Learning To Play....

ghonibaghoniba
in General Poker Chat
Hi Gang:

I'm new to poker and while I have read quite a bit, I was just wondering if anyone offers any courses in the Toronto area so that I can get up to speed?

One place I called suggested that a dealer could come by for a couple of hours.... sounded OK to me.

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Thanks, Glenn

Comments

  • QueenNineQueenNine
    Read books, buy All Aces DVD, read more books, read this forum and contribute, play a bunch of Low Limit tournaments, have home games with your friends with low buy ins.

    Start off small and work your way up in time. Don't rush to become a super star, take your time, learn the game.
  • ReefAquariumReefAquarium
    try playing in free bar tournement like www.redhotpokertour.com.
  • DrTyoreDrTyore
    ReefAquarium wrote:
    try playing in free bar tournement like www.redhotpokertour.com.

    Or the retunring LUCKY LOU POKER TOUR!

    http://www.luckyloupokertour.com/

    Watch this forum for its return... :)

    Mark
  • westside8westside8
    Try to become Daniel's protege. :D

    Don't bother with courses or anything. Play and get experience. Start small as MDS said, play at low levels and apply concepts from the book you have read. As your bankroll grows, then slowly move up in limits
  • Big EBig E
    Come to my house, play me headsup for thousands of dollars, write off the loses as a 'learning experience'.

    All kidding aside find a friend who is a decent player if you can, sit down over some cold pops and play some micro limits together and discuss why he's telling you to fold A-rag and such. I found it a bit overwhelming when I started and it really helped to have a friend over to discuss it with and to calm me down when I lost a bit...it got me started down the right path.

    That said the tools to become a better player are out there, books, internet, live action. If you want to learn limit poker read Jones, play, re-read and apply, repeat. If you want to learn tournament play get Harrington 1&2, read, play, re-read and apply, repeat. Once you feel comfortable get out to some live events, with friends or keep an eye on the forum for local games.
  • zerozero
    ghoniba wrote:
    One place I called suggested that a dealer could come by for a couple of hours.... sounded OK to me.

    I really don't think you should do this. For the money you'd pay the guy you could get at least one good poker book that will probably teach you more, and be written by a professional, not some random dealer who may only think he knows what hes talking about.
  • beanie42beanie42
    Big E wrote:
    All kidding aside find a friend who is a decent player if you can, sit down over some cold pops and play some micro limits together and discuss why he's telling you to fold A-rag and such. I found it a bit overwhelming when I started and it really helped to have a friend over to discuss it with and to calm me down when I lost a bit...it got me started down the right path.
    BigE mentioned the same thing to me recently (have a friend over) since I'm trying to learn ring games, and I think it's a great idea I will be trying soon.  

    I've also had a few PM/email conversations with a few of the guys on the forum who are better than me, and asked there advice for specific situations, or just general observations from playing with me.  While I find the forum very helpful and love the hand analysis, etc., I find it "generally helpful" while these private conversations are more "specifically helpful".

    Anyway, I think BigE's comment and mine both go back to something Dave Scharf mentioned about finding a mentor/buddy.  I also remember reading about his "study group" (and Lou has held informal ones before the Lucky Lou tour, and he has also mentioned his "study days").  I'm actually thinking about starting something like this (a study group) in KW - basically poker without playing (just discussion), so if you're in KW (and it gets off the ground - I have to wait until February to consider this, once "birthday season" is over) you're welcome to pop over :) . I think that with this forum, books, practice, etc. you should be able to get a lot better "training" than by hiring somebody.
  • RivaflushRivaflush
    i have found that play money on line is great..i have improved my tourney play a ton since i started playing at random card rooms online (i dont want this to become an add for anyone..but if you need some suggestions i'm sure they are out there!).
    It's a great way to gain experiance and some of the players (not all mind you) will talk to you while playing and give you pointers if you have played a great hand, or really screwed on up...
    just a suggestion..
    M
  • DrTyoreDrTyore
    beanie42 wrote:


    Anyway, I think BigE's comment and mine both go back to something Dave Scharf mentioned about finding a mentor/buddy.  I also remember reading about his "study group" (and Lou has held informal ones before the Lucky Lou tour, and he has also mentioned his "study days").  I'm actually thinking about starting something like this (a study group) in KW - basically poker without playing (just discussion), so if you're in KW (and it gets off the ground - I have to wait until February to consider this, once "birthday season" is over) you're welcome to pop over :) .  I think that with this forum, books, practice, etc. you should be able to get a lot better "training" than by hiring somebody.

    Trevor...

