how or where to start?

Originally posted by densch92
is there some sort of newbie tutorial course or something on here?
Can you tell me where to find it?

Also what i wonder: Is there on 888poker a place where you can practice for no money?
Cause all I saw there were tables for money (even though as little as 5 cent).
are there any "demo" tables, where you can play with toy money, so to say?

Hi densch92,
Welcome to PokerStrategy.com! ;:welcome:

At the very least, before you play for real money, read the articles in the Poker Basics category

Next, I always recommend the No Limit Hold'em lessons overview. You may find that some of the lessons in the first section are duplicated in the overview -- just skip 'em if that happens.

To play for play money on 888 there is a button on the upper right just under the time zone & local time display. At least there used to be -- we can't play on 888 from Canada any more so I couldn't check it out.

If you cannot find it, post a message in the 888 forum and the friendly 888 Rep (or someone else who knows) will provide a more definite answer.

Best of luck,
VS

I am so glad you posted that question densch92.

As it turns out, Canadians CAN still play on 888. Not only that I still have $28 in my account there (woohoo).
For even more fun, I had a promo ticket to a $6000 freeroll tomorrow at 16:30 local.

Oh -- and I was correct -- the play money tab is just under the time-zone and time in the upper right-hand corner of the client.

I found this bit of info in the help:

Your Play Money funds are automatically topped-up to $1,000 when you enter the lobby with less than $10. Maximum 2 top ups each day.

All the best,
VS

Thank you! :-)
The poker basics category is exactly hat i was looking for! :-)

Thanks a lot, I will work through it in the next days.

I will only play with play money for a while until I get a feel for the whole topic :-)

Hi densch,

Vorpal already showed you some great links to get you started. Those Basics articles should hold you for a while.

To help you with your future poker journey (you plan to play for real money at one point, don't you?), here are some more clarifications, in case you didn't know yet:

There are two main versions of real money poker - cash games and tournaments. In cash games, you directly bet your money at the tables, and the winner of each hand takes down all the money in the pot. In tournaments, you instead pay a tournament fee upfront, and get a stack of play chips in returns. Players in the tournament will then keep playing with this stack until only one of them remains, who is declared the winner. The prize pool (consisting of the combined tournament fees) is then divided among the players based on their finishing position.

Tournaments are further divided into Sit and Go's (short: SNGs) and scheduled tournaments. SNGs will start automatically as soon as a certain number of players have registered, while scheduled tournaments will start on a specified point in time, regardless of the number of players (though there's usually a minimum and maximum amount of entries).

You will probably want to try both of these formats eventually, but it could make sense to specialize in one of them. It should be noticed, in any case, that both of these formats require a different strategy.

If you want to try cash games, that Overview of NL Hold'em Lessons that Vorpal showed you should be a good place to start, assuming you're already familiar with the basics by now, of course. For SNGs, there's a similar Overview of Lessons that is worth checking out.

Btw, are you also new to the world of gambling in general, or just poker?

Be sure to keep us updated about your progress.

Hello,
thanks for the info and links.
Yeah, I'm completely new to gambling, cards games, dice games, board games and co.

so it's not only poker that I don't know but most of the games in general.

Well, in this case, there is one thing to be said about casino games in general: Don't play them.

As you may have learned already, you can make a profit in poker by finding spots where you can get your money in as a favorite. Casino games, on the other hand, are set up in a way to make sure that you are always the underdog when you get your money in. Therefore, you may be able to win short term with a bit of luck, but you will always lose long term. I believe that's a thing that is worth pointing out about those games if you're completely new to gambling.

A related issue when it comes to poker is the concept of variance. You will surely deal with it soon enough, but simply put, you can make all the right decisions at times and still end up losing, as well as vice versa. It is very important to keep your cool in good times and bad, and avoid evaluating your decisions at the tables based solely on the outcome of individual hands. This is called "results oriented thinking" and it is basically a sin for any poker player, even though many of us are naturally drawn to it.

But you'll deal with that when the time is right. Just focus on the basics for now. And let us know if there is anything you need help with.