Train professionally or learn from playing hands?

[Rick Masters]

Hey Guys,

So I was just a little curious starting to play poker on live tables. Do you guys learn, how to do bank roll management, strength of cards pre-flop and amounts to raise based on opponents, strategies etc before starting to play or do you figure this out on the go as you play the hands on tables. As a beginner how should I go about it.
I always played Texas Holdem Poker on facebook and I do get that the seriousness there is literally 0 with how hands are raised on and betted on. So just wanted to get some heads up from folks who have started playing recently or folks who have been playing for a while, how their mindset was when started to play. Thought this post will be useful for beginners on this platform.

Thanks,
Rick

[Tico]

Nothing beats experience at the table. Play a ton of small buy-in tournaments (<$50). The competition should not be too tough, and there is little reason to be nervous – you can’t lose more than your buy-in.

If you are really, really new, professional advice will go over your head … no insult intended.

Also, there are a lot of good books out there. Good luck … Tico

[Randy]

I’m very new to playing live hands. I am following basically what Tico said. I read through the math and some of the technical stuff but once I got at a table, I was doing my best to not be too nervous. My local casino does a $25 buy in tournament once a week. Going to try hitting those, just for the reason Tico mentioned.

[Tico]

Rick … your question covers a lot of ground.

Before you get near a live table, you should have a basic game plan in mind. You do not want to slow the game down too much, or be too nervous. When new to live action stick to what is called “ABC Poker”, nothing fancy.

Bet sizing is one of the most difficult aspects, because it was not an option in Limit hold-em. Always know WHY you are betting, that will determine your bet sizing.

For example: Big pocket pairs play best short handed, so your pre-flop objective is to thin the field. Speculative hands want to see a cheap flop and should be played with multiple opponents. The point is, size your bet based on how you want your opponents to respond.

Pre-flop the majority of your hands should be folded – boring but true.

When you feel comfortable (don’t wait too long), then become aware of more advanced concepts and terminology — +EV, “m”, effective stack size.

[DrNoone]

Play, Read, watch Vlogs, watch Brad, some online training sites (videos). Play more, study and have fun.

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