A few questions about beginners course...

Keep in mind that the video is now over three years old. The game has changed since then, and what was profitable in 2011 is not necessarily profitable in 2014. The standard raise size of 4BB + 1 for each limper, which was common back then, is an example.

Also, if I understood correctly, the beginner's course you mentioned is by now discontinued and replaced by these lessons.

Okay then how do I know if articles like How to Play After the Flop aren't "out-dated", too? I mean most of the bronze articles were written some years ago and it means that they are out-dated also, aren't they? If yes, what the heck should I read then?

P.S. why are they still answering to the new Beginner's Course threads? I mean people are doing homework from that course and BogdanPS (PokerStrategy's coach) is helping players with their homeworks.

P.S.S. NL2-NL10 is all about ABC poker, do you really think it has changed so much over 3-4 years?

Originally posted by arnsaa1
Okay then how do I know if articles like How to Play After the Flop aren't "out-dated", too?

Articles like these are not supposed to be a complete strategy anyway. They are mainly aimed at complete beginners (as in "just learned the rules") and serve as a general guideline, to point out some things beginning players should watch out for. For that purpose, I believe they're still completely fine.

All the articles after the first three from the link I gave you, which give some more in-depth advice, are quite recent.

Originally posted by arnsaa1
why are they still answering to the new Beginner's Course threads? I mean people are doing homework from that course and BogdanPS (PokerStrategy's coach) is helping players with their homeworks.

Is that so? I was not aware of that.
I remember reading a forum post earlier this year that claimed that the beginner's course will be discontinued...

Originally posted by arnsaa1
NL2-NL10 is all about ABC poker, do you really think it has changed so much over 3-4 years?

I can't really comment on that since I'm mainly a SNG player and I have only played cash games since late 2013. From what I've heard, though, the games did get a little tougher in recent years, even at microstakes. They are still mainly about playing ABC poker, but I still don't think that everything from three years ago would work just as well today.

Well, frankly I can't tell you if they still do it. I did this course in February I think and back then the course was still running and BogdanPS was checking everyone's homework.

Anyways, what do you suggest? Skip all the videos that are in the videos section and just read all the articles from No-Limit section?

Is there any reason why pokerstrategy can't include a date with the strategy articles (i.e. when they are written)? Then the reader can decide if it is outdated or still relevant.
After all when you buy a strategy book it has the date of publication.

Just a suggestion to avoid this sort of confusion.

Hey arnsaa1,

The NL beginner's course was actually discontinued in December last year with our release of Poker School V2.0. As part of this upgrade all strategy articles were checked for relevance in today's game and updated as necessary.

BogdanPS is just a fabulous guy and was still marking homework for a while after the course closed.

We now recommend you post questions on the No Limit board if you need clarification or further explanation of strategy articles.

Regards

Laz

Originally posted by arnsaa1
Anyways, what do you suggest? Skip all the videos that are in the videos section and just read all the articles from No-Limit section?

New videos get released all the time, there's no reason to think they are all outdated. For bronze members, there are 150 videos available on NL alone.

It all depends on what you want to do. Do you want to refresh your knowledge of the game, and redevelop your strategy from the beginning, like you would have done with the beginner's course?
In this case, I think the new NL lessons I showed you earlier would be a good choice. They're structured in a logical way and they are all fairly recent, except for the first three, as I said, but you could probably skip them anyway since you're already familiar with the game.

Originally posted by tightfish19
Is there any reason why pokerstrategy can't include a date with the strategy articles (i.e. when they are written)? Then the reader can decide if it is outdated or still relevant.

You can check the date of the oldest comments to get a hint about the release date.
Besides, just because an article is old, that doesn't automatically mean that it is obsolete. Not every single thing inside it might be the optimal way of playing today, but most of it should still be applicable.

Doyle Brunson's Super System was written in 1979, and while parts of it may indeed by a little outdated by now, it is still widely considered a useful book containing strategies and statistics that are still relevant to this day.

I`d like to also clarify one thing. All three example you gave, you said hero donkbet flop every time. At each example hero is preflop aggressor and hence he make every time more or less stantard continuation bet. We can argue whether the flops are good or bad to make cbet but I wanted to remind that at the time players cbet a lot. And also that donkbetting is different that cbetting.

@Harrier88: I've been reading article How to Play After the Flop now and I'm really starting to think that it's for higher limit players, not for NL2-NL5 players. Bluffing and slowplaying is discussed in this article. WHY would you want to bluff or slowplay at NL2 or NL5? It's like the biggest mistakes on these limits.

Originally posted by arnsaa1
@Harrier88: I've been reading article How to Play After the Flop now and I'm really starting to think that it's for higher limit players, not for NL2-NL5 players. Bluffing and slowplaying is discussed in this article. WHY would you want to bluff or slowplay at NL2 or NL5? It's like the biggest mistakes on these limits.

The only time when this article recommends slowplaying as an option is when you have safe hand like a full house or better. It actually mentions that slowplaying in general is a bad idea at the micros:
"For most normal scenarios slowplay is the worst route to take. The reason is that there is a simple rule of thumb on the lower limits that you should never forget: your opponents are more likely to call a bet than to bet themselves."

Bluffing is also only recommended if it is done as a c-bet on a suitable board and against only one or two opponents who are likely to fold.

I don't think that bluffing in general can be considered one of the biggest mistakes at NL2-NL5. It is a mistake if it is done too often and in the wrong spots, but it is still profitable if done correctly.

Originally posted by Harrier88
I don't think that bluffing in general can be considered one of the biggest mistakes at NL2-NL5. It is a mistake if it is done too often and in the wrong spots, but it is still profitable if done correctly.

Perfect! Well said Harrier88!

Anytime you see a hard-and-fast rule like "at the micros, when they x/r they always have it" then you have a license to x/r with atc. Example:

You call a BTN open-raise from the BB holding 77
The flop comes K63r.
Hero checks, BTN bets 1/2 pot, Hero raises 3/4 pot, BTN folds

It is STUNNING how often this works.
If BTN calls, you still have 2nd pr, a backdoor straight draw and 2 outs for a set,
If BTN raises, you can get away, and you can just hear all the notes: "Idiot folds after x/r on dry flop"

But if you over do it, you become a cash donor.
Once in a while is great -- especially if actually flop your set.

You can also x/r monster draws if you want -- if they check behind, that just means you get a free card.

Oh -- and about videos, courses and articles:
The very basics are just that -- they provide a fairly safe starting point for absolute beginners.

Videos by coaches will necessarily reflect the coaches style -- some are tighter than others, some are more aggressive than others.

Peace,
--VS

I see. Btw why did you discontinued the course then?

Originally posted by arnsaa1
I see. Btw why did you discontinued the course then?

The original course was run by a coach named veriz, and involved coaching sessions, homework and lessons.

The material was preserved, but the "course" aspect of it was eventually discontinued.
Now, for BSS, just go here:
http://www.pokerstrategy.com/strategy/bss/ and proceed through the articles at your own pace.

If you prefer SnGs, the material is here:
http://www.pokerstrategy.com/strategy/sng/

Best of luck,
--VS