blonde poker forum

I'm hoping either Tikay or anyone else who has experience teaching others how to play poker can help me. The reason I'm asking for your help in particular Tony, is that I remember seeing a trailer for a TV show where you took six novices and taught them how to play poker. Sadly, I haven't had chance to watch that show yet.

I don't have a background in teaching or any formal qualifications. I'm a design engineer by trade. However, I have taught people how to draw solid models, which is a part of my normal working day. This is one I worked on myself http://img108.imageshack.us/my.php?image=116742mfr9.jpg (http://img108.imageshack.us/my.php?image=116742mfr9.jpg). As you can imagine, it is a very complicated process. Again, teaching isn't something I do professionally, but out of necessity, as no-one else can help them. I'm having some good results so far.

I've also taught a few people how to play poker. I've been told by both groups of people, that I've a very patient and pleasant manner about me when explaining things, and I do so in a way that's easy to understand. I quite enjoy watching other people develop skills, and I also find myself improving, as I discover where I need some improvement myself!

Anyway, enough of that crap, getting back to my question!

Being a person with some tutoring experience behind you, do you use any training aids or visualisations when teaching raw recruits the basics of poker? Or if you have any advice on what I should include within the subject, or simply any teaching tips, it would be greatly appreciated. The reason I'm asking now, is because I have a new apprentice tomorrow.

I tend to teach one on one in an unpatronising way. I'd rather let whoever I'm teaching travel at their own pace, using their own intellect. That way, it's more like a journey of discovery and more fun for me too!

I can only take people so far with poker though, as I still have much to learn myself. But if I can get them to a point where they can hold their own ground at a live poker game, I'll be quite happy with that result.

Many thanks in advance for your help.

Oh, I thought you were implying something about how tikay plays poker...

Just in case you wanted to see Tikay's show again, you can see this via the Pokerzone website. As well as having the ability to see the live show you can also see old shows and Tikay's Sporting odds pokerbowl is on there.

As for the question, the only visual aid I have used in the past is the simple hand ranking chart. I had one free from a poker mag and this is useful for a complete beginner. I guess it would be possible to make one up on a pc somehow?

Some of the useful tips I have seen Tikay mention in the past on tv is how to act when playing live. The sort of things that when done wrong will wind up other players like explaining clearly what you intend to bet and not making string bets and stuff like that.

It's almost impossible to teach someone to play poker, because there is no right or wrong way to play.

The best you can do is teach people the hand rankings, basic starting hand values, how to work out odds and out etc. All this information is readily avalable in books or on forums like this one. The play money games online are great for initial practice, and if you post on here before attending a live game for the first time there will propably be a blonde or two there that will show you the ropes.

After that it's just a case of developing your own style and learning as you go.

There are no shortcuts, work on your game, stay whithin your bankroll, and enjoy it.

Thanks for the replies so far. I think printing the hand rankings out would be sensible. I'll do that.

I agree with you Red-Dog. You have to develop your own style. In fact, that's how I "teach" people. I show them how to think for themselves. Some people find it easier to absorb this information face to face rather than reading it from a book though.

BTW I don't do this for money just in case you get the wrong impression of me!

After we've gone through the hand rankings, I like to play a game when I teach about nut recognition.

With a deck of cards, deal out five board cards.

The player has to find the two hole cards they'd like. Then they give the deck to me, if they have correctly picked the nuts, I can't get a hand to beat them and they win. If they haven't picked the nuts, I get to and they lose.

I usually do this before teaching about betting and the general mechanics of the game. Depending on the concentration span of the student that is, I sometimes skip it. (If I feel they are getting bored of the nuts game too quickly, we go straight to "proper poker")

The best training tool has to be poker on the TV.

while i agree with you in some respects tank and i use the nuts recognition system for my girlfriend  ;whistle; i find that the best way for a newbie to learn has to be to play, play and play the game. In specific this comes down to playing online poker. And especially on Blonde (tribeca) you can deposit as little as yu want and play in games (stt's) for bout 10c! The trouble with watching poker is that it makes you think you can jump in and copy someones style who has perfected that perhaps over a 20/30/40 year period. They have to learn from there mistakes if they are to overcome them.

 Ks KingPoker Ks

The problem I have with that is they frequently ask "What should I do here?"

