blonde poker forum

My first proper post on here so bear with me.  :P

I'm relatively new to playing poker (2-3 months tops) and play regularly online (mainly sng tournys). I've played a handful of games at home with mates but nothing major. I enjoy playing online and am learning all the time making a (very) small profit along the way. I'm hoping to take my game up a level or two and hopefully get good enough to take part in some live games. But i know i'm nowhere near good enough yet and only know the very basics. I hear people mention pot odds etc and i'm >>>  ??? clueless!

Just wondering how the people i've read about on here started off...Books etc..?

I've got a lot of time on my hands so would be good to use that time learning something that i enjoy!

Sorry to bore you all but any suggestions or comments would be much appreciated!  ;D

Cheers, Russ

Welcome, I jumped in at the deep end, my first game was a live game, £10 re buy

After that I read every poker book/article I could get my hands on, still do

Lucky,

Clonie Gowen wrote a great piece on simply calculating pot odds in the 'Ask the Pro's' feature when Full Tilt first started it may even be lesson one I am sure you can find it on their main site.
Helped me loads on the subject, its by no means conclusive but a great place to start IMHO.

Share and enjoy.

i recomend pokerschoolonline (http://www.pokerschoolonline.com) for new players will teach you everything you need to know to be able to dip your toe into the live world and more

Same as red Dog for me, straight into a live game...
Then read every book i could find/watched late night poker (only poker on tv at the time) and played online.
That was four years ago, still learning everyday.

Good Luck

I echo RED's thoughts.

Read, read, read, and then read some more.

Welcome to Blonde by the way.  :)up

Russ

Welcome along

yes, read widely...whether it's books, poker magazines, forums...read and inwardly digest

Books? get cracking on Harrington, Sklansky, Brunson's super system two, just to name a few of the "staples". All will be available second hand via Amazon or if you ask you never know, there may be a spare copy or two knocking around here

Terminology? Basically, if you are unsure chuck a thread up and read the responses

Pot Odds?

 let's say there are 1500 chips in the middle and you have two spades in your hand and there are two spades on the flop. The bet you have to make to call is 300 chips

 you need 1 spade from the nine remaining to make your flush. There are 47 unseen cards (52 less your hole cards and the flop cards) and nine of those help you

your odds of making your flush are thus 9/47 or c5-1

the odds your opponent is giving you is 300/1500 =5-1

you thus have pot odds to call

it gets more complicated than this (when you are ready for outs that are not clean, implied odds, reverse implied odds, shout!), but that is it in a nutshell and works whatever hand you may be drawing to.

Good luck, and keep posting!

Hi and Welcome,

I would recommend two books:

1)     Harringtom on Holdem ( for tournies ) I think its been out only a year but already a classic!

and

2)     Mastering No limit Holdem by Russel fox & Scott T. Harker ( for Cash Games). I've found it the best book around for cash NLHE


Good luck with your entrance into the Poker world and enjoy the ride :)up :)up :)up

Cheers for that. As a result of your post, I've just bought 'Mastering No Limit Holdem' off amazon.

Looking forward to reading it.

No worries spnooy ;D

I'd be interested in your opinion of it

Del

Watch this space.  :)up

H i m8 Welcome to Blonde, I would reccommend reading a range of books on poker some good ones to start are

 Internet Texas Holdem by Matthew Hilligar

This is a good starter book and deals with the math very well, be aware tho it is written for limit poker and Hilliger plays very tight poker.

Holdem poker by Gary Carson

I liked this book too again limit poker based but some excellent theory well explained

Caros Fundamental Secrets of Winning Poker

Great book very simple to read and gives you lots to think about.

Some must reads when you have found your feet are

The Theory of Poker by David Sklansky-
Holdem Poker for advanced players by David Sklansky
Sklansky's tournament poker book is also excellent although getting a little dated IMHO

Super  System by Doyle Brunson is also a must read but be careful it cost me a fortune at the tables after reading this book! The strategy is good for tournaments but you would need a heck of a bankroll and some of his considerable skill to make it work on the cash tables.

I also suggest reading Cardplayer Magazine to keep up to date and some of the strategy in there is valuable.(just google it)

There a lot of different ways to play sucessful  poker and you will need to cover the whole range of books to get a rounded perspective. My goal is to develop my own winning style (I'm not there yet and hopefully will never stop learning or developing ) but i am having a lot of fun and earning some extra cash on the way.

As for live play I really urge you to just get in there. I played my 1st Live tourney at Luton about 2 years ago and it was just a Buzz . Luton is a pretty friendly place (well the casino is) and some guys showed me the ropes of dealing , betting ett before we started. I just went up to the desk and said "i've never played before " a couple of regulars overheard me and that was that. I even made the final table and finished 5th , it was fantastic. Since then I play live as often as possible, remember you dont have to join a casino before you go anymore you can just turn up with passport / driving licence and your in.

Best of Luck

Im sure Ive read somewhere that Doyle lost a bit using the system he wrote in Super System 1  :o  something like that anyway

Ive book 2 on order, hopefully be here next week

and hello :)

Me too. i went looking for straights all over the place and playing  jc th No Matter what  >:?

Cost a lot, but I learned.............. :-\ I think ??? ???

Just a note to welcome you, I can't add anything to what has been said already.  :)up

Silo , I think what you are refering to is that after Doyle wrote Supersystem everyone knew what he was up to so they began to....... well call him down !! There is a line in the book that says" make them make a decision for all their chips" jeeeeeeezz that cost me a load!!!! remember to get lots of perspectives there is more than one way to skin a cat! I think i remember Doyle saying that writing the book cost him a fortune at the tables . Bet he isn't complaining now though the book is widely regarded as the poker bible.

Wow! Top response guys, thanks!  :)

I never knew Luton was a big(ish?) place for poker...I guess thats one good thing about living here!

Looks like i've got a lot of reading to do!

Once again thanks for all the help and the very warm welcome. Looking forward to my time on the forum.  :)up

Reading is good no doubt, but experience is king. Set up some home games with your friends if you can.

Welcome to blonde! :)