I am by no means at the level of most of the guys here, nor as experienced but I will add my 2 cents.

First off I have only been playing poker for about 4-5 months now. I made my first $50 deposit on PP a few weeks back. Played in 3 $5 SnG's in which I finished just outside of the money and then took a shot at the .25/.50 (6 max) NLHE tables to clear the $10 bonus I was to receive. Of course I lost my entire $50 on the 1st day, lol. I think the biggest problem I had initially was that I was attempting to play it with the same style I did in tournies, trying to bluff at pots etc... But I quickly realized that tons of the players in these games will take bottom pair to the river and call any and every bet you put out there. So I knew I seriously needed to tighten up my game and if I wanted to be profitable I needed to Win big and Lose small. By this meaning if I see the flop and I get nothing at all (Unless I raised the pot preflop and it is checked to me I will bet out in late position) I fold. No need to put anymore cash in the pot. Losing the 50cent that you got into the hand on is nothing compared to continuing with a 2nd or 3rd best hand and losing a much larger amount on the hand. Only time I bet big post-flop is when I know I have a very good hand. If I hit trips, 2 pair, or top pair strong kicker with 2 suited on the board I ALWAYS assume the other guy is on a draw just to protect myself and fire out a pot sized bet, to make it a bad call on his or her part. This may be overkill, but it gives me piece of mind that if they do call and suck out it was them making the bad call and in the long run I don't worry about it. I know that same person will continue to make bad decisions and give me back my money and then some. In those cases if that 3rd suited card comes I will slow down and only bet small or call small bets. If they make some outrageous bet or reraise, unless I have something that can beat a flush that I assume they have I fold. Hence minimizing my losses. Maybe I had them beat and could have won the pot, but worse case I didn't and I lose. I just dont harp on those things and I usually stay focused and in the long run get the cash back from them or others at the table. I just look at it like this. That same guy who called on a draw and sucked out is that same guy that is gonna call or bet into you when you have the nuts and you can promptly rid them of their cash. In the long run I know I will come out ahead if I continue to play properly; so I don't worry about them. I just tighten up and bust them with the big hands.

Oh yea to finish my story as far as my initial $50 deposit. Like stated I lost it then PartyPoker gave me a $15 bonus provided I played 150 raked hands. This was the blessing that I needed. Since I had to play so many hands I had to play extremely tight to make the $15 last. This was 4 days ago. I have been playing between 2-4 hours each of those days one table at a time (Mostly .25/.50 6 Max NL Ring games, 1 SnG- 2nd place finish in a $5 SnG) and now that $15 is $229. Not sure how good or bad that is for the amount of time I am playing and the number of tables but I'll take $50 a day anytime. So for now I think my strategy is paying off well. I tightened up on my starting hands, minimized losses by only betting when I know I have a good hand if not the best, and when I do get a hand play it aggressively and don't let the chasers stay in the hand for cheap, of course that last bit is easier said than done I guess with some players.

Well thats it, sorry for the long post. I've learned a lot of things from these boards as well and it has helped out my play and I thank you all for that. Maybe my strategy or rational for playing how I do is flawed in certain ways but it has been working so far.

Also I wouldn't mind Ripptyde turning me into an animal as well 8-) , I especially wouldn't mind help with overall tourny strategy especially heads up.