For a while now I've been wanting to learn how to play the game, all my friends play for money and it seems REALLY fun. I'm really competitive so I would think that this is something I could get into.. What is the best way for me to go about learning?
Your best bet to learn the game is to find a coach. If you're a really good self starter and actually motivated you could get a deucescracked account or something along those lines and watch tons of videos. All you really need to do is understand line construction, hand ranges, and then reading people and you're good to go for live poker.
Hm, I doubt any of my friends will be a good coach because then they'll give me THEIR philosophy on playing the game, and usually their philosophies on things suck(lol like whats a good class to make on cod and such haha) I figured watching videos might be a good step in the direction I want to take
I highly recommend finding someone IRL who is very talented at the game. I was lucky enough that my friend was a pro when I first started and he decided to be my backer. It REALLY helps to have a second opinion and someone to talk hands with.
I could imagine, unfortunately I don't know any pros, so the help you got versus the help I'm available to would be a lot different.. It might just have to come down to that though
Full tilt, I don't know if its still up because it was a scam, but the freeroll tournies and some free games play almost like real poker. Ive been playing cash games Omaha an hold em in ac and pa for 5-6 years. Id say learn a new game that's not hold em first, hold em is the most basic form of poker imo its better learn a harder game first than go to hold em.
Just read up on it and play friendly games online/against friends until you're confident enough to gamble. It's insanely easy to play.
Id say learn Omaha or stud first, there all easy and hands ranks are all the same but those games have more going on than hold em, and if you can grasp how to play stud or omaha it will make hold em much easier to understand, and imo gives you an advantage because then your a poker player and not just a hold em player like everyone else seems to be nowadays. Start slow, get a app for your phone or a computer but NEVER add tuns to an online poker site, they are all scams.
I'll look into Omaha then, if it gives me a better understanding of the game then I might as well.. I'll have to look into online sites as well
I suggest playing hold 'em until you need to learn another game. That's what I did. Why learn Omaha if your friends don't play it? Seriously, the games are so easy you can learn enough of them to play a game in a couple of hours. Saying you're gonna get more of an understanding of one game through playing another doesn't make sense to me.
My oppinion is that Omaha Hi Lo is the more complicated game. There are so many facets of the game that require a lots of playing to become a survivor in the game. Too many to mention here. There are several basic rules that should be followed in hi lo, or losing is assured. Read some articles on the game and play lots of hands. I have played thousands of hands in play money and real money. For years. And, still do not believe I am a good Hi Lo player. And, if you get impatient, you are sure to lose in the long run. There are so many pitfalls in hi lo. One can lose money while winning the pot. Happened many times.
The games can be simple buts so is moving chess pieces, poker is a chess match. Winning in hold em especially, is about knowing how and when to bet, reading the cards on the table and knowing how to play your opponents. Anyone whose played a lot has won hands in which they didn't have the best cards. Ive seen guys throw chairs, fight and attack dealers, the psychology of the game alone could be a course taught at MIT.
I mean easy to learn. I'm not talking about being a poker master here, neither is OP quite obviously. Even then it's not complicated if you're bright enough.
Hey OP, poker is a an awesome game to learn, but takes many hours to become profitable over the long run. I am a firm believer that if anyone could do it (given enough work and a ~highschool math education) The key is to play hours on end and stay in the cognitive mode about your game (don't go on autopilot. If you are really trying to get good, you should be studying as much as you are playing. Have one or two close, dedicated friends, that you can study with. Given that not one situation in poker is ever the same (due to stack sizes, players, and cards), learning poker is more about developing your thought process, rather than playing a cookie cutter style game. Training sites are a pretty good idea once you start knocking the rust off. What are you wanting to learn specifically? I could def direct you to the best one according to you interest imo. (tournies, cash, omaha, sngs, hu) No room for ego at the table, just use each opportunity to learn and self reflect on what the best play is, get other winning players opinions, grind grind grind, rinse and repeat
Hm, is there just like a standard poker that most people usually play? For cash? I can't recall what my friends play but I could find out.. I pick up on things fast and this seems interesting. I know at one point they tried teaching me but it was annoying cause everyone was trying to say something and people contradicted each other lol, so it was annoying... But that was like when i was 17 Edit: texas hold em
ah well you have cash games where you can come and go as you please then you have tournies in which a prize structure is offered. Ex, 300 people play, 30 get paid, obv higher payouts the closer you get to first. First is usually around 20% of the total prize pool. For beginner tournament play, I would have to recommend Dan Harrington's series of books. If you can grasp the knowledge in "Getting Started in Hold 'em" by Ed Miller, than that will def be enough to crush a live home game with your friends...I promise.