Beginner's Circle June General Chat Thread

[spoonitnow]

What's up guys?

I know a lot of you newer cats don't really know anybody here or aren't sure where to start, so I'm going to try to get you guys together so that you can meet some people and get this thing crackin'. We have the introduction forum, but I'll tell you a little bit about myself since I have like a bazillion posts and have been here forever.

I'm Jesse, currently 29 from Mayberry, North Carolina (literally). I've been playing poker on and off for several years, and I played as my primarily source of income for a few of those years. I write a weekly strategy column for FTR that you can check out if you want.

I know a lot of you guys are just starting out, so if you have any questions at all (no matter how dumb they might seem), feel free to ask away.

HOWEVER, I do have a question for you new guys. What do you want to get out of joining this forum? Reply here and let me know.

[Mury]

I'm pretty new so I guess I'll try and get the ball rolling here. I think it's important to be as clear and specific as you can be with your goals. My poker goal over the next 6 months (July-November) is to build a BR capable of playing 50NL, as per my operation thread 30 BI, or $1500, along with the skills to hopefully beat that stake.

Actually I think being that specific with something that contains as much uncertainty as poker does can be a bit of a double edged sword... like say if I reach October and I'm still stuck at 10NL I might start to get discouraged etc., maybe tilt more, be more likely to stop putting in the effort etc. etc. Hopefully my awareness of that is enough to counteract that.

[FlopMonster]

Hey guys,

I'm a recreational live player that now lives in an area with no good games. So, I am trying to go fully online.

Before online poker went mainstream (Pre-Moneymaker) I played fairly regularly, but then life gets in the way and my time was limited.... so I stuck to live games 1 or 2 times a week and sporadically played online. This was also before I knew of any forums and since getting back into poker I see that the theory and player knowledge base has increased exponentially.

My poker goal(s) are still in transition. Right now I want to catch up and understand the current theories and find my comfort zone online.

[Fielmann]

I'm not exactly new here but whatever.

I played semi-professionally for a few months a few years ago but didn't really succeed. I experienced a bit of a burn-out due to (I think) playing too much and auto-piloting too much and not thinking, studying and discussing poker enough.

So I am participating in these forums to keep things fun and keep me motivated and keep me actively learning.

[spoonitnow]

Hey guys,

I'm a recreational live player that now lives in an area with no good games. So, I am trying to go fully online.

Before online poker went mainstream (Pre-Moneymaker) I played fairly regularly, but then life gets in the way and my time was limited.... so I stuck to live games 1 or 2 times a week and sporadically played online. This was also before I knew of any forums and since getting back into poker I see that the theory and player knowledge base has increased exponentially.

My poker goal(s) are still in transition. Right now I want to catch up and understand the current theories and find my comfort zone online.

I've never really had any opportunities to play live. The closest games are like a five hour drive, and I'm not really down for driving 10 hours total round trip to get in maybe a couple of days of play on the weekends or whatever.

What kind of stuff are you looking to learn? Have you checked out my strategy column here on FTR?

[spoonitnow]

I'm not exactly new here but whatever.

I played semi-professionally for a few months a few years ago but didn't really succeed. I experienced a bit of a burn-out due to (I think) playing too much and auto-piloting too much and not thinking, studying and discussing poker enough.

So I am participating in these forums to keep things fun and keep me motivated and keep me actively learning.

I saw your operation thread where you're posting hands and everything. If you want to post stats in this forum or SSNL sometime just send me a PM and I'll take a look at them.

[FlopMonster]

Spoonitnow,

Seems there is a large difference in live and online play to me. Even the betting limits are vastly different. For instance, the smallest live game I have seen is 1/2, but my comfort level is 5/10 to 10/20. However online, I can't get past the .50/1 level before feeling out matched by all the steals and re-steals. I swear, everyone's a star and everyone's a monkey.

The games around here have dried up considerably, so I'm stuck with online, and honestly it's frustrating the hell out of me. The players online seem more knowledgeable about game theory, bet sizing, EV betting, etc; I just want to catch up, so I can enjoy the game again.

[spoonitnow]

Spoonitnow,

Seems there is a large difference in live and online play to me. Even the betting limits are vastly different. For instance, the smallest live game I have seen is 1/2, but my comfort level is 5/10 to 10/20. However online, I can't get past the .50/1 level before feeling out matched by all the steals and re-steals. I swear, everyone's a star and everyone's a monkey.

The games around here have dried up considerably, so I'm stuck with online, and honestly it's frustrating the hell out of me. The players online seem more knowledgeable about game theory, bet sizing, EV betting, etc; I just want to catch up, so I can enjoy the game again.

I hear you!

Generally you can take an online stake level and multiply the blinds by about 10 or so and you'll have a similar live game. This mostly just happens because the smallest limits online are smaller since the casino sites can afford to run the game with the lower rake it since they have a much lower overhead (no dealers, faster hands, etc.) Online is a lot more aggressive, that's for sure.

