cash games, I currently deposited 50$ on 888 to play 0.03/0.06 cash games, I know it's bad BRM but it's just until I find a site to stay on,
So would you suggest playing on 888, or should I try something else?
 
lilwanger

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Read theory of poker, super system, and the harrington books. The most important thing to remember is to always ask yourself WHY. Don't act off impulse, it's stupid take your time and think things through.
 
Reptar7

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Well I'm from the Netherlands so finding a site shouldn't be a problem,
I've also decided to go cash games, I currently deposited 50$ on 888 to play 0.03/0.06 cash games, I know it's bad BRM but it's just until I find a site to stay on,
So would you suggest playing on 888, or should I try something else?

No! Pokerstars is far and away the best site. Full Tilt and party poker are the other contenders.
 
M

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Why is it best if I may ask?

lilwanger: I've read super system and one of the harrington books, Thanks for the tip tho, I'll try theory of poker.

I planned to read "The Mental Game Of Poker" by Jared Tendler, Is it worth it?
 
Beanfacekilla

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Anything you can get your hands on to read is worth a look. Feed your mind with poker info.
 
M

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Okay thx,
I will start reading a lot then,
Does anyone have an advice for a poker site btw?
I heard pokerstars is the biggest, but also the toughest site, I've currently played 700 hands on 888, with a bb/100 of 32, and a profit of 27$ on the 0.03/0.06, so I'm considering staying here, altho I think 700 is too small of an amount to really make a decision.
 
mrmonkey

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First off, I highly recommend you start taking bankroll management more seriously from the get go. Even if you are just "messing around", if you approach poker with the mindset that your bankroll is disposable then it will be disposed of quickly. To start with, aim for at least 20 buy ins at the stake you want to play. With a $50 roll, you are rolled for 2nl and nothing higher until you hit $80-100, at which point you can move up to 4nl or 5nl.

700 hands as a sample size is basically nothing. Maybe around 50,000-100,000 hands is when you can start to get a better idea... although personally I think winrate is way overrated as a method to track your abilities as a poker player. Instead of winrate, focus on reviewing your session after you finish and going over some of the key hands to see how you played and question yourself whether it was optimal or not. This is just as important when you are crushing and on a heater for a 25+ bb/100 winrate as when you are in a massive 10 buy-in downswing. Measuring yourself in "Sklansky Bucks" is a much better way to gauge your abilities as opposed to winrate. If you do not have software like PokerTracker or Hold 'Em Manager, get one as it will help you make analyzing your play so much easier (and when the time comes for you to multitable the HUD will be invaluable).

888 Poker is a little softer than other sites, but honestly if you table select carefully and choose the right times to play you can find tables on PokerStars or Full Tilt that will play softer than some tables on 888. The reason why PokerStars/Full Tilt are encouraged by most is because the software and company reputation are top class. Additionally, the rake at PokerStars in the micros is one of the cheapest amongst all poker rooms, and the game selection is huge in comparison to most other sites... like you can find 20+ tables going at almost any time of day whereas other sites might have maybe 2-3 tables operating during slow times.

Again, before you sign up with any site, make sure you do your research about promotions. Cardschat here has several exclusive freerolls you can play in if you sign with the affiliate link, and there are also other offers around that you may be interested in. I haven't researched them recently, but go do some homework on it and you may be greatly rewarded by doing so.

Lastly, I think the book suggestions others have mentioned are a good way to get yourself started thinking about poker the right way. Build a basic foundation, then play play play to get experience, review review review to learn from your mistakes, and keep seeking out ways to improve your game.
 
M

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Okay thanks for the tips,
How about rakeback? I heard Fulltilt and pokerstars don't have it, Should I just ignore it or is it important?

And also: the MTT's at pokerstars contain thousands of people, Which increases the luck-factor a lot i guess?
 
mrmonkey

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How about rakeback? I heard Fulltilt and pokerstars don't have it, Should I just ignore it or is it important?

FT and PS offer rakeback in the form of VIP systems. If you play enough and generate enough rake for them (points for you) you can get cash back. The more you play, the higher your "rakeback" percentage. Some sites give high flat rakeback percentages right from the start to players if they sign up through certain affiliates, although these types of deals are becoming less common as more sites move towards a tiered system based on how much you play.

