Poker, I just don't 'get it'!

[secret2]

Look, I think I am a fairly intelligent person but I just do NOT understand poker.

THERE!, I said it.

I love Blackjack...but for the life of me I do not understand Poker!

I really wish I did.

In this forum, I feel like an island as far as Poker is concerned.

I tried to play (free plays at UB and AP before they became rogued (or rouged) and was yelled at! Yes, yelled at in a free play game!

Why am I thick, when it comes to Poker?

I watch the late-night Poker tournaments and know about certain terminology, such as 'The River"....I understand about bluffing...but...heck! I soooo want to learn.

It's on my 'Bucket List'.

Am I the only one here in this forum, that does not understand, Poker?

This post has been painful for me...it's like admitting that I am addicted to something and just 'came out'.

 

[anniemac]

Secret2,

I play poker but I'm not about to play online cause it seems that some players feel as if they can be mean and nasty when you don't play according to a book or the way they want you to. Again, hiding behnd the anonimity of the internet.

What don't you understand about poker? The basics are simple, what beats what and so on. Then you get into the betting strategies and how to bet what hands etc.

It all boils down to just how big a set of balls you have and how lucky you are. LOL! Nothing will spoil a book taught poker player more than some newbie player that has no rhyme or reason to how he plays and then wins every pot.

 

[secret2]

Annie, it's not even the internet! LOL

I MAYBE understand the 'bascis' but ( I am still shaking my head)

You could be correct in your thinking, maybe as a newbie, I could crush yas all.

I think that I need a crash course in Poker from a 'pro' because it's almost instinctual to NOT understand it?

Does that make sense?

Do I have a block in my mindset?

It's very puzzeling to me , when you and so many others 'get it'.

 

[Nifty29]

My advice is to forget about betting and holdem and multiplayer.

Learn how to play good old 5 card draw with a friend in real life. You will learn all about hand values and the basics of the game.

Once you're on top of that, you can go and observe some games either live or online. It's really just the same as standard poker, except that, instead of only have 5 cards to make your best hand, you actually have seven I.e. the two you're dealt plus the five cards in the middle. The betting is all about assessing the strength of your hand as more cards are revealed, and learning what are good starting hands and when you should just throw them away. Of course, then its about making judgements about what the other players might have and remembering their betting patterns.

The main thing is to start with freerolls and low stakes games. It doesn't matter what other players think.....its your money. Turn the chat feature off.

I'm no expert so I can only tell you the basics.

Good luck!

 

[chuchu59]

I regularly played poker 5 years ago when there was a forum which organised freerolls for its members at many different rooms (different software). I learned as I played and won a bit too.

In the past there was a poker training school at Ladbrokes and if you answered their questions correctly (you can have multiple attempts) you get entry to a $1Kfreeroll. Dont know if they still have this.

It seems its not that you dont understand poker. You just dont know the terms and that's nothing to be ashamed about. There are different terms for the same thing. I understand 'river' is the last card but then there are others like 'flop', 'fun' and 'turn' and possibly others. Then there is a straight ie A-2-3-4-5 called the wheel but which is the lowest form of a straight.

You should try to learn mahjong. Once you 'get' it you will easily absorb anything else.

 

[Gremmyboy]

Nothing will spoil a book taught poker player more than some newbie player that has no rhyme or reason to how he plays and then wins every pot.

That's me as a poker player! Lol
My wife's father is poker mad and him and all his mates play poker non stop. They go to the pub and play poker every week and are members of all the poker clubs, etc...
All they talk about and think about is poker!

When my wife's dad had a bucks night a year or so back, it was a poker night naturally! They had about 6 tables and all the poker crowd were there. I played too because I was there.
I was pretty drunk and just goofing around, not taking it seriously at all(I was actually quite bored) but won every game and came out on top at the end of the night at the final table. Seeing as we all had to buy In for $10 I ended up taking the lot(around $300)!
I've never seen such grumpy faces in my life before. They just couldn't accept that a bumbling drunk twit had beaten them all! It was amusing!