The new fish online aren't so much the people who call down with bad holdings and put a lot of money in the pot that way, but instead it's the players who are too aggressive and put too much money into pots with betting and raising a lot. You have to be a little more careful with identifying them and taking advantage of them, but once you do, it's not too hard to string them along a bit.

I've actually started a series here on FTR that's geared towards learning how to handle these more aggressive games, and I'd love to see what you think about it. I'm breaking it down in a way that doesn't require a lot of math or anything but that still allows you to benefit from the game theory side and exploiting over-aggressive players. Here's the first part: http://www.flopturnriver.com/pokerfo...al-197641.html

[FlopMonster]

"The new fish online aren't so much the people who call down with bad holdings and put a lot of money in the pot that way, but instead it's the players who are too aggressive and put too much money into pots with betting and raising a lot."

- Well said. Going to check out your link now. Thanks.

[spoonitnow]

Oh my god yesterday was nuts. Been with my chick for two years (yesterday), so go out to eat at this Italian place. This jackass behind me was "talking poker" to his friends, and I swear to god it was the same old shit.

Man online poker is rigged because this one time I had the best hand and then some more cards came and I didn't have the best hand anymore.

Do these bullshit bad beat stories annoy anyone else as much as they annoy me?

[spoonitnow]

[15:16] <@spoonitnow> idk did you ever play the first age of empires
[15:16] <circuits> I remember playing the second one
[15:16] <@spoonitnow> ok say you have two bases
[15:16] <@spoonitnow> and 50 calvary
[15:17] <@spoonitnow> and like idk 150 weak infantry
[15:17] <@spoonitnow> those calvary are your strong hands
[15:17] <@spoonitnow> you have to decide which base to put them in
[15:17] <@spoonitnow> but you only have 50 of them
[15:17] <@spoonitnow> you could split them up 25/25
[15:17] <@spoonitnow> or you could try toanticipate what the opponent will do and put more in one base than the other
[15:18] <@spoonitnow> but either way, then you have to put your infantry somewhere
[15:18] <@spoonitnow> ok this analogy sucks but you kind of get what i'm saying i hope
[15:18] <Yaawn> rofl

[MNMP2]

Hey Spoon,

Read a bunch of the articles you wrote. Good to get back into really thinking about poker again. I made a lot of money back in the day when the tables were full of fishes. Took a long break but now I'm back in the game and for sure things have changed. Much more aggressive and my variance is a lot higher now. I need to get straightened out so I can crush these games again......

[spoonitnow]

I hear you man! What are you playing right now? Might be a good idea to figure out what level you're on right now by playing up through the stakes and seeing where you get stuck and going from there. Got any hands you can post? The SSNL forum (http://www.flopturnriver.com/pokerfo...kes-nl-hold-em) is prob the best place to post hand histories right now.

[MNMP2]

Starting at the bottom again. I have $50 on deposit and I'm playing 1c/2c at WSOP. Is there a way to post hand histories from there? Or should I maybe play somewhere else that allows NV residents to play? I'm stuck at this level right now - lol. Just when I get up enough to think about moving to 2c/4c, I take a beat and have to regroup. Or I'll play for hours and only come out with dollar or two profit.

[spoonitnow]

I think you should be able to, but I'm not certain which software they use, so I don't know how to point you in the right direction.

It can be frustrating, but the good news about playing those stakes is that you won't have to worry about taking any significant losses while you learn to play against this newer player pool. Once you have it figured out, you'll fly through the stakes in a few weeks with a minimal amount of play.

[MNMP2]

You can replay hands on there but I dont think there is any file to access.

Anyway, I've been struggling to "get it" but now that I'm taking it more seriously, I suppose I will improve my results. But any advice/coaching would certainly help.

[dhubermex]

I'm new to the FTR boards so figure I'll post here.

I played online professionally from 2004-2007... first single-table SNGs and then MTTs. Starting out I 16-tabled micro stakes SNGs and eventually moved up to 10-tabling $60 Turbos on Stars before making the switch to $3-$50 MTTs. From June 2005-November 2007 I had all winning months--mostly due to volume and weak competition.

When it became obvious I had a greater passion for poker editorial and forum tasks, I significantly reduced my time at the online tables to focus on covering the industry and participating on forums.

[spoonitnow]

Professional donk-n-go player eh.

[dhubermex]

Professional donk-n-go player eh.

You got me pegged.

Bankroll management and being cautious about moving up in stakes were big factors in being able to make a modest living out of it. Back then ITM was reached at much lower blind levels on average than they are now.

I was never successful at cash games - should have checked out your articles back when I tried them years ago... would have definitely saved me $. Luckily I didn't donk off too much in them.

MNMP2: Best of luck getting back in the action at the WSOP.com tables!

[spoonitnow]

If I start back playing, then I'm probably going to play hyper turbos or something like that. Never really got super into SNGs or tournament play for the most part, but they look really attractive as far as the learning process goes and the types of things that I like.

[MNMP2]

The US sites just dont have enough players to build the big fun tournaments I used to play in. So for now it's cash games. I also started reading Harrington on Cash Games Vol1/2. They were sitting on the shelf. I wonder if even those books are dated, but I think it will still help me with the basics.