Best site for beginner? Tips?

[MathBabe]

Hey folks;

I'm new here, and to poker in general. I recently learned no-limit Texas Hold'em. I'd like to try playing online. Whaddya think... where's the best site to start?

Any tips? Is there any point in playing free games as prep for playing money games, or will I just learn bad habits?

Sorry if this has been posted a million times before... I'll look through the forums later on tonight while I look for responses!

MathBabe

[BrianSwa]

Ill give my opinion as the losing player on the forum, Party poker is of course a great site to play on but wait for there deposit bonus to come up. Full Tilt right now is offering 100% match but it takes forever to clear but they have some really nice low limit no limit games, I say stick to the bigger sites, pokerstars, UB, party poker etc. As for playing freerolls I think it just makes bad habits it took me forever to break them and im still trying.

[MathBabe]

About online games... I know you can play multiple games at once, and I figure everyone around is on IM these days. My question is... what keeps you from colluding with other players? Can you sign up and play as two players at one table, thereby knowing what two hands are? Can you play with a friend at the same table, telling the other to lay off when you have a good hand through IM?

MathBabe

[BrianSwa]

nothing stops those people really and yes there is some colluding online, I have too much respect for the other players and the game in a whole to do it myself. Most sites dont let you sign up for 2 accounts and if they find out you are then will ban you from their sight. In my opinion not worth the risk people online will give you their money without you haveing to cheat.

[MathBabe]

I should have explicitly said that I thought it was a bad idea. :-)

I'm not planning on trying it... I was just curious... technically I couldn't see any way they could prevent it.

MathBabe

[BrianSwa]

Like to get back to the purpose of this post new player sites? Like to hear some other opinions on this, I guess it all depends how much you want to deposit and what levels you like to play.

[Spidey44]

I would like to put a vote in for Full Tilt. While their bonus is really tough to get (at least for me and the .05/.10 nl tables - although it is 100% up to 600), I really like the interface. I think it's the best I've seen personally and I like how you can sit at whatever seat you want at the table... Just my opinion.

[PShabi]

Here's my advice to a new player:

First, if you have to play No limit, do some research and find out what sites spread a no limit game with the lowest blinds. My sincere suggestion would be to learn limit hold 'em first.

Sign up through the link for that site on the front page of this website. Deposit the minimum and collect the bonus.

If you have $75, you probably wanna play a NL game with a .10/.20 blinds.

Now understand this, no matter what you think you know right now, if you just learned the game, you don't know shit. There's a damn good chance that you're going to lose that initial deposit. If you stay at a low limit, it should afford you some time to learn the ropes before you lose your wad.

During that time, you need to read as much on the game as possible. Go and buy books. Search for free books online. Read, read, read. If you don't have the desire to read and study, you probably won't be a winning player in the long run.


All of the above is based on the assumption that you want to make money and not just play for entertainment.

Good luck.

[BrianSwa]

awsome advice sir, wish I would of had such good advice when I first started maybe wouldnt be down so much money right now. This is a great forum just read what the users have to say.

[ChipFish]

Advice for new player.
Stay off of Party Poker.
You will learn so many bad habits and lose so much money it will frustrate you.

I continually recommend JETSETPOKER.com (not spam), for new players...
No one ever listens (They all think they are ready for the real sites).
They have freerolls every 1/2 hour or so... These "ARE" great for learning...
Also, their bonus is disgusting... It should take you half a lifetime to clear it...
Why would you "not" want to clear a bonus when you are just learning?
Simple..
When you finally do get the hang of poker, you will want the full available bonus at all the big sites.... There is no sense wasting a first deposit bonus with a deposit of $20 or $50. Even if they give you 40% of $50 that's only $20.

Read every book you can get ahold of...
There are several internet sites that offer advice....
cardplayer.com (magazine section) is excellent with great articles.

Knowledge is power.

[MathBabe]

Thanks for the tips... I will indeed switch to limit. I have a live game to go to tomorrow night ($25 buy-in) that's a limit game, so I'll see the differences there.

I've reviewed the TalkingPoker book list and I've got a couple of them coming at the library. I'm indeed looking to make money - I've got plenty of other hobbies that cost money already, without adding poker to the list!

I deposited my first $50 at PartyPoker (sorry Chipfish, hadn't seen your reply yet!) and lost half of it. I think I played reasonably well, though - I only saw 18% of the flops, so I was doing plenty of folding.

On the last hand I had two kings, and it turns out my opponent had two queens. He caught another queen on the turn, so that was it for me!

For my $25 I got a 35 minute poker lesson with about 25 hands in. I don't feel too bad about my start.

MathBabe

[jdiana86]

2+2...not sure of the exact link and way too lazy to look it up for u...just search 2+2 poker in yahoo and this is the site you want

[jdiana86]

Oh yea...don't play limit...if i were to do it all over i would become accustomed to one type of play were the most action was at...aka nl tourneys...get good at these and you may well be on the path to poker greatness like myself

[PShabi]

Don't play limit? So you can be like the rest of the "tournament specialists" on here who play in the $3 rebuy tourneys or fight through a field of 2000 to crack the top 50 of a $10 + $1 MTT and get paid $45?

If you want to make consistent money and not just play for a hobby or to chase shallow dreams of being the next Johnny Chan or some shit, then play limit.

I'm all about making a second income out of the game. While I'm sure there are players who do much better playing strictly tournaments than I do playing 3/6, beginners who are interested in cash play limit.

[Talking Poker]

I enjoy NL tourneys the most, but the money is in limit - At least for me. I guess I'm a grinder.

[PShabi]

I'm with you TP. I still play No Limit tourneys online and at home, but they're not my source of poker income. I enjoy them the most, but I'm a grinder as well.