I wouldn't worry too much about rakeback when you're first starting out. Once you get like 50,000 hands in, see your bankroll growing and you start ascending the stakes ladder and feel comfortable grinding out hands, it may be worthwhile to seek a site/deal that gives generous rakeback for the levels you are playing.

I would, however, once again stress that you research promotions that affiliate sites are offering for the poker rooms you are interested in signing up for. Although sites like PokerStars and Full Tilt no longer offer flat rakeback deals, there are other kinds of benefits to signing up through affiliates like monthly private freerolls or free poker software / literature and things of this nature. Just make sure you do find the best deal, because you only get ONE CHANCE to sign up for a site. If you didn't see that one affiliate is offering 90% lifetime rakeback and you end up signing up through a different one that gave you a free deck of cards... you will seriously regret it at some point in the future.

And also: the MTT's at pokerstars contain thousands of people, Which increases the luck-factor a lot i guess?

Large-field MTT's increase variance, but the payouts are also a lot higher for when you do finish ITM. Regardless, there should be plenty of daily small-field MTT at PokerStars and Full Tilt too if you prefer fields in the hundreds and not thousands. There are also things like 45-man and 90-man MTT SNG. There's a lot of game selection, and you'll see that with PokerStars and Full Tilt you in general will have a lot more choices of running games than with most any other site.
 
M

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Ok, Thanks for the help and the tips,
I'm going to deposit 150$ on pokerstars this afternoon and start playing 2/5NL.
Thanks for all the help!
 
Seraphim

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Post stats once you get A decent sample.
 
G

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Buy a poker training software and play it until you can beat it consistently before playing online. Read some books. Then go ahead and make a deposit. Remember OTHER PEOPLE NOT PLAY LIKE THE BOOK. They do all kinds of stupid stuff.
 
J

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Buy a poker training software and play it until you can beat it consistently before playing online. Read some books. Then go ahead and make a deposit. Remember OTHER PEOPLE NOT PLAY LIKE THE BOOK. They do all kinds of stupid stuff.

Which training software would you recommend?
 
G

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I have used a couple that were decent. Deadsolid poker was a good training program that utilizes a HUD. It also has actual drills and lessons. It is inexpensive. I think I paid $30 for it and pokersim, a simulator with very realistic players. I also subscribed to advancedpokertraining.com which I got a discount on. It was $50 for 6 months. I uses computerized tutors to advise you in games ranging from easy home game types to tough games. The down side is there are very few explanations on the site so you have to get additional information elsewhere. They also have a free practice on there site, along with free weekly challenges like playing a certain hand or position. Finally this site has a 50 hand poker iq test. I took the test about 2 years ago and scored 115, I recently took it again and scored 136. I used pokerschool pro, but they are gone now. I tried he Simpson poker training software, for Omaha and it was good. Definately do some free trials if you can.
 
J

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Thanks man you've gave me a lot to look into. I done a 30 day trial of "The Poker Wiz" a while back, I thought it was OK but a little predictable, that could of been down to me not tweaking the players well enough though, either way I don't think I'll ever be buying it. Can't find a free trial for DeadSolid which is a shame...you should be able to try before you buy with anything like that imo, it looks like its worth a chance though so I think I might just plunge ahead and buy it. That Poker IQ test sounds interesting, I just finished Dan Harrington's The Workbook and did better than I thought I would of.
 
earnrake

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FT and PS offer rakeback in the form of VIP systems.
I wouldn't worry too much about rakeback when you're first starting out. Once you get like 50,000 hands in, see your bankroll growing and you start ascending the stakes ladder and feel comfortable grinding out hands, it may be worthwhile to seek a site/deal that gives generous rakeback for the levels you are playing.
.

However I do think you are pretty right in your post - be aware that you don't open accounts on all kinds of pokersites already - if you are having an account at a site without having rakeback, it's well possible that the site won't offer it to you anymore!
 
K

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Picking up a poker book was the best thing I ever did for learning poker. I am not a reader by any means, but it interested me and I've read about 6-8 now and am a winning player.
 
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