Some advice needed.

Firstly (it could be because I use Opera), I find you have to reload this post to actually read all of it

Okay, so I have been playing poker online for just over 1 month, and with mates a little before that. I signed upto Paradise Poker, and with various bonuses my starting bankroll is $50.

I decide to start as low as it gets 5c/10c (as apart from not having the most money in the world I figure starting at the bottom is always best), and play a fair bit at the start. I'm reading various poker sites and picking up nice tips etc. fast forward 3 weeks and i'm on $77 playing only on weekends now for maybe 6 hours.

The smallest stakes seem easy now, and so I think i'll step up to 25c/50c to play, see what it's like. This was Tuesday and I played for 2.5 hours ish, and lose $10, winning about 3 hands in the process. I got AQo as my best hand in the time I played - other than that I got nothing (literally - it was all 10 3, 7 2 which I obviously will not call in on). The players seemed average. Still betting high while not having a great hand, and chasing flushes and straights.

I figure this could be just bad luck, I didn't get great cards. So I play again, yesterday. In another 2 hours the best cards I get were AKo - once, which I went in with, saw the flop, nothing then called an extra 25c to see the turn then folded when a big bet came out. Other than that the best hands I had were 77, 44, and A7. Would you be annoyed if these were the best hands you were getting in that amount of time?
Anyway, I lose another $10 - which seems hard as I never seemed to go in with anything as I seemed to get bad cards.

In an average game where all the players seem equal I play the following cards (leaving out the obvious ones - assuming it is the standard BB to call):

A7 (and higher than 7)
K8 (and higher than 8)
Q10 (and higher than 10)
All pocket pairs.

and suited connectors 78 and higher.

Raise with AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK.

When I hit a pair and no-one else seems interested I bet aggressive, I know to try and get them out of the game, or they'll probably hit something...?

I don't play exact pot odds, though I do have an understanding of it, and take it all into account.

A few of the bets I lost out on over the past couple of days:

I am confused as how to play 44 for example. Usually I'll call - if nothing comes out on the flop i'll fold when there is a bet that comes in (still assuming I don't think the player is a big bluffer).

I had 77, just called - two others in. TT6 comes out. Checked around to me, so I bet, they both call. 2 comes out, checked to me again. I bet, they call again. Q comes out, the first player bets next player calls I...... call. he shows a queen. Okay so was I right to call him (in the long run) assuming I had not noticed any other paterns in his/ her play earlier?

AQ (my best hand in the first session) I call into the flop, comes out AXX so I bet 1 folds others call. Nothing out on the turn I bet, other guy folds one left in who calls. J on river he/ she (who was annoyingly slow by the way and had made some weirrrrd plays) bets... Again I call he/ she shows JJ.

74 on BB. 3 others in, flop comes out 7 2 9 someone bets, I fold.


Okay to summarise I am going back to play 5c/10c to see if my first earnings were actually a fluke or not - can the players a step up this small be that much better? Would love some advice - be brutal, I want to learn (I will also be buying that small stakes limit holdem book).

Sorry for the long post.

Firstly you need to read the bankroll management thread at the top of this section of the forum. Playing within your bankroll is VERY important. Even playing 10NL with $50 is bad but if its the best you can do then fair enough. You shouldnt move up to 25NL untill you have $400 so be prepared for the long haul.

Another thing is that I think you should tightening up you starting hands range. I'd advise playing 19 hands total. They are: all pocket pairs, AK, AQ, AJ, KQ, KJ, QJ. I fold everything else preflop.

Dont get discouraged if your sitting there folding alot, it happens. Whats the point in playng loosing hands though? I think your loosing a lot of money by calling with bad hands and not getting anyhing out of them.

Your raising hands range looks good. Add AQ though.

Hands like 44 you should be playing for sets. Limp in with the, even call a reasonable raise, if you hit another 4 you have a very strong hand which is hard for your opponent to detect. If you miss just fold.

Other then all that just keep reading and posting and playing. You sound like a thinking guy who has potential.

Hello and welcome to FTR. Keep reading here as often as you can and you will learn a lot.

I doubt I’ll address everything you asked but Ill address some.

Variance
Variance is what you described when you were getting no hands you could play. It sucks and there isn’t a poker player alive that doesn’t fall victim to it. We all struggle with it.
[to be technical, variance describes a run of bad hands (-variance) and well as a run of good hands (+variance) as well as good hands that all get cracked by better hands (-variance again) as well as good hands that hold up (+variance). So variance is a lot of things, not just a run of bad hands.]
The swings in poker (variance) can be huge and they take a toll on your mental state. This negative attitude can even affect players that have been playing money making poker for years. It is not something you ever learn how to deal with totally. Read the sticky at the top on the newbie cycle of death.
When –variance hits in the form of no good starting hands, just stay tight and fold em.