You tell them to go all-in or something, they get sucked out on, lose all their chips, and blame you.

"I thought you were supposed to be good at this! I was doing fine till you came along ffs"

But to handle bad beats from the start will make them a better player overall. As long as you have the ability, which im sure most ppl on here do (especialy you tank) is to explain the ACTUAL % of them being sucked out on to explain that 8 out of 10 times they would have won the pot. If the stakes were low enough in the game you couldnt even let them make a big mistake and lose the game, then ask why do you think you lost? what would you do different next time? Its gotta make them be able to analyse their play and i wish i had had some to make me see that when i started.

I think I know what you're saying - that there are many different styles that can win money at poker ie there is more than one way to skin a cat, but I disagree when you say it's impossible to teach someone poker.

I have learnt a ton from the PHA board, 2p2, PMing people, coaching etc. i believe you said you had some conversations with Mickey Wernick and learnt from that no? I also thought you rate the Harrington books?

Seems to me like it's very possible to teach someone poker. In fact almost every winning player IMO has had some sort of teaching whether it be posting hands and asking people on the internet or in real life or by reading books. You would have to be a genius, and I'm sure there are some, to sit down and work out how to beat poker without any sort of teaching at all IMO.

Its impossible to learn anything from tikay, he couldnt teach a dog to piss up a lamp post :)

No point in asking Tikay to read something - he only misreads! :D

Yes Byron but what you describe is adding to your game by incorporating aspects and views from a broad spectrum of other peoples knowledge and techniques.

Once you have the basics, you have to get out there and develop YOUR game, albeit with help from others.

Daniel Negranu is one of the best players on the planet imho, but I couldn't play like he does even if he tutored me forever. but there are aspects of his game that I am capable of using.

On the other hand, there is a lot in Mickeys game that suits me, and occasionally he will part with a few pearls of wisdom, but I had to learn to play first, before I had an idea about what I could use and what kind of player I am.

If that doesn't convince you, at least in might confuse you enough to shut you up!   8)

I have read a lot of people (not accusing you of it) say that you can't change your style and you have to play in a way that suits your personality and I think that's a load of nonsense tbh.

Anyway I'll shut up now
;)

True, but you have to have a certain type of personality to be able to say that.

Wow, what a question!

Easy answer first. As Indestructable notes, the 3 or 4 "specials" I recorded as "Poker Bowls" for Pokerzone are on the PokerZone Website I believe. We recorded one in Repton Gym, in the very same Boxing Ring used in Lock, Stock & da de da de da. These shows were all sponsored by Sporting Odds.

They also produced CD's (or was it DVD's?) of each show. For the last show they sent out by mail 60,000 CD's. I was in their office a while later, & there were boxes of these CD's everywhere, dozens & dozens of boxes of them. "Why so?" I asked. "We don't know" they said, "but 17,000 were sent back as "return to sender". Peeps don't know what they were missing, eh? So if you wanna CD, just say.......

The really odd thing about those CD's is that I must have had - literally - 5 or 6 hundred e-Mails to my Sporting Odds e-addy from peeps saying "thanks, it helped me a lot". Who'd have thunk that?

OK, how to teach poker?

In a way, you can't - you can only teach basics, hand rankings, & stuff like starting hand criteria, position, the "gap" concept iin calling v raising, board recognition, bla bla bla. 

And table behaviour - betting in turn, handling chips so you don't look like a numpty, handling your cards ditto (newbies tend to pick them up), watching tricks, as it were

Poker is so personal, every situation is really "it depends". Complete idiots can win at poker, though in the longer term they'll lose of course. It reflects peoples personality, generally. I believe this last point strongly, it's a bit like the old adage that a dog looks or behaves like it's owner.

Flushy - aggressive personality, aggressive, "throw caution to the wind" player.

Red-Dog - solid, assesses every situation carefully, only bets BIG hands. Or he tries to make people think he does......

Jen - gets inside YOUR mind, plays YOUR hand not hers.

Rob Yong. Fearless, "any two", because he believes he can get you off any hand.

Me - overly cautious, fence-sitter, better not Raise/Call "just in case".

This is peoples personalities coming out at poker.

And it's why, in my humble opinion, you can NOT learn poker out of a book. It's a personal thing. So just the basics really. Let THEM learn it, you just "guide", be their fairy wheels, then let them go.