Point me in the right direction.

Hello my name is Isa. I am brand new to poker. And sure enough I lost my first $10 dollars today. I didn't enjoy that as much as I should.

A little about myself, I like to work on cars, I like investments especially stocks.
More recently I became intrigued by poker because of the movie Casino Royale.

I HEARD, it's not so much a game where the odds are typically against you such as 21 and it's more swayed by skill. If this is true I would more than be delighted to continue to learn.

So this is what I know about poker. I downloaded an online (against other online players) poker game on my phone. Holdem. I'm profitable to say the least. I do understand the hands and most rules. Straight, flush, pair etc.

I was feeling pretty confident. So I downloaded Bovada. Started playing no limit micro games. For real money, I'm playing pretty tight. Only AA AK AQ A10, QQ, QJ, you get the point. I'm still losing left and right.

I usually use youtube as a resource for information but it seems to be pretty slim in regards to poker. Is there anything you would suggest? Is there really people out there who are consistently profitable at Poker?

And most importantly, what do you suggest I begin to learn?

I will continue reading. Some of the things it appears I should be learning are position, and pot odds.

I also watched the 8 video lesson by Gus Hansen, I'm starting to realize this is a game of character as much as it is calculated. Which is kind of hard to analyze on internat poker where they don't reveal the opponent, and people switch tables often.

bankroll management is the most important thing

I'm playing .2-.5 sm and bg blind.. Just $20 dollars at a time till I learn. I don't think bankroll management is a huuge priority at the moment correct?

Akorps said:

Bankroll management is the most important thing

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I'm playing .2-.5 sm and bg blind.. Just $20 dollars at a time till I learn. I don't think bankroll management is a huuge priority at the moment correct?

IsaPalacios said:

I don't think bankroll management is a huuge priority at the moment correct?

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No.

With $20 don't even try playing higher than 2NL ($0.01/$0.02).

Are you playing in tournaments or cash tables?

Read books, articles, strategies, theories, etc

If no time for reading and just want to play, hit first freerolls.

U sure seem to be keen to learn. There are a lot of stuff out there to learn, some suit beginners, others amateurs while there are some for pros. But there is one book that i would recommend for you. It has regarded as the bible of poker for more than three decades. It is the book which taught everyone how to really play poker. By the godfather himself, the legendary Doyle Brunson, the book is - "Super System". Just search the internet and you'll find it. It covers A to Z of poker and am sure you'll like it.

You said you played tight, but lost playing strong hands. Remember poker is not a pure skill game like baseball, basketball or tennis. It involves a bit of luck from time to time so you can have setbacks in short term but a good players always manages to win in the long term. Cheers :beer:.

choose a game firstly , there are books for any kind of game. A good start could be *crushing the microstakes book*

Wickedonesin said:

Are you playing in tournaments or cash tables?

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I have been playing cash tables.

hffjd2000 said:

Read books, articles, strategies, theories, etc

If no time for reading and just want to play, hit first freerolls.

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I just googled as to what that is. Tournaments for free? Sounds fun. I'd look into it tonight but I've been playing for the last 8 hours. I lost the $8 dollars I started with but it took a pretty long while in comparison to yesterday. Any books you recommend in particular? Or online lessons etc?

suby_rafael said:

U sure seem to be keen to learn. There are a lot of stuff out there to learn, some suit beginners, others amateurs while there are some for pros. But there is one book that i would recommend for you. It has regarded as the bible of poker for more than three decades. It is the book which taught everyone how to really play poker. By the godfather himself, the legendary Doyle Brunson, the book is - "Super System". Just search the internet and you'll find it. It covers A to Z of poker and am sure you'll like it.

You said you played tight, but lost playing strong hands. Remember poker is not a pure skill game like baseball, basketball or tennis. It involves a bit of luck from time to time so you can have setbacks in short term but a good players always manages to win in the long term. Cheers :beer:.

Click to expand...

I do enjoy learning for the prestige of just knowing haha. Thanks for the reply, I will look it up and see if they don't have it at any local stores. I watched about 80 min of youtube videos on how to play last night. I played all today and did notice a payoff. I was up $7 dollars from the $8 I originally had. I noticed I began to get bored and started playing weak hands just for the intensity. It's hard to sit there for 30min at a time waiting for a good hand. If it was for more money I'd probably be more interested. It's definitely gonna take some discipline when it comes time to play with more money.