Hey everyone!

I am new to poker and extremely eager to learn the game. I've heard it's a mix of skill, strategy, and psychology, and I'm really excited to dive into it. But there's so much here that it's hard to know where to start...

For those who have been playing for a while What are some important tips or things you wish you knew when you started playing? I should focus on learning more about the rules and hand rankings first. Or should I delve deeper into strategy? Are there any specific resources, videos, or books you recommend?

Also, should I try to avoid these early mistakes?

Thank you very much for any advice you can give!

I've moved this to somewhere you might get better (but less entertaining) answers.

Let's start with the basics.

You mention hand rankings and rules. Give us some specifics that you are not clear on?

Online poker will bite you hard in the ass unless you have ultimate discipline and patience, something that is hard to have especially at the low stakes. You try playing 10NLor 25NL and sit grinding for 3 hours to make 20 quid only to flop the nuts then go all and get runner runner slap in the face,and if your lucky you lose just your profits. I'm not saying online poker is rigged but you will suffer and need to learn for yourself how it works through play time.My advice is install poker tracker 4,play way less hands and check out some content about starting hand ranges,and STICK TO THEM!the game is easily beatable but don't play with the intentions of stacking someone because, well you will find out, gluck

My advice for you is to not buy any course, subscription, poker software or coaching before you play for some hours and are sure that you even like this game. There is plenty of good youtube content and you can use the free trials for poker hand tracking.

Thank y'all so much for your answers! I played a little poker during this time, and I think I'm starting to get good at it, albeit at low stakes

If you really don’t know the rules, hand ranking and such things, then by all means start there and do not attempt to play online poker for any kind of real money until you do have a good handle on them. Once you have mastered these basics, only then should you be attempting to play actual poker for real money (play money sites are fine for this purpose, but don’t try to learn anything about strategy from them). Besides just the rules and rankings you should get some practice reading boards and just being able to determine which hand wins. There are some situations where this can be confusing to a new player. For instance, you have 22. Your opponent has AK. The flop is JT6 (no flushes possible). Turn is a J. River is a 6. Did you win? The answer is no, you lost. That is because hold ‘em hands are best five cards. You were ahead until the river 6 came. You had JJ22T (2 pair) vs hour opponent’s JJAKT (1 pair). The river gave you JJ66T vs your opponents JJ66A - you both now have 2 pair (and the same two pairs), but his ace beats your ten kicker.

If you arenÂ’t aware of the actual rules, you likely will cost yourself money by playing for real money. Once you do start, start small, even if you can afford to play for higher stakes. This will give you the best chance to win, although you probably wonÂ’t win at first until you develop a good strategy. It will make your losing cheaper. Only when you feel comfortable that you can beat the lowest level should you consider moving up.

Strategy-wise, focus first on preflop strategy. You can do pretty well on the lowest stakes games just by playing well preflop and only continuing after the flop when you have good hands. You can find starting hand charts a lot of places. Use them. They are good for your bottom line. Most beginners try to play too many hands; thatÂ’s where they lose their money. Hands like A6o or K7o might look like they are pretty good, but they are dangerous. What happens when someone raises pre, you call with A6o, an ace flops and he starts betting? Are you going to fold? He might not have an ace? Will you call? He could very well have a hand like AK or AQ that has you crushed. You just put yourself in a tough spot that you could have avoided by folding.

Here are a few tips that might help you hit the ground running:

1. Definitely start by understanding the rules, hand rankings, and basic positions (like what it means to be on the button vs. in the big blind). It sounds simple, but this foundation will serve you well as you dive deeper into strategy.
   
2. Focus on the position is one of the most important aspects of poker strategy that new players often overlook. Playing hands from late position (closer to the dealer button) gives you a huge advantage because you can see how others act before you make your move.
   
3. One of the biggest rookie mistakes is getting too attached to hands like Ace-King or pocket pairs. Learn when to fold, even with a "pretty" hand. Knowing when to cut your losses is crucial!
   
4. In the beginning, focus on playing stronger hands and folding weaker ones, especially if you’re out of position. As you get more comfortable, you’ll get a better feel for when you can loosen up and play more hands.
   