My advice is to stay at the lowest stakes as long as it takes to believe you are a long term money maker. Confidence plays a part in poker. Make sure you have confidence that once you adjust to the new stakes (after moving up) that you will be able to beat it.

Newbie things to learn in approximate order.
Starting hands / playing tight. (don’t play suited connectors as a beginner)
Pot odds and how to apply them to the various draws (two pair draw, over card draw, straight, flush, etc.)
How to bet based on the pot size.
Raising and Continuation betting.
Pocket pair play.
…I am sure there are more, this is a partial list.


Players at this level bet what they have. When that player fired off a bet with the Q, believe him. For the most part, these players bet what they have. For now, you should just try and believe every bet or every raise. When you get to the higher stakes ($50 buy in and higher) then bluffing becomes a bigger part of the game.

dont play QJ from early postition though it is likely dominated by a lot of hands. Dont play A 9 and under unless its suited and you can get in cheap, but your only playing to flop 2 pair or flush draw, if only an A comes dont get comminted because they will most likely only pay you off with an ace also and their kicker will probably be higher.

Dont play K 8 , K 9, and only play K 10 suited for cheap to hit a straight flush or 2 pair.

Make sure that you apply the proper bankroll managment rules. They are not only there to stop you going bust, but also (and i feel most importantly) they are there to ensure you have played enough hands at the current level before you move up to the next so that they ensure that you understand the lower limit games before you move up to the higher limit games. I started off with a $50 bankroll on party poker and not a clue how to play with it. I paid it off to the first guy i decided was bluffing. I bought in for another $50 and did pretty much the same. After a while i decided to start actually learning from this site and playing $5NL on Pokerstars. Ever since then i have been a slowly but surely winning player. I havnt even broken even yet and i definatly havnt finished learning but im happy at 5NL for now until i win enough for 10NL and i understand how i won it. It isnt enough for me to win a few 60/40s and assume im some sort of WSOP champion. I want to take my time and learn the game before i move up and i suggest you do too. Youve gone up $27 in 3 weeks. That could very well be skill or it could be luck. Without knowing how many hands youve played or seeing HHs it's pretty difficult to say which, but in my short poker career i have learnt one thing. It isnt that important that you are winning at your chosen limit. What is far more important is that you understand WHY you are winning and that you can repeat it. Unless you play at least a few thousand hands a week I think 3 weeks is far too small a sample size to decide if you are ready to move up in stakes. If you can read your opponents and you can make decisions based on logic which you really undertstand (rather than just going all-in with AA on the turn against a random and hoping for them to hold up on any board), and you can afford the swings then you are in a good position to move up. If you are a winning player but you dont really understand why, and just assume online poker players are crap (as i did at first) then trust me that you are not ready to move up just yet and in a few months time you will probably realise that you actually dont know much about this game at all and you have just been getting good cards for a while.
When you reach this stage i think you are finally ready to begin the adventure. When you reach a high enough BR after third move up a level. You still wont understand the game but you will get closer with each step you take, and with each hand you play. Then you will be a man my son.........or however it goes

Get rid of the garbage hands like K8. There are very few flops that will help you and tons that will hurt you.

iRICHeyes has a good list - but that's as tight at you want to go with. I suggest multitabling if play that list because you'll be bored out of your mind and start playing junk or overplaying when you get these hands.

My 2 cents

1. Bankroll management - read 'grilla's post as already mentioed
2. Play much tighter, you can always open up your hand selection later

AA,KK - raise, reraise
QQ - raise, call raises
JJ - raise, call small raises
TT-22: limp, fold if you dont hit a set or have overpair
AK - raise, call reasonable raises
AQ - Raise if you open the pot, fold otherwise
AJ - limp from EP, raise from LP, fold to any action preflop
KQ - limp from mid-late position.

Fold everything else

Originally Posted by iRICHeyes

Firstly you need to read the bankroll management thread at the top of this section of the forum. Playing within your bankroll is VERY important. Even playing 10NL with $50 is bad but if its the best you can do then fair enough. You shouldnt move up to 25NL untill you have $400 so be prepared for the long haul.

Good advice.
I started playing the $10 tables when I first signed up with only $30 in my BR. But at the time I had never heard of bankroll management, so I can look back and realize how stupid/lucky I was. Now the roll is at $285 (on a downswing from my high of $350) and I think I'm gonna wait to move up to the $25 tables. $400 sounds good and reasonable.

Originally Posted by RT_H

Firstly (it could be because I use Opera),

Yea it is.