FA (FishAholics Anonymous)

[WYoung83]

 Poker after dark actually shows every hand. it is by far the best poker show, with the best players. Ivey, durrrr, helmuth, antonius and hansen are regulars on this show, and its great to watch them in action. It is basically a short handed sng. they also do great cash games too.
I agree that all the other poker shows, such as wsop, and all the partypoker stuff that we get late on channel 4 are edited to just show the aces vs kings and sets against straights. so i guess some programmes give a distroted view of how poker actually plays out.

[noble1]

TBH i"m not sure if reading books will help you..I"d suggest some sort of visual way of trying to improve then prehaps reading about the tactics/strategy behind everything u see..So rather spending $$ on books now, maybe joining a training site met be more beneficial..
I"ll put up some links for PXF hand histories that may/met help you see how other players approach mtts if thats the sort of area your looking to play..
All of these links can be viewed if you regisiter with PXF [free to join,and free to watch these] i"ve tried to give u a random mix of buy ins,freeze outs and re-buys,see if these help you..
http://www.pokerxfactor.com/HH118395/4477_20080303_140746
https://www.pokerxfactor.com/servlet/pxf?&a=mv&handid=29850&t=myhand2&fn=8699_20061101_004754|8699
http://www.pokerxfactor.com/servlet/pxf?a=mv&handid=73583&t=myhand&fn=2nd%203r&time=1185901454593
http://www.pokerxfactor.com/HA181292/39706_20090203_181345/39706
http://www.pokerxfactor.com/servlet/pxf?&a=mv&handid=100877&t=myhand2&fn=HH_PS|5421&time=1261131909715
http://www.pokerxfactor.com/HA183093/817_20090218_150650/817
http://www.pokerxfactor.com/HA144982/5421_20080724_183441/5421
http://www.pokerxfactor.com/HA120070/15583_20080312_034630/15583
http://www.pokerxfactor.com/servlet/pxf?&a=mv&handid=42747&t=myhand2&fn=deeb|3146&time=1261042696798
http://www.pokerxfactor.com/HA45477/Deeb/3146
http://www.pokerxfactor.com/HA87490/WCOOP%20ME%20HH/5421
http://www.pokerxfactor.com/HH165114/30098_20081027_013932

[kinboshi]

People learn in different ways.  Some absorb knowledge through reading, others require kinaesthetic learning, where they only retain the information through active participation.  Some remember information that they"ve been exposed to visually, others through what they hear.  Most will benefit from a combination of these.

Also, it"s easier to take a book to the loo with you...

[Marty719]

If it was me I would read HOH and supersystem, and maybe Joe Navarro read em and reap if ur gna b playing live.  More importantly however, Id just get my head down and put in as many hours as I could on thefelt.  The best way to learn is from ur own mistakes.

[Digger]

People learn in different ways.  Some absorb knowledge through reading, others require kinaesthetic learning, where they only retain the information through active participation.  Some remember information that they"ve been exposed to visually, others through what they hear.  Most will benefit from a combination of these.

Also, it"s easier to take a book to the loo with you...

I thought that this was a method created by Mr KinBoshi......... but it would appear not  .......

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kinesthetic_learning

I"m a big fan of taking a break every now and again, read, watch & learn....it will freshen your game up no end.


Now where"s my book collection???

[jlane1980]

I find that this just feels right to me!

People learn in different ways.  Some absorb knowledge through reading, others require kinaesthetic learning, where they only retain the information through active participation.  Some remember information that they"ve been exposed to visually, others through what they hear.  Most will benefit from a combination of these.

Also, it"s easier to take a book to the loo with you...

I like books, it"s easier to go over bits you don"t quite understand!  Although i do intend to watch all the videos that noble1 recommended.
I"m about half way through Harrington Vol. 1, and am just about to re-read the pot odds chapter.  I think i will benefit from knowing more about when i should call with a mediocre hand, because i"m getting good odds etc.  So far, really liking the book, and i can feel it helping to patch up the holes in my game!  I think i need to get pot odds to start becoming more natural and instinctive!  Any tips on getting pot odds ingrained?  Or is that just experience?

Jon

[coprey]

I like to keep it simple, suits me.

Board contains  :: jh ah

You hold  qh

Pot contains 2000

Your opponent goes allin for another 1000 and you suspect he has AK, should you call?

The pot is offering you odds of 3:1 ie. you need to invest 1000 to win the 3000 in the pot.

So you need to work out the odds of hitting your flush.

The easiest way to do this is counting your outs ie. 9 outs because there are 9 remaining hearts in the deck.

Then perform a simple calcualtion, outs x 2 x cards to come, in this case (9 x 2) x 2 = 36% therefore you are roughly 2:1 to hit your hand so a call is a good proposition over the long term. Even though you win only once in every three times, each time you win you are winning 4 times what you have to put in, so its a good gamble.

[jlane1980]

Thankyou, Nicely put!

[WYoung83]

9 outs x 4 = 36% winning chance.
This means that with odds of 3-1 you only need to have %25 chance to hit to make it a profitable call in the long run. This is know as expressed pot odds.

These calcations are taken from gus Hansen book......it helps me to of memorised it.

