This page is intended for new
players - it will ensure the early days of your poker career
don't end in disaster. It is tried and tested
over seven years of profitable play. Thanks to
FullTilt for some live pro-tips at the bottom of this
page. If you want more advanced tips, click the
link above to the advanced page.
First Steps - Play Money
Once you have downloaded the software
you can start on the "free" tables (click on a
table in the software and it will open automatically). You
can watch games without playing so you don't need to play until you are
ready. Go for the Texas holdem tables - its a simple game to learn and most
sites have rules and tips but its better to just watch some
real play. At first sight it looks like play is going
fast but don't worry, it takes time to get a feel for the
pace and when you do actually start to play there are
reminders and alarms when its your turn.
Remember you are playing against real people - there is a
chat box so you can talk to them if you want.
Have fun - the money is fake and you can blow it all
away if you want - you just reload it from the software.
Once you get the hang of it you will be
ready to try a few cents of your own money.
It should only take a few hours before you can beat the play
money tables but only if you remember this - play tight!
If you keep throwing money in to chase the last card then when it works you will clean
up (a great feeling) but more often than not it will
fail. At play money tables there is a lot of
"loose play" (after all it is just fake money) - don't get
caught up in that - play tight but when you do get a good
hand, bet aggressively!
Real Money
After you get the hang of the play
money tables, deposit some money. About £50 or $100 to take advantage of any welcome
bonuses. Don't worry about the currency, it gets converted
for you. There are two types of holdem - Limit and no-Limit. As a beginner go
to the Limit
tables - I'll explain no-Limit (and tournaments) later.
The tables range from 6 to 10-seat so look around for a free
table. Choose the 25c Limit cash tables, no need
to go to higher limits just yet. If you prefer
tournament play (many people do). Go to the
"sit-and-go" tables and choose a low-stake one - say $3
entry fee. For that $3 you will get about an
hour of play - not bad if you are only in it for some fun!
Style of Play - "Tight-Aggressive" - TAG
This is the style that
is usually most profitable (although as you get better
you need to switch styles to fool your opponents). TAG play
is simple - stay out of most pots until you get something,
then bet it as aggressively as possible. Usually
this is best to do once the flop is on the table, if you bet
AA aggressively pre-flop you may find everyone drops out and
all you get are the blinds. However, post-flop
you know a lot more and you can bet your hand with more
confidence. This can be quite boring though, as you won't
be in many pots if you overdo the tightness, so try to get
to the flop if you can, then either raise or fold once the
flop is on the table. This is a lot easier to do
in Limit, because in no-Limit the pre-flop raise can often
be large so the tight players get forced out early.
More about no-Limit later.
Bluffing
This is an advanced strategy and is
best used in no-Limit poker. In Limit games you
can't bet enough to bluff others to fold good hands.
A simple tip is if you try a raise at any time and someone
calls then more often than not they "have something" so be
careful, especially if they call you all the way to the
river then raise you. They have been playing
you along (also called a "suckout"). Leave bluffing for
no-Limit games but if you do try bluff-raises in Limit, then
be prepared to get out if the other guy calls or
re-raises.
Multi-Tabling
If you are a tight player Limit poker
can be boring if you are only in a small amount of hands per
hour. You can of course watch TV or surf the web
at the same time as you play but if you want to speed
things up you can multi-table i.e. you play at more than
one table at a time. Each table opens in its own
Window so its easy to jump from one to the other.
Experienced players can easily multi-table 8 or more tables
at a time, but you should build this up gradually. It makes
the game a lot more exciting!
No-Limit
It is easy to make
money at limit poker - in fact many good players stick to
Limit and just move up the table limits as they get better.
However many people like the thrill of no-Limit where there
is a lot more action and pots can very quickly become large.
This is where TAG players like to play.
Some poker Tips
The above
strategy will get you going. Here are some tips
to add to your enjoyment.........
- Don't play when drunk or angry
- you will make bad decisions.
- Don't go "on-tilt" i.e. don't
start to chase losses if you had a bad session.
- Best time to play is 11:00 on
Saturday night Europe time - you may find a bunch of
drunks who are not thinking straight.
- Don't get too involved in the
chat unless you enjoy the social side of poker. If
you chat too much you may get diverted from the action.
- At high limit tables the
opposition will be experienced poker players - don't
underestimate them!! They are waiting for
you.
- If you do play no-Limit and
somebody starts raising like a madman - be prepared to
fold and live to fight another day even if you have
something decent yourself. If you hang in hoping for
the river card to save you then you will lose more than
you win.
Some tips from the pros at FullTilt