    Keep me posted about this... I suggest Monday nights for poker and wrestling! :)


    Mark
  • zerozero
    Quiane wrote:
    some of the players (not all mind you) will talk to you while playing and give you pointers if you have played a great hand, or really screwed on up...

    I wouldn't put too much merit in this... I've had people who were sure they were right tell me the most ridiculous things.
  • westside8westside8
    Quiane wrote:
    i have found that play money on line is great..

    I find that to be a plus and minus to a certain extent. You will get some players who will see every flop for any amount because its "play money", but the time you can a few serious players, it is a time where you can learn a few things. But beware of some people since some advices I've seens is just off the board.
    DrTyore wrote:
    beanie42 wrote:


    Anyway, I think BigE's comment and mine both go back to something Dave Scharf mentioned about finding a mentor/buddy. I also remember reading about his "study group" (and Lou has held informal ones before the Lucky Lou tour, and he has also mentioned his "study days"). I'm actually thinking about starting something like this (a study group) in KW - basically poker without playing (just discussion), so if you're in KW (and it gets off the ground - I have to wait until February to consider this, once "birthday season" is over) you're welcome to pop over :) . I think that with this forum, books, practice, etc. you should be able to get a lot better "training" than by hiring somebody.

    Trevor...

    Keep me posted about this... I suggest Monday nights for poker and wrestling! :)


    Mark

    Did I just hear poker and wrestling in the same sentence?!
  • beanie42beanie42
    Quiane wrote:
    i have found that play money on line is great
    I think it is great as a pure starting point. It allows you to play a lot of hands for free, see a lot of flops (visually see the odds of various hands), and get used to thinking through various situations. However, in a fairly short period of time, you will hit a wall where the calibre of play is so bad you stop improving (and possibly get worse). JohnnieH, kangaX5 (my wife), and myself were all playing on Score for a while, but we all hit that wall within about a month of each other, and moved to "real money". Basically, use the free sites, but as soon as you hit that wall, be ready to move out/up.
  • BigChrisElBigChrisEl
    westside8 wrote:


    I find that to be a plus and minus to a certain extent.  You will get some players who will see every flop for any amount because its "play money", but the time you can a few serious players, it is a time where you can learn a few things.  But beware of some people since some advices I've seens is just off the board.

    If you take the play money games seriously you can develop some poker skills, but you'll have to remember people on play money games will make really weak bad calls and you will get sucked out on often. Not that it doesn't happen in real money games

    One thing I did to try and improve my game was when I would be watching TV or a live game I would always try and come up with the best possible hand on using the cards. For Example pre-flop it would be pocket Aces on a Flop with A,K,Q of spades it would be J,10 of spades. I found this really helped me recognizing flush and straight draws/potentials.
  • westside8westside8
    BigChrisEl wrote:
    One thing I did to try and improve my game was when I would be watching TV or a live game I would always try and come up with the best possible hand on using the cards. For Example pre-flop it would be pocket Aces on a Flop with A,K,Q of spades it would be J,10 of spades. I found this really helped me recognizing flush and straight draws/potentials.

    I THINK Dave wrote something like this in this book. If not then its probably Lee Jones for sure.
    Sometimes try recognizing the nuts as well as the second nuts will be helpful
  • BigChrisElBigChrisEl
    westside8 wrote:
    I THINK Dave wrote something like this in this book.  If not then its probably Lee Jones for sure.
    Sometimes try recognizing the nuts as well as the second nuts will be helpful

    Well I'm pretty sure I read it some where, I just don't remember where.
  • RivaflushRivaflush
    i agree that the quality of play does go down, or you start recognizing bad players quite often in on line games...but i apprecate the fact that i can sit there and say to myself ....self...i would NEVER have gone all in in the first hand wtih 89 suited...in middle position. this person is truly a new / bad player.
    again..you are correct in that moving into real money really does seperate the men from the mice and all that, but it's the same when going up every level.....
    i maintain..it's a good place to start!
    :)
  • ghonibaghoniba
    Hey Gang:

    Thank you very much for all of the suggestions. I'll have a good look at some of them.

    I wonder if the two girls in Quiane's icon teach poker? ;)

    Any books in particular you guys might suggest?

    Thanks again, Glenn
  • WaterLooserWaterLooser
    Oh no, another "what books" post! Try using the search feature at the top of the page. I have actually used searching for Authors in particular such as Sklansky, Harrington, and to a lesser point Hellmuth to help in finding reviews of certain books. Good luck! (and check out the book by Dave Scharf, great for beginners :D ).
Sign In or Register to comment.
HomeDiscussionsToggle Dark Mode