Forbidden Donut

I use to play about once a week at a friends place for real money. Never really got into the online thing. Its kind of a game where you learn as you go. As long as you know which hands beat the others and you have decent math skills to figure out probability, you should do fine.

Is the online thing a place where others can sign up for free, if so let me know and ill play against you.

Yeah you just have to register/create an account and you can play free, starting with 10,000 fake dollars. My screen name is redbone838

One of the best things to realize is that the more people you have in a game, the better your initial two cards have to be. While with a table of 8 people a pre-flop hand of Q 8 isn't any good, when playing heads up it is much better.

Most of the time, you should be folding more starting hands then playing. Of course, this is dictated by what cards you are being dealt.

I dont know, I usually wait until after the flop to fold, though ts probably something that advanced players dont do. Bluffing every now and then is also an adrenaline rush.

Buy some books and read them. It sounds boring and not needed but it really does help a lot.

Poker is a simple game to learn but difficult to master. Every game you play you will learn something and there is always something to learn. At the surface it seems it is just betting and making sure you have the best hand at the end.
At any given time playing poker, if you are truly devoting yourself to the game, you should be thinking about many things. Just some small things off the top of my head, is:
1. Position – Are you in good position. Are you first to act or last, and how do your cards play in that position. IS there a big stack next to you, is there an aggressive person next to you.
2. How much is in the pot – always keep track how much is in the pot
3. If bet against what are the pot odds – Does it make sense for you, math wise, for you to call or bet
4. Implied odds – If you call this or bet this, how much could you possibly make on the next card that comes and so on.
5. What are the chances of the card that you need coming in the next cards to be shown.
6. How many cards are in the deck that can make your hand.
7. How much money you have left in your stack.
8. And of course, what you think the other players have.
This is a sloppy list, but there is a lot more.
I have played poker for 9+ years. During college I would play anywhere from everyday of the week to usually to 1-2 times a week. I also played a lot of online poker to not so much success. I still play online poker once and a while as it is fun and a good way to relax for me.

Online poker is fun because you get to play so many more hands then you would if you were playing live. Youc can play multiple tables and have programs that give you a lot of information.
I understand If you don’t know how to play poker, or don’t have a lot of money, that playing for money doesn’t sound like a good idea…but..playing for poker without playing for money, isn’t really playing poker in my opinion. Deposit 50 dollars and play .05/.10cent games. I mean the 50 dollars will last you a long long time and you have a chance to actually make money and there is incentive for people not to OMG ALL IN all the time..even if it is a little amount, it makes the difference.

Lesson 1: You've never put too much money in the pot to fold. It isn't about who wins the hand, it is about who has the most money at the end. Cut your losses.

Lesson 2: When you get a good hand, run with it. Don't go "all in". Use every chance you get to raise the pot by a small amount. If you bet too strongly, people will want to fold. You'll earn more if you roll it up.

Lesson 3: ????

Lesson 4: Profit

You just simplified the game in two lessons and one of them is half wrong

Which part is wrong. I've done pretty good using those two. Maybe I can improve a bit more.

I think he's saying that the folding rules you should follow are WAY more complicated than that. But I'm not going to start playing poker for a living and instead will play it for *fun*. You know. With friends. So having a couple simple rules to follow and make judgment calls on throughout the game is pretty nice.

Like blackjack. You can simplify it to just cut off points for hitting and leave it at that. Then you can learn on your own when to deviate from that plan.

Orrrrrrr.... you could read a book about the science and math of the game, and then still lose because it's a game of luck.

1. Read books.
2. Do not play for fake money, completely pointless and possibly even counterproductive to becoming a better player.