Iwan

Hi,

I fancy learning to play poker. Not for money as gambling isn't my thing, just for fun really.

Is it easy to learn the basics? Are there books/DVDs you can learn from or do you need to get someone to teach you?

Cheers,

Iwan

terzo204

Play with someone or on free internet sites or both - MSN has a free game where you can learn the basics.

I play weekly with my mates and it's a great way to break up the weeknights and prep for the weekend!

MattW

Big card school in the Monk....lol

The Snug Rhino

I played for a living for a while, anything by david sklansky is a good start. Avoid Supersystem unless you want to have it on your book shelf just to look cool/fancy yourself as Mike McDermott.

however.....if you are only playing with mates any book is a waste of time - poker relies on your maths skills giving you the edge against the others - but that edge is tiny so you need to play thousands of hands for it to show, you'll never get there in a weekly muck about. Of course, you could rely on the edge your bluffing/poker face skills give you - but then you have to hope that equally slim edge does not run into the edge your mate has because he's an idiot and doesnt care.

I used to play with mates for a laugh and only two people ever won - the good player (me) and the retard (sometimes me as well if drunk), in about equal measure.

For mucking about just read up online play some daft free game online to get the hang of what beats what then buy a beer and have a laugh practicing your chip shuffles.

If your buddies already have a game then just join in, 5 mins will get you up and running with them. Chances are they dont know a check raise from a gut shot draw anyway.

LG John

Best way to learn what beats what is to get involved and play. For that you need to download a poker module and play on the free tables. Better yet why not play for real money but really low stakes. For example if you play 1c/2c blinds then the maximum buy in for a no-limit game is $2. Thus if you deposit $30 (£15) you'll have a half-decent bankroll for mucking around at and it should last you a while and buy you a reasonable amount of real money experience

The Snug Rhino

although bear in mind that the 1c/2c tables with have the whales with $30 bankrolls pushing you about just for the hell of it so dont expect to learn much decent theory.

LG John

True, will be fractionally better than playing for fun though where 90% of hands involve everyone being all in preflop You can get some half decent experience at 5c/10c tables but then you realistically want to deposit around $100 and be willing to lose it over the course of a few weeks (or night(s) if you are really bad!)

Iwan

Whales, preflop...?

Are we still talking about poker?

Cheers for the tips guys.

Jaybird-UK

I really recommend playing on MSN poker, Texas Hold'Em - MSN Games - Free Online Games

Unlike other free poker sites you cant covert the account to a real money account so there is no temptation to gamble.

Give it a go!

The Snug Rhino

just so we are clear here - poker is played for money. Playing poker for free is like playing darts with no scores on the board...you mat get the hang of how to chuck the pointing thing at the board, but you wont learn how to play darts. no harm in that, but dont wander into a casino and sit at the ring game thinking you have a clue what your doing

oblong

I think play money games are underrated for the practice you can get out of them. You only need to be playing people who don't like losing and it's pretty similar to money games.

Going straight into money games hoping to make more than you lose is kind of pointless if you cannot even do that with play money.

The Snug Rhino

the point is there are only two real skills to poker - maths and bluffing. You wont learn maths by playing, you need to read and you wont learn bluffing playing against idiots on a free table.

Leslie

However you do it-learning will cost!

Les

GazTheHat

As the saying goes; "it takes a minute to learn, but a lifetime to master."

Practice (beer & poker nights with pals) and the free-money downloads online are the best start. Books can be confusing and too much to start with.

Channel 4 Poker - How to Play Poker

BULLITT

I just learnt by playing, we play for fun but treat it as we're playing for money.

I'd like to have a go in the casino too, I've not got the patience to play online, can't sit at a computer screen for that long.

Abdabz

I'm getting hassled into the idea of taking it up because everyone went watching Casino Royale and now its mega cool to play poker .
Thing is, I dont think playing poker for money is worth it unless the amounts you are gambling are really worth winning and losing...
I keep shying away from the proposed lads nights in playing poker because if the night limit is say £20 with a game limit of £x then I dont see the point...
Nahhh its not for me. This is one fad I think that will pass me by... But, who knows, I might try it and like it

GaryK

As mentioned above playing for free doesn't give you a good indication of 'real' play because the action is always loose.

Yes it's tempting to play for reasonable amounts but you will soon lose your money! Like anything it takes practice and more importantly patience so you should start at the 0.01/0.02c tables and slowly work your way up.

If you want to play for a more 'valuable' prize and want to set a limit on your spend then look at tournaments, they can run for hours though if the number of players is high or try a 'sit and go' which are tourneys that run as soon as all the spaces at a table are filled.

Gary

The Snug Rhino

funnily enough i watch casino royal last night!

ignoring the fact that Bond just happens to be a world class player (about as likely as him being a world class free runner!) You would think they would do away with the old poker in movies nonsense (now that so many people know the rules)

baddie getting out his cheque book when he has a winning hand! Last seen in coronation streets "poker night" episode.....then Bond winning with a straight flush beating two full houses and a flush....not your normal hand of poker

LG John

The odds of the final hand occuring would be absolutely obscene!!!