Beginner dilemma - advice welcomed

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Chopped Out

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Hello,

Just started playing / learning NL Holdem and looking for some advice

Because I'm just starting out and don't have much in the way of any skill set yet, so I'm reading as much theory as I can and playing micro tournaments for practice (at the $1 - $2 buy ins level)

The thing I'm finding is that at that level, huge numbers of players are madly keen to shove all in (seemingly with anything and 90% of times pre-flop)

I have been calling these when I have monster hole cards (AA KK QQ AK) but even with maths on my side, it's still a bit of a coin flip - I understand variance now, but it doesn't seem to be my friend particularly - and I seem to lose far more than my statistical share (and often to absolute trash) than logic would suggest

I also would rather learn to play poker well, than flip coins (certainly in the first hour or two of a tournament)

I've tried to tighten up, play to my position, Isolate to only one caller, read my opponents (mostly VPIP 70+ all-in and don't take much reading) but I'm still not doing that well

I even tried backing down at all in-coin flips (even when I guess i'm ahead) - but they're so common at my level, I just sit there watching my stack getting smaller until I don't have enough to worry anyone anyway.

I'm about 2 months in to this and am getting a bit disheartened by the repetition

Thinking about my options, I could ...

- Buy in to more expensive tournaments - less lunatics, but I'm certainly not good enough for that level yet (and not sure I have the money to get enough practice at that buy-in level)

- Keep doing what I'm doing rely on the maths, suck it up and wait for variance to level out a bit (eventually - 2 months already seems a long time), and hope that things are more like real poker in the mid / later stages of a tournament (and hope I don't lose interest regularly getting beat by 72o before getting there )

Or perhaps anyone with some experience could throw a few hints my way

Thank you for reading, all advice is genuinely welcomed, and thank you in advance, for anything you have to offer
 
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Library has online books... good starter.. Little green book ....

but mostly have fun..play freerolls.. cheap games live... homies....
 
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Chopped Out said:
Just started playing / learning NL Holdem and looking for some advice
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Start by taking the 30-day Cardschat course, it's free, and the content is very good, I'll leave the link below.🙂


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You want to play with bad players, what you are describing is not a problem - its an opportunity. Focus on playing good hands in position and if you have something good enough to call - then call. If you are having difficulties with what is "good enough" to call - spend some time working with an icm tool like icmizer or sngwiz.
 
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Keep studying and keep playing. This game is not easy, it takes a lot of work away from the tables to know exactly what going on.
This post really isn’t going to help much, the only thing I can say is that if you really have a passion for this game you have to really love the study and hard work. You can’t go into a boxing match untrained, and that’s what poker is, it’s a fight. You have to train hard. Good luck, keep working if you want it!
 
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The best poker school I had was sit and go games, for a few reasons.

The first is that you play against the same players all the time, which makes you improve your reading of your opponents.

Second, you will encounter fewer maniacs. The reason for this is that these types of players choose where they will play for the main prize. They want to win 100 times the buy-in, and they don't mind losing dozens of tournaments in a row.

The third advantage is that you will train for the final table of tournaments. You will often end up in bubble situations, few players at the table or heads up.

I consider this to be better training than micro tournaments with hundreds of players.
 
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Thank you to all for replying - of course you didn't have to, and it's so encouraging that you took time to help a beginner out

I will certainly take all your advice and recommendations on board

There's a common theme amongst the replies - and that is to learn more and have patience, and that seems certainly to be best advice I could receive

Thank you for the tip of the Cardschat 30 day training course - I'm a week into it and finding it incredibly helpful

Best luck to all
 
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Chopped Out said:
Hello,

Just started playing / learning NL Holdem and looking for some advice

Because I'm just starting out and don't have much in the way of any skill set yet, so I'm reading as much theory as I can and playing micro tournaments for practice (at the $1 - $2 buy ins level)

The thing I'm finding is that at that level, huge numbers of players are madly keen to shove all in (seemingly with anything and 90% of times pre-flop)

I have been calling these when I have monster hole cards (AA KK QQ AK) but even with maths on my side, it's still a bit of a coin flip - I understand variance now, but it doesn't seem to be my friend particularly - and I seem to lose far more than my statistical share (and often to absolute trash) than logic would suggest

I also would rather learn to play poker well, than flip coins (certainly in the first hour or two of a tournament)

I've tried to tighten up, play to my position, Isolate to only one caller, read my opponents (mostly VPIP 70+ all-in and don't take much reading) but I'm still not doing that well

I even tried backing down at all in-coin flips (even when I guess i'm ahead) - but they're so common at my level, I just sit there watching my stack getting smaller until I don't have enough to worry anyone anyway.

I'm about 2 months in to this and am getting a bit disheartened by the repetition

Thinking about my options, I could ...

