Texas hold'em: to get VERY good.?

Question

What does it entail?
What steps should I take to get very good?

Memorize the probabilities for the permutations?

Answer 1

If you're referring to "Online" Poker, which is the rage nowadays, a great book to get is Stuart Yarnold's "Online poker in easy steps."
Being a professional poker player myself, I found that THIS book gives you all the easiest and freshest steps to get yourself knowledgeable about the game online. It's a tad bit conservative, but most Pro Poker Authors practice more caution in books than in real life anyway. What it does however, is make the game and the nuances easy to understand.

As with others who have voiced this before, experience is still the best teacher. And using "real" money instead of "play" money like most .net free poker sites is the way to go. There's way too much dumb luck and stupid players on the free money sites.

But what I stress the most, which surprisingly hasn't been mentioned here yet, is patience!!! With the game, with yourself, and with those that play stupid or aggressively around you.
You will be dealt 10 crappy hands to every 1 killer hand, with a whole ton of mediocre hands in between. And try NOT to get into a pissing match. (raising and re-raising everbody until you've risked everything on pre-flop hold cards.)

And as to the final inquisition in your question, "Memorize the probabilities?" Don't rely completely on the "probs" to get better. Because most times the math and the results rarely meet. A pre-flop pocket AA will only win 67% of the time. Only 55% against 3 people, and less than half against 4.

And just to help you get started... Under NO circumstances. NONE whatsoever, should you ever bet with a pre-flop 7-2, even if they're suited. NEVER play this hand, unless you're in the big blind and get a free look at the flop cards. Then fold soon after. It is the absolute worst starting hand in the book.

Answer 2

There is no substitute for just playing the game. When i first started i though j-10 was a good raising hand, but i now know better. Poker is all situation in the end. Some basic questions i like to ask myself before i make a play are, Do i have good position in the hand?, How many chips do i have, and how many chips do my opponents have? Will the other players fold to a raise or are they likely to defend there blinds. Is the table loose or does it play tight?, how many others are in the pot already. There are rules to how you play your hands, like if the flop comes out all hearts and you don't have a heart in your hand or an over pair you should most times get out. But go buy some good books or DVDs and just play, you will lose money at first but if you learn then you can make some money at it.

Answer 3

It's pretty much like any other skill. You need to study all the books, practice a lot, talk to good players, watch professionals play on TV, study more, practice more.

It is not as simple as remembering the math. The game of Texas Hold'em is highly complex, sure knowing the basic math of outs and pot odds, along with various probabilities will help, but this is only a small part of all the skills you must learn.

Answer 4

The key to hold'em is that there are many ways to win. I suggest you read some books, like Doyle Brunson's Super/System 2. It covers a variety of games, but its especially good for Hold'Em. After that, try reading Theory of Poker by David Sklansky. There are a bunch of other books out there too, but start with those.

After that, its all about experience. Practice, practice, practice. Another good source of information are poker blogs. Some, like mine, are not always just about strategy (although at times I get into it deeply), but it will give you some insight into the variety of players and styles.

Above all, I think you need to find out what style works for you. If you are good at math, learn the math and make math-based decisions. If you are good at reading people, play a more read-based game.

Good luck.

Answer 5

Books are good for free time and you will learn some things. But, the most important thing is experience in real money games. It's important to learn from mistakes, if you lose a few dollars you will be motivated to play better. The math for No Limit Hold 'Em is fairly simple, so you should learn it. Great advice from Phil Hellmuth is to, when your in a hand & when your not in a hand to try to figure out what players in the hand are holding. Playing a lot of hands prepares you for many situations & allows you to experience different styles of players. So, above all experience is key. Play low limit tables as seriously as you would if your bankroll was at stake.

Answer 6

Well the more hands you see the better you will get. It helps to know the easy odds calculator which is after the flop count your outs and times it by four and after the turn count your outs and times it by two. I'd suggest playing for fun at home then start playing home games. Playing limit and playing no-limit are two completly different things so don't get good at no limit and expect to be good at a limit game. They are basically two different games. Just see as many hands as you can.

Answer 7

The Brunson books like Flanman said, I also like Dan Harrington's series "Harrington on Holdem" for tournament play. If you have extra cash laying around and you're really serious, enroll in a WPT Boot Camp (see link).

Answer 8

Just play a lot. My husband plays poker for fun all the time. Wait until you get comfortable before you start blowing your money. Watch it on t.v.; I don't think studying can help you because every hand delt is different. As the song says, "you gotta know when to hold 'em; know when to fold 'em" .

Answer 9

Read the books "System" and "Super System" written by Doyle Brunson and some of his friends. They are well known succesful poker players.

Answer 10

Play the game a lot and learn all of the combinations.