Cheers
Gremmy

 

[secret2]

Yes, I think the 5 card draw, would be the best way to go but NOT with a laughing co-worker/friend("Texas Hold'em".. back room 'pro' in Queens, NY ..who wins thousands every weekend).

So, 5 card..to the basics and then I will move forward and learn to beat this arrogant SOB, lol!

Thanks, Nifty.

I was getting serioulsy confused with all the different'plays' of Poker...Texas Hold em and all the rest of 'em..countless, it seems.

I wish I could turn HIS 'chat feature' off.

My advice is to forget about betting and holdem and multiplayer.

Learn how to play good old 5 card draw with a friend in real life. You will learn all about hand values and the basics of the game.

Once you're on top of that, you can go and observe some games either live or online. It's really just the same as standard poker, except that, instead of only have 5 cards to make your best hand, you actually have seven I.e. the two you're dealt plus the five cards in the middle. The betting is all about assessing the strength of your hand as more cards are revealed, and learning what are good starting hands and when you should just throw them away. Of course, then its about making judgements about what the other players might have and remembering their betting patterns.

The main thing is to start with freerolls and low stakes games. It doesn't matter what other players think.....its your money. Turn the chat feature off.

I'm no expert so I can only tell you the basics.

Good luck!

 

[secret2]

It seems its not that you dont understand poker. You just dont know the terms and that's nothing to be ashamed about. There are different terms for the same thing. I understand 'river' is the last card but then there are others like 'flop', 'fun' and 'turn' and possibly others. Then there is a straight ie A-2-3-4-5 called the wheel but which is the lowest form of a straight.

You should try to learn mahjong. Once you 'get' it you will easily absorb anything else.

Ya see?, THAT'S where you lose me...the flop, the fun and the turn.

Mahjong? So I guess, that's even harder? omg....going back under my covers...

 

[anniemac]

I started out playing 5 card draw etc. The normal poker games. Then we got to playing 'road games' for fun. These are the crazy games that oilfield hands thought up while waiting at the rig - 5 card draw, Jacks or better to open, trips to win. Stuff like that.


That was before Texas Hold'em became popular.

 

[secret2]

I started out playing 5 card draw etc. The normal poker games. Then we got to playing 'road games' for fun. These are the crazy games that oilfield hands thought up while waiting at the rig - 5 card draw, Jacks or better to open, trips to win. Stuff like that.


That was before Texas Hold'em became popular.

Bit of history, thanks Annie.

 

[LooneySyl]

Omg....ty ty ty

I also have a mental block on poker. I know the rules ...the hands...the bets....what i dont have is the balls it takes to play...LOL

I'll play the slots and keno online and on land....but i have never played the tables and im retirement age. So you see there are others like you.

 

[secret2]

Omg....ty ty ty

I also have a mental block on poker. I know the rules ...the hands...the bets....what i dont have is the balls it takes to play...LOL

I'll play the slots and keno online and on land....but i have never played the tables and im retirement age. So you see there are others like you.

Marry me!!!

Ok, I'm married already but I feel soooo much better, already!

(We'll kick their aces, later...heheheh)

 

[Jasminebed]

For those with gaming platforms, there are some pretty good poker games, and I'm sure there are some for the PC as well.

This page lists a few of the top sellers

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. You usually have choices about the levels of your opponents, you may be able to play in practice modes that show odds of you winning with your pocket cards before the flop (just like on tv), and you will gain some familiarity with playing in a virtual format.

It will be different playing real people for real money (even freerolls have real prizes), but you'll learn enough not to be yelled at.

Personally, I always take it as a compliment when someone cusses me out after I take their money.

Pawn shops and some game retailers carry used games at very modest prices.

 

[chayton]

Personally I don't even like to play multiplayer slot games much if I have to talk to anyone while I'm doing it. I'm more of a solitary player, so I stick to video poker.

Funny that you posted this though, a couple of days ago I saw an ad on TV for 'poker school'

 

[Tirilej]

You are certainly not alone Secret2. What is poker?

I loved to play poker with my brothers when I grew up, but the cardgames people are playing now I don't even want to learn.
Probably because I don't know how and I hate the feeling of me being stupid. What if I can't learn it?
I leave it to those who likes it and continue to play my slots.