- Buy in to more expensive tournaments - less lunatics, but I'm certainly not good enough for that level yet (and not sure I have the money to get enough practice at that buy-in level)

- Keep doing what I'm doing rely on the maths, suck it up and wait for variance to level out a bit (eventually - 2 months already seems a long time), and hope that things are more like real poker in the mid / later stages of a tournament (and hope I don't lose interest regularly getting beat by 72o before getting there )

Or perhaps anyone with some experience could throw a few hints my way

Thank you for reading, all advice is genuinely welcomed, and thank you in advance, for anything you have to offer
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Poker can generate income. But if you want poker to become your main source of income, you have to be prepared for years of hard daily work. It's definitely not going to be easy money.
You have to understand that if your goal is to make money, there are many ways to make money faster, easier and with less time and effort.
Good luck 🙂
 
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Play money that you afford to lose !!! And enjoy the game of poker !!! Always remember ....it îs just a game 😁!!!
 
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Instead of learning by playing in low limit cash games or tournaments, start by playing in the CardsChat freerolls that have fewer players. If you are serious then participate in the forum and work your way up to the Silver and Platinum levels, where you will generally face more experienced players.
 
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In poker, it is very important to think about the strength of your opponents' hands rather than the strength of your own. It is nice to have a strong hand, but if you think your opponent has a stronger hand, you need to be prepared to fold.Position at the table is a very important factor in poker, especially in Texas Hold'em. The best position is when you are the last to act, such as when you are sitting on the button. This means that you will have the advantage of gaining additional information about the strength of your opponents' hands by being the last to act. Having good position in a hand can easily turn a losing player into a winning one.
 
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Chopped Out said:
Hello,

Just started playing / learning NL Holdem and looking for some advice

Because I'm just starting out and don't have much in the way of any skill set yet, so I'm reading as much theory as I can and playing micro tournaments for practice (at the $1 - $2 buy ins level)

The thing I'm finding is that at that level, huge numbers of players are madly keen to shove all in (seemingly with anything and 90% of times pre-flop)

I have been calling these when I have monster hole cards (AA KK QQ AK) but even with maths on my side, it's still a bit of a coin flip - I understand variance now, but it doesn't seem to be my friend particularly - and I seem to lose far more than my statistical share (and often to absolute trash) than logic would suggest

I also would rather learn to play poker well, than flip coins (certainly in the first hour or two of a tournament)

I've tried to tighten up, play to my position, Isolate to only one caller, read my opponents (mostly VPIP 70+ all-in and don't take much reading) but I'm still not doing that well

I even tried backing down at all in-coin flips (even when I guess i'm ahead) - but they're so common at my level, I just sit there watching my stack getting smaller until I don't have enough to worry anyone anyway.

I'm about 2 months in to this and am getting a bit disheartened by the repetition

Thinking about my options, I could ...

- Buy in to more expensive tournaments - less lunatics, but I'm certainly not good enough for that level yet (and not sure I have the money to get enough practice at that buy-in level)

- Keep doing what I'm doing rely on the maths, suck it up and wait for variance to level out a bit (eventually - 2 months already seems a long time), and hope that things are more like real poker in the mid / later stages of a tournament (and hope I don't lose interest regularly getting beat by 72o before getting there )

Or perhaps anyone with some experience could throw a few hints my way

Thank you for reading, all advice is genuinely welcomed, and thank you in advance, for anything you have to offer
Click to expand...
Welcome, your assessment of the ALL-IN crazies is right on, you will encounter these type players in Free rolls and low entry tourneys. Not much you can do other than wait to get a monster hand and defeat the crazies..not withstanding the Variance and Bad Beats- those are going to happen and without a crystal ball you can't predict..you might consider playing the Daily Freerolls on CC..there are still crazies but not as many and at times is decent Poker..Just a suggestion for a training package. have a look at Doug Polk upswing poker..you can get initial courses for $1 US...Good Luck on the tablesOh and one other learning area is the Cardschat League. join if you can...really good Poker
 
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CDNMAN 42 said:
Welcome, your assessment of the ALL-IN crazies is right on, you will encounter these type players in Free rolls and low entry tourneys. Not much you can do other than wait to get a monster hand and defeat the crazies..not withstanding the Variance and Bad Beats- those are going to happen and without a crystal ball you can't predict..you might consider playing the Daily Freerolls on CC..there are still crazies but not as many and at times is decent Poker..Just a suggestion for a training package. have a look at Doug Polk upswing poker..you can get initial courses for $1 US...Good Luck on the tablesOh and one other learning area is the Cardschat League. join if you can...really good Poker
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Hello CDNMAN,

Thanks for the really helpful pointers - I will absolutely do the things you recommend
 
This is part of your initiation into the world of poker...

Variance is a bitch and as much as we read about it and understand the maths behind it, the reality always bites that bit harder.

My advice is avoid the huge fields. Find tournament with field caps or try out smaller sites where you only get a few hundred runners where the standard is still soft, but the first hand all-in crap shoot is much less common.

Do NOT avoid calling all in with Aces or Kings early in the tournament, just to avoid the conflict. It is a much more egregious mistake to fold AA than to call and lose.

Good luck!
 
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