Been invited by my friends to join their games sometimes, but I keep losing it.
So I started to watch poker videos in youtube, play some online games but still no luck. I don't think this is a luck problem it just I don't know the rules to win it. Any suggestions?

Red Chip Poker CORE

I like Brad Owens Poker Vlogs on youtube. He explains his thinking very good and is very funny too!

If you like 6 max No Limit, I would suggest you "The Grinder's Manual". It focuses a lot on online poker, giving you knowledge on how to properly use a HUD. Very recommended!

If you truly are just starting out, chances are you are making a lot of mistakes preflop. I would suggest focusing first on preflop play for a couple reasons:

1. Preflop play is generally simpler than postflop play. There are charts to tell you which hands you should play. It’s possible to memorize those charts if you are so inclined, but learning WHY you should play certain hands and not others is more productive.

2. Good preflop play is often enough to give you a winning edge against bad players. I’m not sure how good your friends are, but if you learn proper preflop play and they just kind of play by feel or don’t really study much, you can likely gain an edge.

3. Preflop play is more common. You will make a preflop decision on every single hand you play. If you are making good decisions preflop you will only have to play postflop on a fairly small fraction of hands. If you’re not folding preflop a good bit more than not, you aren’t playing well.

As a beginner remember a couple things and you will improve immediately. Play good hands preflop, not bad hands. Bad hands are ones that often aren’t winners when you hit the flop. Weak unsuited aces are the most overplayed hands by beginners for example. Hands like A4o should almost always be folded pre, not because you are afraid you won’t hit the flop, but because you are afraid you will. Aother player will often have an AQ, AJ, etc, and out kick you. That can get very costly.

Good hands are ones that will win pots when you hit, and tend to get paid. Some of this depends on the aggression level preflop in your games. If your games have many limpets, with not much raising pre, and therefore many multi way pots, starting combos that make big hands when they hit are good to play. These would be small and medium pocket pairs (look to hit a set on flop), and suited connectors (looking for straights, flushes, and good draws on flop). In more aggressive games, with heads up pots, high card hands are more valuable. In either case, avoid hands like weak kings, queens and lower.

Finally, don’t be afraid to be aggressive preflop. A good rule that is generally accepted is never open limp. If everyone ahead of you folds, and you have a playable hand, raise. Even if others have limped, raise most of the hands you play. This has two benefits- you can win the pot without a flop and your opponents will think you have a strong hand if they do call. You often can then win a pot with a bet on the flop, even if you don’t hit.

I’ve gone on long enough, and this is pretty basic stuff. I apologize if your play level is already above this. Anyway, good luck

To provide some support for this statement, using Equilab, A4o does just about the same as a random hand against all opponents who also had random hands and all went to showdown.

For example, against 3 opponents having random hands, A4o wins about 27% of the time versus the 25% of time hero having a random hand wins. Of course, if one or more players called your bet with you holding A4o, it is likely they have better than a random hand.

What you say is undoubtedly true, but it’s more than just how often you win. It’s about how much you lose when you don’t win. As an example, consider a flop of AJ5 r. With a rando hand like 95, for example, if a player ahead of you bets, you likely fold and avoid further loss. With A4o, though, you are likely very tempted to continue. If you’re up against a better ace, that can get very costly.

For OP (and any other beginners reading this) the concept at play with a hand like A4o is called reverse implied odds. It means a situation where you are likely to pay off another player who has you beat when you do make a hand. To some extent RIO spots are unavoidable. If you have aces and a 888 board flops, you aren’t folding your boat to a bet; sometimes villain will have quads and you’ll pay him off. Some hands, such as weak offsuit aces, are more likely to yield RIO situations though. The remedy is to simply fold such hands.

Can hit some wheels with A4 compared to A7, but relatively they're both the same in similar strength of weak aces.