Advice needed....

Being still rather new to online poker (3-4months now) I'm looking to improve my game to the next level. Consider I've never read a poker book and never played before 4 months ago( aside from a small run at True Poker playing with the funny money) where should I look to improve my game?

Some things to consider:
- I don't like reading books to learn, I've always learn 5x faster from experience.
- I like the MTT, but they just arn't supporting the cash required for the learning curve.
- I don't like playing strategies in a book, or following the "un-written" rules of poker.
- Most importantly I'm in it for the entertainment, but I don't want that entertainment to cost me anything.

At this point, I'm still in the red for Withdrawls -> Deposits. About 1K behind. I have $300 at stars to commit to a game plan... but need a game plan.

I've tried everything, and had good runs and bad at all game types / levels. I'm a good MTT NL player, but when I play NL at the ring games I tend to get hurt on the action flops.

I'm thinking either commiting that $300 to 30 $10.00 Sngs or following the 300BB rule of thumb, move to the 0.50/1 limit tables and start mixing it up. What do I need to know about variance to be succussful at the limit tables or the Sngs.

If I play limit, from my understanding I should follow these levels to ensure I don't blow my bank.

0.50/1 = 300
1/2 = 600
2/4 = 1200
4/8 = 2400

Few things I could use some help with, what is EV+? either an explanation or link would be great. Who are these 2+2 people I keep hearing about.

And how the hell do you fold AA after the flop!!!!!! Evil or Very Mad

this probably sounds lame, but what do like playing the most? what have you been most successful at?

that should be the start of your plan.

MTT (500+ entrants) are my favorite by large, but I'm not winning enough to sustain playing them and not learning enough to do better.

What would be great is to improve my game enough to compete in the final 50 of MTT consistently. right now I'm dropping to much in entry fees and not getting any sustainable ROI to keep playing.

*Last edited by mike4066 on Mon, 09 Aug 2004, 12:46pm; edited 2 times in total*

i have to agree with fnord - if you're not willing to put some study into it, the going is going to be tough. there's no substitute for experience, but study gets you thinking about things outside of the "gotta make a decision right now" environment.

as to what to play, if big MTT's are what you like, play the $1, $3, $5 on Poker Stars. i would think that with just a little effort, you could at least get into the money often enough that you wouldn't lose money overall.

First, thanks for the quick replies

*Last edited by Fnord on Mon, 09 Aug 2004, 1:15pm; edited 1 time in total*

Pick up a copy of Theory of Poker. It will explain a lot of big picture stuff.

BTW, it's ok to be a losing player. We need people like you at the table. It takes some time, but after a few months I learned to appreciate the beauty of the 72o suck-out.

sorry, that chart was jiberish, here is a little better version

Game Buy-In Entrants Place

Hold'em NoLimit $10.00 718 54
Hold'em Limit $1.00 480 62
Hold'em NoLimit freer 4000 226
Stud Limit $3.00 312 35
Hold'em NoLimit $5.00 986 141
Hold'em NoLimit $3.00 1334 37
Hold'em NoLimit $3.00 1117 70
Hold'em Limit $1.00 387 54
Hold'em NoLimit $20.00 564 42
Hold'em NoLimit $3.00 1197 157
Hold'em NoLimit $5.00 1245 132
Hold'em NoLimit $10.00 929 28
Hold'em NoLimit $10.00 743 18
Hold'em NoLimit $10.00 1021 66
Hold'em NoLimit $10.00 515 66

I'm at the point now where I make a regular monthly income from playing Hold'em. But, as mike4066 said, it isn't all fun and glitz like it looks on TV. After a while, it certainly does become a grind. It takes patience to stay profitable (or break even), as most of the time, you're just folding.

If you're getting entertainment from the adrenaline-rush of simply "gambling" and are an action junky and want to play a lot of hands just to be involved, you will lose money.

Those of us that are profitable at this read, study, analyze our plays and others' plays, and study some more. To be fair, I've only read one book, Hold'em for Advanced Players, but I've read every article on the FTR site and studied just about every post here in the FTR forums, and continue to read everything that's posted here. It's simple due diligence.

Also realize that you can be a winning player and break even because of the rake (which even at 5% is waaaayyy higher than it really needs to be.)

Oh, and Party's .25c Jackpot drop with a 10% "Administrative fee" is just plain silly.

skimming the bad beat jackpot?

that's low...

I started a lot like you did... just seeing it on TV and really wanting to play for the amusement factor. It wasn't so amusing when I got my hindquarters handed to me on a platter a few times.

A few too many people, myself included at one time, saw this game as more luck than skill. That's a deadly attitude.

But I started looking for more information. The fact that there were pros made it obvious to me there was a better way to play. Getting lucky won't sustain a career.

You've really got to study the game if you want to be successful at it. Books, Televised poker, and this web site are really the best resources you can have access to.

I'd suggest moving your bankroll over to Party (or Empire) Poker. This will yield you a $60 deposit Bonus, and the games on Party are much easier to beat and more fishy than PokerStars. I think just about anybody could make money playing tight at the NL 25 tables. If you just stick to limping with (and calling any reasonable raises looking for a set) pocket pairs 22-99 from any positon, raising to at least 4xbb with AK AA KK and QQ from any position (limping AK and limping looking to reraise with AA and KK from EP are moves I like a lot though), limping from early and raising from LP with AQs JJ TT, and limping from MP/LP with suited 20 or 21 hands, you should be able to make a nice profit.

well on the way home from work I picked up online poker for dummies from chapters Razz

hehe seriously, I ordered Theory of Poker and I'll give it a read, will probably have some questions for you all on your interpretations of it once I get through it.

They only had some odd books about poker in stock, and only one notable one, Super System. I was thinking about buying, but recall people mentioning it is outdated, and was only like %25-%35 committed to holdem. I skimmed through it and noticed there was a lot dealing with the basics I already knew. It did however get my interest peaked when he talked about the double belly buster straight draw and how most players don't notice the strt draw as easily as the inside strt.

Is there another name for it? because I never notice many people referring to it and would be interested in reading more about it.

I just wanted to note that I don't think books are essential to be a good player that at least breaks even, but studying your game is. Honestly, I haven't read any Poker Books yet, but it isn't because of a lack of interest. I'll be getting around to starting to do so soon.

And if you want a good place to improve your game, you're at it. The main page of FTR will really help you develop a basic game. Read all of the links on the main page, and go back to ones you don't fully understand multiple times. Cardplayer magazine (http://www.cardplayer.com/poker_magazine/) is another site with a lot of great articles that you can learn a lot from.

Finally, if you're going to play NL, I recommend SNGs as a starting place, especially since it sounds like you're a loose and possibly aggressive player. Plus, you're putting a cap on your losses in any given session, just by the number of SNGs you play.

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Advice needed....