4-1 expressed odds = 20% winning chance to make it profitable
3-1                         25%
2-1                          33%
1.5-1                       40%

Of course these are rounded off in some way, but close enough for gus. And remember, this is only correct if you can see the turn and river for the same price, like if the opponent ships it in on the flop

[jlane1980]

Nearly three quarters of the way through HOH Vol. 1.  I think i have figured out a lot of my problems!  Firstly, i think i raise too little.  Harrington recommends raising a lot more than i thought i should PreFlop!  So....  I"m gonna raise more.  I think all too often i don"t raise with marginal & Top hands in position.  So, i"m gonna raise more preflop!  I think that way, i"ll get more value for my better hands.
Also, i think i"m playing way too tight, in position.  I think my preflop play needs to improve loads! (Can you tell that i"m currently reading the preflop chapter?!)
Any thoughts?  Is Harringtons advice on Preflop about what i should be looking at?

[Jon MW]

Nearly three quarters of the way through HOH Vol. 1.  I think i have figured out a lot of my problems!  Firstly, i think i raise too little.  Harrington recommends raising a lot more than i thought i should PreFlop!  So....  I"m gonna raise more.  I think all too often i don"t raise with marginal & Top hands in position.  So, i"m gonna raise more preflop!  I think that way, i"ll get more value for my better hands.
Also, i think i"m playing way too tight, in position.  I think my preflop play needs to improve loads! (Can you tell that i"m currently reading the preflop chapter?!)
Any thoughts?  Is Harringtons advice on Preflop about what i should be looking at?

What kind of hand range do you usually play with?
How much do you usually raise by?

[LongshanksED]

i thing you got to remember about harringotn - mostly his tournaments are deepstacked and slow structured


his raise of 3.5-4X BB is sound in big live events - but with a fast paced internet tourney or SnG With 1500 starting chips youve got to adjust a bit

read the whole thing before you start trying to make changes

[noble1]

People learn in different ways.  Some absorb knowledge through reading, others require kinaesthetic learning, where they only retain the information through active participation.  Some remember information that they"ve been exposed to visually, others through what they hear.  Most will benefit from a combination of these.

Also, it"s easier to take a book to the loo with you...

got me thinking of an article i read years ago which some met find interesting - http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=7339473&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1&nt=2

pre-flop raising has imo different functions - to build a pot,to improve your position,isolate weak players and to steal blinds and antes..then there is 3bet stealing etc..As we get deeper in mtts and the blind to stack ratio gets smaller then reasons to pre-flop raise like pot building are less important but raising to steal becomes more prevalent..
[WHOOPS trying to write this and watch football and Stoke have scored after 70secs lol]
As you become better at mtts you will size your pre-flop bets according to the stage and your style,in the later stages you"ll bet/raise less as the hands you are playing will be more marginal and maybe u are bluffing more post flop [if your active] Its all about risk and reward , as the stacks get smaller and they become less inclined to call then when we are stealing there is no need to raise so much [this helps our big hands get paid off also because we are active]
You see players raising far to much with so so hands even now with so much info available and tbh it amazes still how little they understand a basic fundamental such as risk and reward [and pot odds,odds of themselves or opponent hitting if called etc]
If your not sure about how much to raise then post in the strategy forums and ask others how they approach bet sizing pre-flop [you will get some good answers ]

[jlane1980]

Question:
I have just finished Volume 1 of Harrington on Hold-em, as advised earlier in this post.  I can"t remember who advised it, but thank you to that person!
I feel that i have learnt a lot, just by reading it!  I do want to read to again at some point though.  My question is; Should i re-read volume 1 now or move on to volume 2?
As another option, The poker mindset should, i"m told by Amazon, arrive tomorrow.  I could wait for that and start that tomorrow evening.

So far my poker rebirth seems to be going well.  Thank you Dan Harrington!  

Jon

[jlane1980]

People learn in different ways.  Some absorb knowledge through reading, others require kinaesthetic learning, where they only retain the information through active participation.  Some remember information that they"ve been exposed to visually, others through what they hear.  Most will benefit from a combination of these.

Also, it"s easier to take a book to the loo with you...

got me thinking of an article i read years ago which some met find interesting - http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Number=7339473&page=0&fpart=1&vc=1&nt=2

pre-flop raising has imo different functions - to build a pot,to improve your position,isolate weak players and to steal blinds and antes..then there is 3bet stealing etc..As we get deeper in mtts and the blind to stack ratio gets smaller then reasons to pre-flop raise like pot building are less important but raising to steal becomes more prevalent..
[WHOOPS trying to write this and watch football and Stoke have scored after 70secs lol]
As you become better at mtts you will size your pre-flop bets according to the stage and your style,in the later stages you"ll bet/raise less as the hands you are playing will be more marginal and maybe u are bluffing more post flop [if your active] Its all about risk and reward , as the stacks get smaller and they become less inclined to call then when we are stealing there is no need to raise so much [this helps our big hands get paid off also because we are active]
You see players raising far to much with so so hands even now with so much info available and tbh it amazes still how little they understand a basic fundamental such as risk and reward [and pot odds,odds of themselves or opponent hitting if called etc]
If your not sure about how much to raise then post in the strategy forums and ask others how they approach bet sizing pre-flop [you will get some good answers ]

Fantastic article!  I had to read it a few times, but well worth an "inwardly digestion"!  Thanks!