Do i need lessons??

[suzanne]

I have been playing online for a few years now, I was lucky that at a very nice chap took me under his wing and taught me the ins and outs of the game. As time has gone on i have i think got better and although i used to go by gut instinct I now know that it gets me into deep trouble. I have read about the stats etc and playing by them seems to work i guess, so im thinking I need lessons. So im looking for a teacher, im assuming it will cost me so im asking advise. I'm not looking to break into the internatioal poker scene...I just want to stop having to deposit. So any poker coaches out there pleez get in touch but be sure i will post ur name in the lobby and would hope for a recommendation first. Night all xx

[tikay]

Suzane, judging by your eforts in the blonde-Titan tourney, you are doing just fine.

Pay for coaching? No way. There is heaps of good stuff, available free.

Have a look here.....

http://www.blondepoker.com/index.html

Or here.....

http://www.blondepoker.com/advanced/006000.html

Or here.....

http://www.blondepoker.com/ask/018000.html

If that lot does not help you - all of it by Dave El Blondie Colclough, & all of it free, then let us know, & we will find you some more. If things get really bad, I'll direct you to MY Pro-Tips, but they are only for the extemely advanced players......

But seriously, PLEASE don't be paying for poker advice. There is just no need.

[snoopy1239]

Feel free to ask open questions about any part of your game on here, suzanne.

Blondites are always keen to help each other.

 

[Colchester Kev]

Post a pic Suzanne, then you will be inundated with offers of home tuition

[suzanne]

Thanks for your reply tikey and i will deffo study those threads you have posted. I just feel sometimes that i am missing that vital thread...dont know how to explain it. I am not keen on the coach training bit as I think that i need to build my own game as an individual which will one day give me an edge as apposed to playing by the book but im fed up of making the wrong moves.

[suzanne]

Hahaha Kev...so u want to see my piccy? Go to pokerpants.com and thats me advertising my bordello ;-)

[snoopy1239]

My advice would be to read as much as possible, but study what you read critically.

You can play well by mimicking what the books preach, but to fully evolve as a player I really believe that you need to challenge some of the tips the writers come up with in order to better your own play.

[suzanne]

Now i glad u posted that snoopy coz i used to play and win more often than not. I bought Doyles SS1 which i took when i went on holiday during the summer and read it and tried to apply some of the tips i picked up even though at the back of my mind i thought ..what!! Obviously his methods work as hes got a few bob more than me but I think what has put me off my play is that i dont believe in the cards i play now. My eyes have been opened to raise reraise on total rubbish and i have tried and succedded i might add but still havent quite got the knack on when to do it

[suzanne]

Thats why i think i need a coach

[Colchester Kev]

Bloody hell Suzanne, a red blooded man like me could go blind looking at all those pics   Nice bordello by the way

[tikay]

Suzanne. Read Doyle & co alll day, but INTERPRET what they say, don't follow their advice necessarily.

If you are the sort of person that can play the "raise with rubbish" game, then fine, do it. It takes a very special "feel" for the game to do it that way, & few can. At-It Bradley & Camel can, but they are both rare animals. But you cannot be what you are not. Play your own game.

[Longy]

Suzanne i would certainly echo what others say, there is no need to start paying someone to coach you. As many have advised read a few books, articles on the net and so on and so forth. Make your own mind up on whether you want to employ these tactics and what suits your game. I would also suggest asking questions (never be afraid to ask) on here about hands/ situations you find yourself in and you were unsure what was the best move. We have quite a few excellent players on here at various limits and games who will give you their view on the subject.
As regarding books like SS1 i would take their strategies with a pinch of salt. Doyle is and was a very agressive high stakes player who bullied his opponents off hands with power poker. Unfortunately some of us mere mortals(certainly inc myself) play at stakes where people won't put down 2nd pair to a re re re raise and therefore the power of a bluff becomes alot less. Doyle relied on his opponents knowing how to a lay a hand down (normally a part of a good players make up), therefore he could pick up money with the 2nd best hand. Having been a low stakes player for quite a while (slowly moving up the limits) my best piece of advice is to play your made hands strong and let people pay you off with inferior holdings.
Yet most importantly of all enjoy your poker, hey thats why we all started playing for, the enjoyment of the game. Tho i understand it is alot more enjoyable when you are financially rewarded for your play.

[AdamM]

Bruce Lee used to talk about the middle part of learning being the toughest. If you throw a punch at an absolute beginner, chances are the arms will go up and successfuly block it. same with a master who's training has been fully assimilated into the unconscious. the intermediate student, with their heads ever filling with new and diverse information will be slower to react because they'll be trying to apply their knowledge to an action that needs to be instinctive to work. It's them that get the bruises

I've found poker is very similar in this regard. a brand new player will often instictively negotiate the game. Big hands are easy to spot and they'll often limp into the pot with junk a top pro might bluff with and hit. they'll often make perfectly timed moves by accident and catch 'better players' out by hitting slim draws or or not spotting the better players beautifuly crafted bluff. In this middle stage that most of us are in we're constantly trying to apply book learned knowledge, combined with past experience and it leads to wrong steps. Driving home from the casino used to be 40 minutes thinking over the half dozen or more serious mistakes I'd made in the night. More often these days I'm driving home feeling generally good about my game but analysing one vital error. I think you have to learn at the tables and try to avoid making the same mistakes too often.

theoretically the mistakes you make will become fewer and less serious but in practice I heard Phil Ivey say recently that he never plays a tournament where he doesn't make serious mis-steps that he kicks himself for.

[TightEnd]

Suzanne


the first poker book I read when I was starting was Brunson's SS2, I devoured it and thought it would be easy


A month later I was doing my cobblers and people were actually being rang up when I turned up at my local casino cash game to tell them to get there quick!!!

An old head took me to one side and I realised that there were other styles, that unless you are naturally suited to that game the "win small pots so you can afford to lump it all in from behind and win a big one later" approach wasn't my game

I went away and read widely...books, forums (way before Blonde arrived on the scene), tv programmes etc and experimented and gradually found a natural style

I got a few results in tournaments, began to beat my local casino cash game regularly and still try to learn.

I'm not a great player but I'm not terrible either and at times I still do stupid things.....in my opinion if you chuck a thread up here asking for advice, or posting a hand etc, the advice you will receive matches anything you'll see elsewhere

[jezza777]

When I read SS1 I began to do my bankroll at an alarming rate, I don't have the bankroll or character to play that type of poker well. Since then I have read a lot more books and achieved a rounder perspective of the game. There are pieces of SS1 in my game but there are bits from a lot of others and some of my own ideas and tactics too. Try not to get down on yourself there are plenty of resources for advice out there Blonde being one of the best I have come accross. I wouldn't pay for lessons, post some hands that you think you played well or badly on here and you will get a lot of insightful well explained thoughts.

Don't listen to Snoopy tho he calls off his stack with j2 o/s  >:?

Good luck