Teaching Poker to a Newbie and everything is FUBAR

For those that don't know FUBAR = F'd up beyond repair

So the other night I was teaching my mom how to play Texas Holdem. I get 7 / 10 offsuit UTG and she says why wont you play that ? So I explain about position the chances of hitting with it etc. and fold. Of course 7/10 flops! I shrug it off as a one off.

Next hand this happens I have 3/6 in small blind, fold due to a 3bet in front of me and again she asks why not see the flop? And I explain the amount bet does not make it a good call. OF course two 3s fall on the flop.

Finally, another hand I bluff and win and explain about table image etc. and broach the subject of bluffing with her. I win the pot and she is processing the info.

I then get A6 Off suit ready to call or min raise, I am in dealer position and there is a 4 bet prior to my action. So I fold. Again she asks why fold an Ace and I explain I am assuming the 4 bet has a strong hand I don't feel comfortable gambling yet till I have a handle on how this person is playing.

Sure enough the board hits A66 on the flop!!!!!

On the one hand I am laughing because everything that happened is counter to what I am trying to teach my mom about the game, but at the same time is also integral to understanding how poker works sometimes.

Anyway just curious if any of you have tried to teach someone before and everything you tell them the exact opposite happens?

Any suggestions how to approach this. She is good with numbers and I think will eventually get very good at the game if she chooses to stick with it and @ 75 is still very sharp. I just hope I can give her the "right" nudge so her interest is maintained...

Thanks in advance for reading this and any advice you may share ~

I think if she understands what you are trying to teach her then she will chalk up that experience to coincidence. I once tried to explain to my cousin about all the intricacies of poker, position what others bets mean etc. So instead of trying to explain to him what it all means I sat him at a .01/.02 table and said here you go. Play as you want and I'll tell you if it was a good play and why or if it was a bad play and why. He lost the 2 bucks within 10 minutes but he did start to understand the patience that goes with poker and stated I could never sit here for hours it just isn't me, Some can and some can't. Good luck on the felts!

+1

This is why in the micros you get called with the phone book. It can be hard teach a new player to tighten up because in reality, most poker hands are pretty close. If it is 80/20 you are still going to win 1 out of 5, very few hands pre-flop are worse than that.

The only real solution is to let a new player lose. Show the basics then set the novice loose in free rolls or micros. Let them lose over and over, after that step in an show them why. Kind of like in the movie "Days of Thunder", you do 10 laps your way and then do 10 laps my way.

let her learn on her own and she will ask u question where u can answer

cheapseats76 said:

I think if she understands what you are trying to teach her then she will chalk up that experience to coincidence. I once tried to explain to my cousin about all the intricacies of poker, position what others bets mean etc. So instead of trying to explain to him what it all means I sat him at a .01/.02 table and said here you go. Play as you want and I'll tell you if it was a good play and why or if it was a bad play and why. He lost the 2 bucks within 10 minutes but he did start to understand the patience that goes with poker and stated I could never sit here for hours it just isn't me, Some can and some can't. Good luck on the felts!

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karl coakley said:

+1

This is why in the micros you get called with the phone book. It can be hard teach a new player to tighten up because in reality, most poker hands are pretty close. If it is 80/20 you are still going to win 1 out of 5, very few hands pre-flop are worse than that.

The only real solution is to let a new player lose. Show the basics then set the novice loose in free rolls or micros. Let them lose over and over, after that step in an show them why. Kind of like in the movie "Days of Thunder", you do 10 laps your way and then do 10 laps my way.

Click to expand...

This is great advice. Honestly, it is what helped me to learn (well that, and joining the best poker forum in the world ). I remember being a noob, and getting something like pocket 2's and being like, "WOO!! ALL-IN!", or pocket Aces, and "WOO!! ALL-IN!" They were one in the same to me, and it wasn't until I made those mistakes (and also was berated a bit at the table, even if I won) where I decided I needed to brush up on things. Give her the basics, and let her try it out at the micro stake tables.

Everyone wants to see the flop with any two

Law of Probability isn't 100% accurate there will always be a margin of error. You can only teach fundamentals and explain the why and what behind it. But they need to play to understand why. Eventually they will give in....if they want to be a good poker player that is.....

juiceeQ said:

This is great advice. Honestly, it is what helped me to learn (well that, and joining the best poker forum in the world ). I remember being a noob, and getting something like pocket 2's and being like, "WOO!! ALL-IN!", or pocket Aces, and "WOO!! ALL-IN!" They were one in the same to me, and it wasn't until I made those mistakes (and also was berated a bit at the table, even if I won) where I decided I needed to brush up on things. Give her the basics, and let her try it out at the micro stake tables.

Click to expand...

Thanks Juiceeq I appreciate your sharing your experience!

Thanks everyone for all the advice!

Introduce them to a Poker Calculator

They can see for themselves the math on any given 2 cards vs another set of 2.

Show them the rank of hands.

Then teach them about outs and how to use 'the rule of 4 and 2' to calculate their odds of winning (withing a few % of actual).

Then let them play in some play money games or real money freerolls, and tell them to ask if they need help.

I would stick to just a couple concepts at a time. I would have her be the one playing and coach her on position and hand selection preflop, and then walk her through the following streets and why. I would even have talk her though the hands she folded preflop on to get used to watching other players and still engaged even when you are not active in the hand. After some teaching I would flip it and have her coach you and see where her thought process may need some adjustments.

Read Phil Helmuths's book play poker like a pro! I love his book and his teachings. I am playing online poker for free and I am using his concepts and I beat the table 99% of the time. I also like the free poker play because you can see a zillion hands and flops. The play can be silly but when you have enough chips to go the higher limits it starts to feel like real poker. I also use WPT coaching tutorials on my phone.

Yeah, there are few moments more enlightening than donking off your first bankroll.

Seriously though, if she's math competent start with expected value and what constitutes a good wager. Range and position make much more sense when related to equity and expected value.

Something like ICMizer would be very helpful as a teaching aid I would think. Would require a little forethought and experimentation to make the most of.

I tried to teach my elderly dad to play Civilization, it was like teaching Ralph Wiggum history, just an exercise in absurdity. "What's a battle?"

That sounds worse than it actually is, the ol' geezer is pretty damn competent, just way too much overall abstraction for his referential framework. (And one suspects disinterest may or may not have played a role).