5. Bankroll Management. Trust me, this will save you a lot of headaches down the road. Only play with money you’re comfortable losing, and set limits. Even the best players hit downswings, so stay disciplined with your bankroll.
   
6. For beginners, Jonathan Little’s books are great, and so is “The Theory of Poker” by David Sklansky. Also, there are tons of great YouTube channels like PokerCoaching.com, and the Upswing Poker Lab is an awesome resource if you want to invest a bit more.
   
7. One of the biggest challenges in poker is staying calm after a tough loss (or a big win). Emotions can cloud your judgment, so learn to stay level-headed—poker is a marathon, not a sprint.

I actually disagree with Stremba about play money. You can learn a lot about strategy in play money, many good players play with play money for that purpose.
See if you can build up your play money bankroll, starting with one table. When you try to play more than one table at once, take note if it reduces the quality of your play.
If it does, move back to one table. Also, don't be surfing the internet or playing video games while you play, in general. Notice if music is a distraction, or helps you focus.

If you need to, get software that will record each hand and give you statistics on how you play.

Resist the desire for immediate gratification, this is something that plenty of players struggle with, even advanced ones sometimes.

Resist the desire to "look like a good player." Even great players "look bad" from time to time. Everyone gets fooled.

It's a marathon, not a meter sprint.

The best training that I know of for poker is math, and games like chess, and even puzzles like sudoku.

Does anyone feel that subjects like logic or computer science can be helpful training? I suspect CS definitely is.

CONTINUED:

if you have psychological issues like anger or emotional instability, issues with substances or unstable living situation, or other bizarre stressful situations, this game can be an absolute disaster for you at significant stakes, because many people plan to limit the amount they invest, but change their plan and end up losing not only their bankroll, but a significant portion of their life savings, and sometimes everything, due to the addictive nature of the game for certain people.

Also problems with attentional issues, or autism spectrum disorders, don't play for real money until you've experimented and practiced with play money.
Bankroll: your bankroll should never be a significant percentage of your bank balance, and your chip stacks combined (if multiple tabling) should never be a significant percentage of your bankroll.

Set aside an amount to gamble with, to start you should probably not be playing with any more than 1-3% of the money you have saved in a bank account, depending on your financial situation and plans. Always err on the side of caution.

As for how much to gamble with, your combined chip stack should probably be no more than .5% of your total bankroll, at the beginning. That way, you can easily rebuy 10-20 times, say, without risking more than 10% of your bankroll.

CONTINUED:

1. as a beginner, the general idea is to risk smaller percentages of your stack when you think your odds are lower, and only larger amounts when you feel you're above certain percentage (at least 2/3 of winning pot is around what is a common benchmark used)
2. the math involved is mostly combinatorics, basic math, and statistics. you have to be able to calculate your opponents range, which is tricky, especially in multiway pots.
3. another general principle is to try to keep your range not narrowly defined. And vice versa: the more precisely you can identify your opponents range to fewer possibilities, the more likely you make the right decision
4. do not slowplay made hands in general, a better idea is to vary your bet sizes for the purposes of deception. the reason is later cards can make it obvious you have a strong holding, or ruin your hand if a flush card comes, for example.
exceptions: if you know reliably that opponents will bet for you with losing hands, you can check in early position quite often.
5. you can add randomness to your playing. good example: calling a loose raiser with a wider range than you might, especially if you have recognized repetitive patterns in their betting patterns.
6. the more people are in the pot, the less valuable premiere holdings are. For example, aces does not fare well 9 handed (much better than any pocket pair.) However aces fares very well against around 4-5 or fewer players.
7. the value of position is key, you can play wider ranges in late position, and consider you will have position on all three streets postflop (flop, turn, and river)
8. start with heads up play, and progress to 6 hand. only an intermediate player should attempt 9 handed play in general.

CONTINUED:

key points to consider that it's the wrong game for you.

You will have warning signs like the following
1. you only pay attention to hands your involved in
2. you play for more money than you initially allotted
3. you can't remember the last few hands exactly how they were played out
4. you always lose your full buy-in.


if any of the above apply to you, stick to non-gambling games, of which there are infinite variety.