Ramblings

sup guys, sorry haven’t posted in a while, haven’t found the motivation to post here much lately.

I’ve decided I want to write an article on starting poker (in a serious manner). All of us have friends who play poker in a casual sense…and many of our friends look at us (poker players) and say “it’s easy, I could do that…so I will”

My first advice to anyone who would want to play poker in a serious manner (meaning primarily online): Be dedicated about it. Don’t do it for the money alone…you’ll never succeed. So if you’re saying to yourself “hmm, this guy’s just sitting there and making money, I can do this if I really really try!”…no…you most likely won’t, and you’ll spend many wasted hours stressed out of your mind.

When deciding whether or not to play online, please please please scrap the “online is rigged, it always seems like donks get there with draws, I always get outdrawn’ mentality…unless you’re playing high stakes UB (where potripper played under hacked software and poker literally was rigged), your money is safe and you aren’t going to get cheated (playing at the bigger sites such as party, stars, FTP are going to pretty much guarantee this). SCRAP the mentality of ‘online is rigged’, it’s the same retard mentality that fish/donators have…

What the hell is that picture? Well, it’s an ev graph…an equity graph on the “luck” many people encounter over a million hands. Sure, one can experience drastically bad luck over a small sample size…but this graph shows that it really does somewhat “even out in the end”…now, a million hands is much more than your average poker player will ever play,but I think it’s a good image to show with regards to luck, variance, and equity. So, go into online poker with a fresh mentality.

rule #1- PLAY POKER BECAUSE YOU LIKE IT!

Alright, so now that that is established, how would you go about doing it? Obviously in order for one to want to get better at poker, one must at least know the rules, have played several times, etc. Since that is established, know that reading is ESSENTIAL in learning poker (as with all things). If you aren’t willing to read forums, some books (to start), immerse yourself, you probably won’t have a chance.

For one, I guess I’d read THIS POST first off. This thread gives you a ton of good articles to read initially, and a general idea of some of the stuff one should study when getting ready to make the big jump in depositing.

So most of someone’s experience in poker is probably playing a homegame or two with friends…online is a completely different game. ( I’ll probably write a post later on on some of the observations I’ve seen while playing live (in comparison to online)). I would probably start by thinking about how much you want to deposit. For some people it’s $50 every time, and they lose it slowly…do not do this.

From the beginning on, it’s important to understand good bankroll management. Usually, the standard advice is 20 buyins for each limit ($200 for a $20 buyin that is). Obviously if you are playing as a professional poker player, more is absolutely necessary…but when you’re starting out, 20 works fine.

So first I’d probably research some rakeback service. Rakeback is a percentage back of the rake you pay from the poker tables…it’s usually pretty standard for you to get 25%+ back, depending on the site. Google ‘rakeback poker’ and you’ll get a ton of various sites that you can sign up with. Follow the directions and deposit/get signed up with rakeback…I cannot emphasize this enough. Don’t go download the software like a moron and deposit $100 and hop right in…get rakeback…it’ll save your ass many a day and help with downswings.

rule #2 – GET RAKEBACK THROUGH THE HUNDRED OF SITES AVAILABLE
Alright, so you have your rakeback, you have the plan to learn and study. What’s next? I guess familiarizing yourself with the software is pretty essential. Playing play money tables for a bit probably would help with regards to this would help. Once you figure out the reloads/the auto-rebuy settings/etc, go hit the tables.

How much should one deposit? obviously this is up for debate…I think alot of it depends on how much you don’t mind losing. Yes, even though your poker playing friend makes alot of money, the vast majority of players lose. I would say a good starting amount is probably like $400 or so…starting off playing something like $10NL ($.05/.10NL) and moving up to $25NL when ready.

So yeah, play a bit…familiarize yourself with the software. READ forums, blogs, books, etc…immerse yourself with poker. Watch it on t.v., think about why someone is doing a play.

Posting on forums is a great way to interact and discuss poker hands/theory. As you dwell further and further in the game, you’ll realize that poker is incredibly complex, and that while very easy to learn, it’s difficult to master. I suggest posting on forums (or at least reading) and thinking about why someone gives x reasoning or y reasoning. Alot of the times when I talk to noobies about posting in forums, alot of them say “I don’t know who to read, there’s so much differing advice”.

I guess I’d just start reading and figuring out who knows what he’s talking about and continue to read that person’s posts. obviously poker is a logic game, and if someone can back up their statements with excellent logic, they are probably going to be right (though, this is obviously not always the truth).

There are many small groups being set up all the time for poker…poker study groups are a great way to learn and talk with friends. Something that isn’t done enough is poker discussion when first learning…when you are debating with someone why a play is right or wrong, you learn.

step #3- FIND A POKER BUDDY AND STUDY! SAVE THE HANDS THAT YOU HAVE TROUBLE WITH AND GIVE REASONS WHY YOU THINK YOUR PLAY WAS EITHER GOOD OR BAD

I can’t really stress that enough…All highstakes regulars will tell you that they’ve discussed hands before with friends (though, I think that isildur said he didn’t do that, beastmode)…this is very vital. There is a section in the deucescracked forums on study groups labeled “ninjas anonymous”  where you can find others who play your limits (the link to DC is on my links bar).Try and discuss hands, talk on AIM or skype, sweat sessions using www.mikogo.com or www.teamviewer.com (obviously make sure you’re semi trusting with said person, don’t do it to a complete stranger…some people can get scammed at times by using screen sharing devices…someone had his friend tell the cards of the sweatee and had his friend play him, nasty stuff).

Alright, so you have your rakeback established, you have the software down, you’re studying like a fiend, you have a friend or two (or more, the more the better) to discuss hands with. Hopefully you’re playing maybe 2 tables by now (though, there isn’t any harm in playing just one). I would say that by now, you should have some of the basic fundamentals down (ie. don’t limp J2s in EP).

I guess the goal for the first few weeks should be simple: survive. Don’t go busto, move down in limits as needed (once confidence, bankroll, etc) is shot. You’ll probably lose a bit when you first start…this is okay. It’ll take a little while to learn and be able to play confidently.It’s time to upgrade some software-

step #4- BUY POKERTRACKER 3 OR HOLDEMMANGER

This is pretty vital for one’s development as a poker player. I know it’s a bit confusing and sometimes a bitch to set this stuff up, but it’s important to track your progress as well as track hands for later use. Getting HUD stats up is important too…it helps alot when you are multitabling. It allows you to (typically) figure out who the target is and allows you to make necessary adjustments.

So yeah…get all your software up, establish a good network of friends, work hard. Working hard is going to be the biggest reason for success. It’s helpful to make friends who are better than you at poker, people who you can ask on AIM “is this right?” or what have you.

As you play more and more poker, learn to understand more and more tactics, theory, etc, you’ll find out how much of a grind it can be. You’ll understand some of the terrible things tilt can lead to, you’ll understand why your friend is playing for 8+ hours on his computer instead of hanging with friends (trying to go rostucko). My biggest advice for those who are trying to start out is to not become a robot…this can hamper your growth immensely, and I’m a victim of it (lately)…don’t get the basics down then up your table count to like 10+ right away…it’s probably the worst thing you can do.

Play a short amount of tables, learn and understand why you’re doing something, take shots when needed (at higher limits).

That’s all for now, I’m sure I’ll think of more later. Not sure if anyone is going to read this either, but I think it could be useful for those who are just starting.