Taking the game seriously
Hello everyone, I played poker for a year around the poker boom, I was always a rec, losing 20 usd a month on NL2, I learned a couple of thing reading 2+2 on those years but never took it seriously, when full tilt went down I stopped playing and never looked back until I saw ad of GG Poker this year and got into it again. I deposited and started playing NL10 and went on a heater, won like 10 BI in one month and then gave it back.
That completely changed my approach to the game, I dont want to be a pro, or anything like that, but I do want to beat NL10, and for that I decided to beat NL2 first. thats why I am here. I started playing more and want to know what are your advices for an old rookie, what would you study first, do you have any tips for NL2, how many hands did it take you to move to NL5.
I have never used a HUD, do you think its necessary? I started to get familiar with the one that GG has incorporated, thats when I realized I am running 15 BIs below EV in 15k hands, is that important? I have everything to learn but if EV is an indicator of how I am doing I am not that bad.
I am sorry if this is the wrong forum, please move it to where it should go
1 Reply
Master preflop play first. Get charts for each position and learn which hands to open. Learn how to three bet properly and how to respond to opponents opens and 3 bets. The reason is both simple and deep.
The simple - every hand has a preflop decision. Most hands will not advance past that since you’ll be folding more often than not. Many of the mistakes people make on later streets can often be eliminated by proper preflop play. I’ve seen many threads on here to the effect of “I played K6o, flops came KJ6. Villain checked to me, I bet pot and he raised. I call, he shoves flop and I lost to KJ. How should I have played the flop and turn?” Well, the correct answer is you shouldn’t have. Proper PF play (folding K6o) would have saved a stack.
The deep - the preflop actions you take set the table for your actions for the rest of the hand. Understanding proper preflop ranges can help you understand what hands opponents should have in a given spot. Looking at opponents’ deviations from proper preflop ranges can give insight into how to exploit them. It’s not that other streets aren’t important, but learning to play well PF can minimize your losses or even make you profitable while you learn strategies for the other streets.
