Hey everyone, this is Nathan Williams with blackrain79.com and today
I'm going to tell you my top five best poker games for beginners.
Now these are going to be the best poker games for you guys that are just
starting out in the game. What I mean by that, is the most profitable, the most easy to learn and the
most easy to beat.
Now make sure you guys stick around until the end, because I'm also going to
give you my top three keys to success for poker beginners.
All right, let's jump right into it.
1) 6max Cash Games
My first best poker game for beginners is going to be 6max Cash Games.
Now why 6max?
Well, let me define first what 6max and cash games are. 6max, just like the
name implies, is going to be a poker table with six players on it.
And cash games are a form of poker where you bring your own money to the table.
And cash games are a form of poker where you bring your own money to the table.
You typically are going to be using chips, which hold the exact same value,
the blinds never increase unlike a tournament, which I'm going to discuss
later in this list and basically you just sit around and you try to increase
your profits.
If you brought $100 to the table for instance, if you leave with anything
above $100, that's a winning day and anything below $100 is a losing
day.
There's no first place, second place. This is why they call it a cash game.
It's just money in, money out. Now, why do I suggest 6max instead of 9max like you might've seen in a casino
or even online?
Well, the reason why I'm suggesting 6max games these days is because they're
simply more popular. More people were playing them online.
Back when I was first starting out many years ago, 9max or full ring was
definitely the game that people were playing.
But 6max is more popular these days.
That's going to give you more games to play in, more fish to find and
ultimately more success. And lastly, why do I suggest cash games over some
other formats on this list that I'm going to get into?
Well, the reason why, not only am I a cash game specialist, but I truly
believe number one is the most popular form of poker and ultimately it's the
easiest for a beginner to get into because it's the most steadiest profit.
You will have losing days in cash games, there's no games on this list where
you're not going to have losing days.
That's just not part of the game.
The game of poker just inherently has day to day ups and downs, but cash games
have the smoothest graph.
You're going to make the most consistent money in these games and so that's
why I suggest them as my number one game for poker beginners.
For more, I have already written the #1 6max strategy guide available online and it's totally free.
2) Multi Table Tournaments (MTTs)
All right so number two on the list is going to be multi table tournaments.
Now probably a lot of you guys that are just starting out in poker, already
play these games.
Probably a lot of the poker that you've seen on YouTube or on TV involves this
with famous players like Daniel Negreanu or Phil Hellmuth.
And that is because multi table tournaments are the most exciting round of
poker.
These are the games where there's going to be a million dollar final table,
the gold bracelet that you might've seen or the World Series of Poker.
And I will say that also this game tournaments tend to attract the biggest
recreational players as we call fish, because of that, the lure of the big
money.
Now, what is the drawback to tournaments?
Well, the drawback to tournaments is they don't feature a lot of consistent
money like cash games and that is because you need to get very lucky again and
again in a short period of time in order to win a poker tournament.
All the money in poker tournaments is on the final table and specifically
first, second and third.
Also, you tend to get "chained to your chair" for many hours at a time and
this can make having a personal life and traveling (two things I do a lot),
much more difficult to plan out!
I talked about this in a recent video on why I cut down playing tourneys.
But these are still an excellent choice for beginners nonetheless.
While I do suggest cash games over tournaments, I do think that tournaments
are also an excellent choice for poker beginners because they're the most
exciting form of poker and it's a chance to get a big, big score, which is a
big draw for a lot of people, including myself.
Check out my massive poker tournament strategy guide for my complete strategy on how to start winning tournaments.
3) Sit and Gos
All right, so number three on the list is going to be sit and gos.
You're going to find these online a lot and sit and gos are basically, they're
just like a tournament where the blinds are increasing and you're looking to
win first, second or third, primarily like I mentioned.
The difference between sit and gos is that typically it's just one, two or
three tables, basically.
And that means that the entire tournament is often over in about 20 or 30
minutes as well so you don't have to spend an entire afternoon playing them.
With sit and gos, the strategy is similar to tournaments. You're looking to
survive and ultimately a place in the top three.
