My own newbie circle

I post this out of frustration and maybe a newbie will gain some insight from it that will help them.
I can’t call it a newbie circle of death because it is much less dramatic than that. I haven’t lost any money so in that respect I can say I am lucky. I have been struggling for a couple months now since my start in online poker. I put down a $50 deposit and at this point I am up $25 or so. But it has been a continual roller coaster ride the whole time. There have been times when I steadily made money and then I have an awesome day and gain 3 buy-ins. At that point I am thinking “Man!! I got this. I can do this!”. Only to struggle the next day and lose a buyin or two or three. Which continues until the next time I do something right and once again I have an awesome day. “Boom, I got this, I can do this, all that before was just working out my game.” At which point the next day I suck again and lose money. After a couple months of this I am really starting to think maybe I just don’t have what it takes….and that may be true…but I am not willing to give up yet. For one, I really like playing. Besides, I have the time. I usually play about 4 hrs a night and poker can be as thrilling as Everquest or WoW or any of those other games I would spend time on instead. Man, the feeling when you take down a big pot…now that feels good. Anyway, I am rambling.

Playing style. Like most newbies I have experiemented with all types of play. Wild maniac. Loose. Tight. There have been times when I made bundles playing loose and thowing money around. But when I tried to repeat that the next few sessions I’d lose my shirt. So I’d try tight…which worked and I’d say “is that all it takes?” Then the next day I’d try it and found that nobody would pay off when I made a hand..so I’d win nothing. So the next day I would try and loosen up to help my table image and I’d lose again. On and on, round we go, where we stop…. You get the idea.

I think I have finally come to the conclusion that the ONLY way to make consistent money is to play tight. If the table isn’t paying me off, maybe I’ll move tables or just accept it but I am not going to deviate my play again. It just isn’t worth it. (Amazing that I couldn’t just take that advice from this site huh? Yeah, well, no comment.) So my plan for tonight is to two table and play tight. That’s just got to be the best way in the long run. Besides, it’s so much less effort when you’re playing a hand and your kicker is like a T,J,Q, or K and you don’t have to put so much effort into worrying….is my kicker good, because you know it likely is. (I am rambling again) I’ll report back if this works but after all the experience I have sucking…it has just got to be.

Short version:
If you’re a newb, play tight and don’t let boredom convince you to do otherwise. It just isn’t worth it.

I have only one problem.
How the hell can noobs like you and me persuade all other noobs to do the same so they dont chase those damn flushesm, oesds and Ax hands and catch two pair?
How can we do that
If only we could.

I played tight last night in a live NLHE SnG $20 buy in where people kept buying back in and there were at least 5 people better than I was and some frequent casinos in the area. Well long story short I played tight as hell and after losing my first $10 i bought back in for my final $10 (so I wouldn't lose it all in one go) and went up to about $60 then down to about $36 and then the night ended and I was one of the three left and the other two players left were super good players definitely better than I am. Well after I played tight all night long I got my buy in back plus another $15 bucks so I left very happy considering I was going into the game absolutely positive I was scared/dead money.

Amen, brother, amen. If you're trying to build a BR, TAGG is the only way to be consistent. Consistent winning LAGGS and maniacs are few and far between, and those styles work a little better at higher levels where people actually know how to fold.

The roller coaster ride does suck ass, doesn't it??? The ups and downs not only go along with your BR, but you're confidence and enitre mood as well. I had a big problem not being able to crack the $1000 mark. I would get close, and slip down a few hundred... did this several times over the course of a few months. The trick is getting to a point where wins and losses don't matter much anymore (over a day or even a week), only that you played you're "A" game every time you played. I've been trying to develop that "oh well" mentality which has been working for me lately, and not worry too much about my BR progress, cause it will never be predictable. Not sweating the losses is definitely improving my mental health. Same goes for winning I guess. Who cares if I just took first in three SnG's in a row, that doesn't mean I can play 79s for a 3xBB raise and expect to get away from a seven high flop. There are more reasons for playing tight besides the fact that you will have better cards. It just keeps you out of trouble and tough situations a little more.

