Tom,
A fellow hold'em player? Great! Without risking turning this into a Hold'em forum, I must concur on your suggestions about the book and software. I too have a dusty copy of Turbo Texas Hold'em. It is to Hold'em what Winpoker is to VP and maybe even one step further.
I played "professionally" as a prop [for those uninitiated, that is NOT a shill. A shill plays with the house's money, a "prop" plays with his own money]
Also, as some added advice to the original poster. When picking a game be sure you don't have a lot of props. You can ask and they must tell you if they are shills or props by gaming commission law. The only reason to identify them is to rule out a game as much tougher to beat with people who make their living by doing it. I know, I did it successfully off and on for 12 years.
Other advice to the novice... learn your players well. Pay as much attention to learning the players as to learning the mechanics of good play. If you are in LV, scout out tables for a couple of weeks at different spots you plan on playing at. However it's easiest for you, learn who to call and who not to call. Once you learn the "rocks" in the games, you're a couple of buy-in's ahead already.
Also, learn positional play as well. Learn who to sit in front of, learn who to sit behind, to best initiate betting, calling and folding.
Rule#1 LEARN HOW TO FOLD A HAND EARLY!!!!
Much like VP, when you've got the best of it, be aggressive. You won't always win, but in the long run you will come out way ahead. A good rule of thumb is put the least amount of money in on weak hands, the most money in on strong hands.
Another bit... momentum can be a big factor in low limit games. When you are on a roll and doing well, other players adjust their play and make bad calls, or drop when they should stay in. Which brings up a somewhat contradictory comment. IN LOW LIMIT GAMES PLAYERS DO NOT KNOW WHAT THE WORD "FOLD" MEANS. <g>
And never belittle a bad play, bad player, or anyone who "rivers" you. You want them to play bad. You can't win every hand. There's only one hand that's important, that's the last hand. If you win the last hand you'll never go home broke. :>
When I played regularly in the SoCal games 15/30 limit [the toughest games, even admitted by many/most LV players] I learned to set limits. I regularly used a "stop loss" system of money management, much like a stock order. If I bought in for $400, once I got $200 ahead I'd put that money up front so to speak. If I lost it back, I was done for the session. If I won more, I'd keep $200 in front of me every time I'd win a pot, the rest going into my back line, never to be "seen" again. That allows you to let your wins unlimited, but gives you a point to stop at once the streak turns against you.
I'd be more than glad to have "Donald" write to my privately and discuss any further points on hold'em so as not to turn the thread into a novel. I played a lot more than 15 years, more like 30 years, but for recreation until the last 15 years that I propped.
ADR
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At 09:20 PM 3/1/03, you wrote:
Finally a question that I know something about.