And I do think that there's a good amount of profit for most beginners in
these games.
Furthermore, since they don't take too long to finish, they have all the benefits of cash games (time flexibility), without the drawbacks of large tournaments (big time commitment).
You will also find a lot of weaker players in sngs, so I always recommend that poker beginners try out this format and see if they like it or not.
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4) Zoom Poker Games
All right so number four on my list is going to be Zoom poker games which are played on PokerStars. This format is actually called "fast fold" and you will find them on many other online poker sites as well.
For example: Fast Forward, Blaze, Snap, Rush etc. They go by all sorts of different names on
different sites. It's all fast fold poker, so that is what I am talking about here.
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Anyways, basically Zoom is a new brand of poker, it's been around for a while.
Fold your hand right away and it's going to move you to another table with a
new hand right away and it just increases the speed of the game, almost
exponentially.
It's a lot faster than any poker game you're used to. This brand of poker has become very popular, especially with recreational
players.
I discuss this more in a recent video.
Also with people that just want to play a lot of hands, want to jump on the
tables right away and dive right into the action.
Now, the drawback of Zoom poker is that these games do tend
to play pretty tight and therefore it's hard to get a lot of loose action.
Therefore, they become what some people call "nit-fests," where everyone's basically just
sitting around waiting for aces, kings and sets and strong hands like that.
But overall, I do think that Zoom is still a good option for most beginners. It's a good way to get yourself into the game.
A lot of recreational players really like this format, like I said, because of
the convenience.
And lastly, Zoom is a common choice of semi-pros and pros these days because you can simply get a ton of volume in (hands played) especially if you multi-table Zoom.
This allows you to get to the long run much quicker, get more bonuses/rakeback, and ultimately earn more assuming you are a winning poker player.
Once again, I have already written the #1 totally free Zoom poker strategy guide available these days online.
5) Pot Limit Omaha (PLO)
All right, so my final best poker game for beginners is going to be Pot Limit
Omaha. Now this is different from No Limit Hold'em, as I've been discussing
previously.
Now Pot Limit Omaha is going to be different than probably the poker that
you've played.
You've probably played no limit hold'em primarily, which is a game where you
have two cards dealt to you face down.
Pot Limit Omaha is different in that you get four cards. This creates a lot more action. There's a lot more gambling in the game.
It's a lot more swingy and for a lot of people, they really enjoy this format. I actually like stepping into these games from time to time myself as well.
And you can go on some insane heaters and some equally tough downswings.
Overall, that's one of the biggest draws for Pot Limit Omaha for me, is that
not as many people play it as compared to No Limit Hold'em.
Therefore, the
level of understanding, the level of strategy, is not as high and so if
you become a reasonably competent player at Pot Limit Omaha, you're probably
going to have a more significant advantage over most people than you would in No Limit Hold'em.
And that is because NLHE is a game that people have studied a lot more and
gotten a lot better at. In fact, the large majority of advanced poker training programs these days are aimed at No Limit games.
There's a lot of other popular games like short deck hold'em these days, stud games,
any games that people don't play a lot.
I will say that if you choose to
specialize in those as a beginner, it's going to allow you to get to a more
competent level a lot faster just because everybody else plays pretty poorly
in these games.
All right, guys, so those are my top five best poker games for beginners.
Honorable Mentions (Easiest Poker Games)
I did want to include some honorable mentions for easiest poker games.
There are many other poker games that are actually super profitable these days, mostly because hardly anyone plays them.
Here are a few examples:
- Short Deck Hold'em
- Razz
- Chinese Poker
- Badugi
- Triple Draw
- Omaha Hi/Lo
Basically, if you can get good at any of these games (and you can find some action), you will probably crush everybody because there is hardly any good information out there on how to beat these games.
So in other words, almost everyone sucks at this game and the other ones on this list as well!
This could be a gold-mine for you :)
My Top 3 Keys to Success for Poker Beginners
As I mentioned off the top, I'm going to give you guys now my top three keys
to success for poker beginners to get you guys making big profits in this game
as quickly as possible.
