Advice, feedback, suggestions, for a somewhat new player.

I apologize in advance if this post is long, sorry But ANY suggestions, feedback, advice, anything at all would be very greatly appreciated, really. And I hope everything makes sense as well. I apologize if I come off as a poker nub.

I am somewhat new here, I used to have an account a few months ago but can't remember any of the info what so ever, and I never posted myself, just read articles, posts etc etc.

I started playing poker in April of this year. I had never played before and actually got hooked playing on the FB app lol. To give you an idea of how much I knew about poker when I started. I had kq, board was at523. I was shocked when I lost that hand, apparently qka23 wasn't a straight after all...

Anyways, since then, I feel comfortable in my progress. I don't think of myself as a great player yet, but I work on it every day. I don't know how good I should be, or how far along I should be after only 7-8 months of playing.

But I am having some issues in determining where I stand and I'll explain why. I started off playing the very micro limits on PS, as well as the micro SNG's and MTT's. My problem was not so much that I couldn't beat those limits, but they didn't interest me much, so I moved up to the .10/.25 and .25/.50 limits. I also started to play 3.40 and 5 buck SNG's. I held my own decently as far as my stats go. I dabbled the last month or two with .50/1 ring games, 11 SNG's as well as 11+ MTT's, and again, I hold my own pretty well.

My problem is that I do better at the higher limits and I don't know why. I took a huge hit on the weekend (played drunk, probably my worst leak) so I wanted to cool it for a few days. I still win at the lower limits, but I do better at the higher ones. For some reason this perplexes me. Anyone have any insight on this at all?

For example, disregarding my drunk binge playing lol, I have a way better hrly rate and bb/100 rate at .50/1 than I do at .25/.50 and lower. Same goes for my MTT ROI as well as my SNG ROI. My 11+ MTT ROI and 11 SNG ROI is much better than my lower limit MTT and SNG ROI. I struggle to understand this completely.

I don't have much exp to go on here, so I thought I would post to see if someone else could offer some insight. I am just at the beginning of my learning of the game, I understand this. I am aware of variance, running cold, etc etc. But today, I got my ass handed to me in the micro limit SNG's and MTT's. I understand that bad luck happens sometimes, and can accept (barely) losing AA to QQ when he ends up with a royal flush, or losing AA to AK (straight), but losing AA to hands such as j3 (straight), k2 (FH), q3 (straight) and 37 (straight), I begin to wonder how anyone can go AI PF with these hands, competent players at least. Is it because of the small limits? None of these were small stack pushes, or big stack bullies either. And I am not JUST going off what happened to me today, I understand it's the way poker goes. But day in day out, week in week out, month in month out...it starts to become a trend.

I then play at the higher limit SNG's, MTT's, and ring games, and fair so much better. It seems the level of play is higher as I would expect and personally, I find that the challenge. I feel as though people respect raises, and 3bets etc etc more. Is that it, or am I just way off here? Maybe respect isn't the best word, I know first hand there are maniacs at every level, it just seems there are less the higher the money gets. Even when I don't play, I will watch some 1/2 tables, and 20 buck SNG's, and MTT's, and the play is just much...different than what you see at the micro tables.

Anyways, I find this a bit of a sticky spot. I am not "properly" bankrolled for those higher limits yet I do better at them...I do ok at the lower limits like I said, but it feels like I have to work my ass off to keep my head above water, only to get eventually drowned by morons over and over again. It gets frustrating to say the least. And while I don't have a huge range of hands for comparison as some of you might, I have almost 20k hands since September when I reformatted. I think that is a decent amount...I think anyways.

Bottom line is I know I am no pro here. I have more leaks than a sieve probably, but I constantly work on them and focus on certain areas one at a time. But why do I succeed at the higher limits more so than the lower micros? Am I being delusional? Is it just by chance? Anyone with more experience have any thoughts?

I would really, really appreciate any feedback. I am fairly new obviously, so be gentle with me I am just trying to grasp things as best I can.

And if you did read all of this holy shit, I'll buy you some JD shots if we ever meet up at the wsop

I'll let stax deal with this.

Do you use PT or HM?

If so, post some stats for us to look at.

Originally Posted by sticky

areas one at a time. But why do I succeed at the higher limits more so than the lower micros? Am I being delusional? Is it just by chance? Anyone with more experience have any thoughts?

I would really, really appreciate any feedback. I am fairly new obviously, so be gentle with me I am just trying to grasp things as best I can.

You are being a little delusional and yes, it is just by chance.

Variance is a factor of sample size. What this means is that you cannot draw any worthwhile conclusions based on tiny samples, and by tiny I mean < 10k hands.

Also, you talked about losing all-in at low stakes with AA<J3 etc. Long term you make money in these spots - look up sklansky bucks if you are unfamiliar with this term (basically talking about expected winnings/losses based on probability of winning in all-in situations that you are involved with).

A standard truth in poker. The lowest stakes are the easiest to beat, and the games get harder as you move up in stakes. If you are unable to beat a lower stake then you do not have the tools to beat a higher stake. Another standard truth in poker. Playing with too few buyins for the stakes you are playing will almost inevitably end in busto.

Read about bankroll management. Go the FTR Blogs and Ops section and read micro2macro's op. Jason's too. I'm sure someone will recommend others. Sounds like you have a little money to play with. Start with $200 and playing 5nl. Follow bankroll management as per the 25buyin rule until you reach 25nl. Enjoy.

a postscript. Enjoy getting AA all in vs AK, J3, QQ, K2, 37 pre-flop.

"I can accept (barely) losing AA to QQ when he ends up with a royal flush, or losing AA to AK (straight), but losing AA to hands such as j3 (straight), k2 (FH), q3 (straight) and 37 (straight)"

AA-AK 91%-8%
AA-J3 87%-13%
(yeah I get it, it emotionally harder )

Microstakes are easier than higher limits. Like daven said your sample size is probably way to small + you're playing SNG and MTT's which have higher variance. Personally I would tell you to start with cashgames, but that's just my thought.

Good luck

You seem like the kind of person who would do well talking in real-time, like in the #flopturnriver IRC channel.

Originally Posted by spoonitnow

You seem like the kind of person who would do well talking in real-time, like in the #flopturnriver IRC channel.

Is there some sort of commission structure I should be aware of?