Got a mate who’s just started having a crack at poker online and he’s doing the classic thing... playing way too many hands, calling stuff because he’s "already in", then getting annoyed when the river bricks. Fair enough, we’ve all been there haha.
I’ve told him to chill a bit and fold more early, pay attention to position, stop trying to be a hero with garbage cards, all that basic stuff. Problem is when you’re new it all kind of blends together and every tip sounds like the main tip. Bit hard to know what actually matters first.
So for the people here who got past that messy starting stage, what was the first thing that genuinely made a difference for you? Was it just tightening up preflop, learning pot odds, not bluffing every second hand, managing your bankroll better... or something else completely?
Keen to hear the stuff that actually made it click for you, not the super polished textbook version. Even little rules you gave yourself are good. Chuck them in.