1) Use a Tight and Aggressive (TAG) Strategy
All right, so tip number one, I've mentioned it many times before is I
recommend a basic TAG strategy. Now TAG stands for tight and aggressive.
This is something that I talk about in much more detail in my free poker cheat sheet.
It's basically a strategy
which involves being fairly selective with the hands you decide to play,
paying close attention to your position at the poker table and also applying a
lot of pressure after the flop on the flop turn and river.
And basically the reason why this strategy works so well is because it puts a
lot of sustained pressure on your opponents.
They know you're only playing a good hand.
Most of the time, you're going to have position on them, which means you're
getting to act last, which is a huge advantage in poker.
For you beginners reading this article, you want to be playing as much as
possible in seats like the button and the cutoffs specifically.
Again, this is stuff that I talk about in my free poker cheat sheet and in all my poker books as well.
But overall, I suggest learning this bare bones kind of strategy. This is what's going to help you find quick success in all of the games that I
already mentioned on this list.
2) Use Good Game Selection
My second key to success for poker beginners is all about game selection.
Now what's game selection going to ask? What I mean by game selection is finding the tables with the bad players.
If you're new to poker you need to understand that
the biggest difference between poker and all of the other casino poker games
is that you're playing against other people, not the house.
What about the rake you might say though!
Well yes, the house does charge a small fee called the "rake" that gets taken out of each pot or tournament buyin, but this is a fixed cost. It's basically the price you pay to play the game.
You are not in direct competition with the casino or online poker site in the actual poker game itself though (in contrast to literally all other casino games, slots, blackjack, craps etc.).
And that's why poker is so popular
and it's a game of skill over the long run where people can play for a
significant part time income or even a full-time income like I've done myself for many years.
The beautiful thing about poker is you don't have to be the best poker player
in the world in order to have success at it.
You don't even have to be that good. All you need to do is consistently play against people who are worse than you.
How do you do this?
Well, the number one thing is just to observe the table.
Look for people that are playing passively by limping a lot pre-flop, by
making small bets, by calling down with all sorts of weak draws and bottom
pair and stuff like that.
Playing too many hands. Basically all of the classic signs of a recreational player.
This is something I've talked about many times here on the blog and in my poker books. These are the kind of players you want to be looking out for.
Now, if you play online poker and you use a HUD like PokerTracker, for
instance, it puts numbers on your online poker table and you can just
look for the guys that are playing 40% or more of their hands.
This HUD stat is called VPIP in PokerTracker and once again it goes right on your online poker table beside their name.
If you want to get these numbers on your online poker table by the way, I made an entire video for beginners on how to setup your HUD in less than 5 minutes.
If you are serious about online poker in particular, I would highly recommend checking the free trial at least of the PokerTracker HUD.
3) Have Good Tilt Control
And so my third and final key to success for poker beginners is all about tilt
control, guys.
Guys, the biggest challenge of poker, especially for new poker players like
yourself, is being able to handle the constant ups and downs of the game.
This is why I discuss the mental side of the game in much more detail in my new BlackRain79 Elite Poker University.
Like I mentioned before, nobody wins every day in poker.
There's always ups and downs even if your name is Daniel Negreanu or Phil
Hellmuth, these guys have losing days too.
What you need to be able to do when the cards are not going your way is to
recognize the signs of when you're starting to feel frustrated because it
leads to bad play.
And what you need to be doing in that situation is being able to remove
yourself from the table, understanding you're not playing your best, recognize
that poker is a longterm game.
We're not in this for the results of days or even weeks.
We're looking at the long run, which is going to mean the results that matter
for you are the ones over months and years specifically.
One of the biggest keys to your success, even more important than your
strategy at the tables is having the mental wherewithal to either control your
tilt in the moment when you start getting bad beats and coolers or simply
leave the poker table, if you're not able to control your emotions.
All right, guys, so that's about all I got for this one. I hope that this list of the 5 easiest poker games for beginners was helpful
for you.
Thanks a lot for reading, guys.
Lastly, if you want to know my complete strategy for small stakes poker games,
make sure you grab a copy of
my free poker cheat sheet.