Good post.

Yeah, my BR never suffered to bad since I never went under my initial buy-in of $50 but the emotional roller coaster is hell. You think you got it, then you think you suck, then you think you know what it takes, then you suck…..

Well here is my commitement. To END the inconsistent play. I will play tight no matter what. I will play tight no matter what. I will play tight no matter what. I will play tight no matter what. I will play tight no matter what. I will play tight no matter what. I will play tight no matter what. I will play tight no matter what. I will play tight no matter what. I will play tight no matter what. I will play tight no matter what. I will play tight no matter what. I will play tighgt no matter what. I will play tight no matter what. I will play tight no matter what. I will play tight no matter what. I will play tight no matter what. I will paly tight no matter what.

And yes, I typed all those out, no copy and past.

TAGG is definately the way to make money in ring games, no doubt, especially at the lower limits.

Tournaments however, that's another story. You have to play the table and players a lot more than you play the cards. Sometimes you'll have to sit back and fold decent hands because someone keeps goin AI like crazy. Others you'll push raises like no tomorrow knowing the other guy won't call with anything but nuts.

Regardless, your BR will be all over the place, mine's back at it's starting position after a win or two and then a horrible run of luck, followed by a couple wins again. If you're consistently getting good odds and bust outs are mostly bad beats, they you're probably doing fairly well and aren't being paid off by your advantage. In the long run you will, however, so don't worry too much if you take a few bad hits (okay a lot) along the way.

i will forever be haunteed by the words
omg runner runner again

Originally Posted by Miffed22001

i will forever be haunteed by the words
omg runner runner again

haha. I just realized your avatar is QQ.

I went through exactly the same thing, i made a mini bankroll from SNG's then started playing ring and made approximately no money from the cards for about 5 months. However in that time i cleared about $1500 of bonuses so my bankroll grew quite nicely and when i improved my game i was at 50NL and soon at 100Nl. Basically its all about the bonuses, they'll give you a safety blanket while you're working out your game. If you want to clear bonuses at a reasonable rate you'll want to play ring games over SNG's, and once you learn ring i believe you can make more money from the same bankroll than you can at SNG's.

Miffed22001 wrote:
i will forever be haunteed by the words
omg runner runner again


haha. I just realized your avatar is QQ.

Another thread hijacked.
If the lynx effect had any effect on those two young ladies id be most happy.

Well playing tight all night worked like a charm. I was up 2 buy-ins on each of the two tables I played. By playing two tables instead of one I was kept busy enough that I had no desire to play more hands. Being a winner is fun. Now I just have to see if I can sustain it.

I would say two tableing and taking notes are two things that have bettered my game dramatically. It combats boredom and increaces focus and concentration.

I speak as SnG player, got about 250+ under my belt and this crazy roller coaster is the "fun" of variance. For some, is winning more coinflips in on night then another so it ain't so bad. For other people, you have a couple of awsome nighs of great hands, good flops and terrible opponents and other days of getting beat by runners or equally rediculous beats. Play your best, Hope for the best (within the bound of odds in your favour) and keep enjoying the game.

For my the biggest helps have been:

1) Accepting the downswings.There's nothing you can do if AA loses to mid PP that flops their set,or if your flopped nut straight/flush loses to a boat,or your KK gets cracked by an OESD on the river,etc.Be fair to yourself and don't put too much pressure on trying to hit the magical $1000 mark so soon.

2) Keep making the right decisions.Raise when you should raise(don't just call).Bet when you should bet(don't just check).And fold when you realize you're a big dog(don't chase with bad odds).

3) Keep learning and taking critiques on your play.Oftentimes it's our fellow peers who notice something wrong that we can't see to save our lives.Never stop asking for advice and posting hand examples for feedback.Read and reread books.

4) Play within your limits.This is HUGE.Don't keep sitting down at NL60 and NL100 tables when your bankroll is under $1000.This will only hurt you more in the long run.

5)Watch your game selection.If you can't win at a table get up and find another one.You just might stumble into a room full of fish and calling stations.