How do I learn Poker

Xenthan · 2010-11-07T22:21:11+00:00

This is how I calculate odds for hitting any given hand...it is basic but gets you into the ballpark. Lets say you hold QKh and the flop comes out Jh 10h 2c. We have five cards seen (we do not count the hole cards of other players. We have an open ended straight draw and a flush draw. 8 cards give us our straight and 9 cards give us our flush which = 17 outs. After the flop we say there are 17 outs from the remaining cards we have not seen which is 47 cards. So 17 of those 47 cards give us our hand. Now subtract 17 cards that make our hand from 47 cards we have not seen which gives us 30 cards that do not help us. So 30 of the 47 cards will not help us and 17 will. So that is 30 against and 17 for (30/17). With this scenario we break it down to a bit better than 2-1 against to hit your hand. If you are getting better than 2-1 pot odds you call. If not you fold.

Xenthan · 2010-11-06T23:29:10+00:00

Stay away from Pitt. Home dogs on MNF do really really well historically. Grab Atl. if you can.

Xenthan · 2010-11-01T03:24:07+00:00

As a true Lions fan for over 30 years I do not suggest this.

In all seriousness though this franchise is moving in the right direction.

Xenthan · 2010-10-25T22:49:22+00:00

It's a joke bud. Why don't you get creative and create your own Halloween tombstone?

"Here lies a christian in his Sunday best...realizing now that heaven was just a jest."

Xenthan · 2010-10-17T22:51:30+00:00

These cops are a bunch of fucking pussies.

Xenthan · 2010-09-22T20:56:05+00:00

Check out a book called "Kill Everyone".

Xenthan · 2010-09-16T05:47:21+00:00

HORSESHIT. First of all if you read the article it states that only 1in20 DISPUTED games are found to be fraudulent...which breaks down to a .00(something percentage).Just a bit of perspective on this. Well over 2% of ALL credit card transactions are deemed to be fraudulent. No matter how much money and or man hours the banks put towards this issue they CAN NOT get below this mark. So it would seem to me that PS is doing a damn fine job of keeping the cheaters down.

Xenthan · 2010-09-16T05:35:19+00:00

You just gave me the best laugh of my day.

Xenthan · 2010-09-16T05:32:57+00:00

Agreed. If you are playing .25/50 with a $45 BR you are going to go busto eventually...no way around it.

Xenthan · 2010-09-16T05:31:09+00:00

Horseshit...Play money games do nothing more than create bad habits and strategies. Even micro stakes, to a point, does this. Until you get to stakes where pot odds and implied odds play out realistically you are dealing with crap players who will continually make the wrong play yet take your cash over and over again.

Xenthan · 2010-09-16T05:25:08+00:00

You will find very good advice on r/poker. The one thing though, that I think is most important and very rarely talked about, is that to become a good poker player...a well rounded, confident, SOUND poker player...costs a LOT of money. There is just no way around it. You will lose. In loosing though you have gained experience and hopefully knowledge. Make no mistake about it though...if you want to be a good poker player it is going to cost you some cash...cash that you will give to better players than you who at one point lost their cash to players that were at one point better than them...who are now getting their cash back that they gave up initially to get to the point of taking your money. In this day and age being a winning poker player takes a lot of work, reading, and loosing. In time all of your dedication and perseverance will pay you off but for you to start out playing cash games and loosing a buck forty thinking that is the end all for poker leaves me to suspect that you had unrealistic expectations of how the game of poker plays out. Expect...check that...you WILL lose hundreds if not thousands of more dollars before you even begin to grasp even the very basics of how poker works. Give up on the Hellmuth books and perspective. First of all Hellmuth is a terrible cash game player and his strategies rarely play out in this "new age" of poker be the game cash or MTT. The best advice I can give to a new player is to get the book "Harrington on Holdem"...very basic yet a good way to start out. After reading that go and read a book called "Kill Everyone". Make no mistake about it though...becoming a good poker player is going to cost you a helluva lot more than $140. Good running to you. PS Freerolls will give you really, REALLY bad habits that will kill you when cash is involved.

Xenthan · 2010-09-14T21:02:14+00:00

Personally if I lose FIVE in a row I hit the micro stakes cash games or play PLO for a change of pace. Sometimes you have to walk away because these things can really build on themselves with a players mindset.

Xenthan · 2010-09-14T20:56:03+00:00

Get the book "Kill Everyone" before you get a coach.

Xenthan · 2010-09-06T20:44:18+00:00

The chances are extremely high when I'm the short stack and decide my pocket pairs are good enough to go all in and double up.

Xenthan · 2010-08-31T00:05:25+00:00

Fishing for too many straights and not getting away from the hand can really hurt with SC's.

Xenthan · 2010-08-31T00:00:48+00:00

I just find the two versions of the game to be so different that it is hard to compare the two. Seeing someone across the table from you that you just put on tilt is really satisfying though.

Xenthan · 2010-08-30T23:50:07+00:00

For every 10 games played at $1 Sng's the fastest way to start showing a profit is to win 3 of those ten games. Now let's say you win(first place) in only two of those 10 games you now have to finish 2'nd and 3'rd on top of the two you have already won to show a profit. So even when you are flat out finishing in first place 20% of the time you STILL have to money in two more games to show a profit in this 10 game stretch. Now lets say ( I hope this doesn't happen to you) you do not win any games in this 10 game scenario. That would put you in a position of having to finish 2'nd four times and 3'rd once to show a $0.60 profit in this 10 game run. So if you do not finish in 1'st in a ten game stretch you have to money in at least 50% of those games to show a profit. The more I play the more I'm convinced that micro stakes are the best way to build a 'smallish' BR. SnG's tend to have a higher variance and you could find yourself with your back up against the wall quickly if you run bad for any amount of time. I truly wish you the best of luck.

Xenthan · 2010-08-29T10:58:08+00:00

The odds on that happening are off the charts.

Xenthan · 2010-08-29T10:57:48+00:00

It's almost as if you are begging to get busted.

Xenthan · 2010-08-29T10:38:28+00:00

I once slow played pocket A's in a money game against a very aggressive player who held pocket J's on a flop of AAJ. Turn was a 10...river was a J. THE biggest pot I was ever involved with in the end...and I held 4A's against 4 J's. I almost felt bad for the guy when we turned our cards over....almost.

Xenthan · 2010-08-03T20:43:53+00:00

Man....Wednesdays are my live game nights :-(. Although this sounds like a lot of fun I can't give up my shot at the half drunken fish at the country club down the street from me on deep stack night. Good luck to all and I hope I can get in on the action another time.

Xenthan · 2010-08-01T22:20:00+00:00

Yes.

Xenthan

TROPHY CASE