Help me get back on track-1st post

Hello everyone, this is my first post but i'm not new to FTR, i've been reading for almost 2 years now.. i didn't realize how easy it was to sign up lol.

Anyway I have a problem I'll get to in a second but first let me explain a little about my situation and how it came about.

I started poker a few years ago and loved it, and had the ups and downs of a beginner but finally settled on HU SNGS as my primary game. I lost money at most other games due to poor BR management and such, but when i hit HU SNGs (on Sportsbook) i jumped from $100 to 15k in about 3 months! I cashed out 5k and lost the rest being an idiot due to how easily i thought i could make it back considering how well i was doing..(tried HU Cash and played a guy in 1kNL and took about 3k off of him over 2 days and the 3rd day hes sitting 5kNL and i have him as a fish and proceed to lose about 10k in 20 minutes :( :shock: ) Also being on Sportsbook, i bet on sports and lost badly though i didnt know it until i looked at my sharkscope which currenlty looks like this...

g1212 3,370 $16 $129 9% $52,749 Tilt Cake


I had lost 35k sportsbetting and didnt even realize it as my bankroll would still grow because of poker and i didnt realize how much damage i was doing before i got careless and sat down with 5k twice and lost it all. Also that 9% was 13% before i lost it all and started playing horribly in lower stakes. Bottom line is i was playing well, and did it felt easy.

Now my problem... I have $500 now to start over with, but i cant seem to get that up. Mostly because i don't play enough because i feel that my BR is still 15k and the 25 dollar games dont seem like anything to me. This also causes me to play careless in them i suppose. So i'm looking for advice to get me back on track, i am motivated to play and know i can win, but how should i start going about my business. Any advice would be much appreciated.. i know guys like ISF play high stakes HU cash, maybe you or somebody else went through swings that made you feel like this, or had trouble at lower levels than you were used to... if anyone could give me some advice or have some input,again, i would greatly appreciate it.

Btw, i'm looking forward to being here! Thanks all.

TL;DR

Read anyways... You are in the wrong forum! You've been lurking for 2 years but didn't know this? Go here: http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...circle-f4.html and read all the stickies. ESPECIALLY the Bankroll Management threads. $25 SNG games are too high for a $500 BR, you'll need to move DOWN! And you are playing HU? Talk about variance. If you can learn to think in BBs instead of $$s then you may be able to get back to where you were.

To be perfectly honest, you sound like a gambler more than a poker player.

Everybody goes through swings, that's what a BR is for. It's the cushion that gets you past those swings, but doesn't force you to change levels. GL!

Chris, thanks for the reply, sorry this is in the wrong forum it was late last night and i honestly looked at every forum and didnt see one where i should go to ask a general question. Was i supposed to post in the new to FTR forum?

Anyway, I understand that HU has huge swings, when i was originally playing i was playing $100+5 games until i had 8k. I understand bankroll management, and will follow that, but something i forgot to mention was redepositing is not a problem. So while my bankroll may say only $500 to start, it is essentially more, thus i figure to be able to take a shot at $25 games.

I just really want to do this right this time as I think I can beat these HU sngs, as the first time I did so it was all new to me and seeing my bankroll go up 1 dollar was very exciting to me. Is there any ideas to light that fire behind me... is there any way that I was completly lucky and are not any good... I thought that over 3k games which is x hands played, It would be a pretty good stretch to give me an idea... also maybe I'm just not playing the same type of poker I was playing and thats why I can't get going?

Again, thanks for the response Chris, any more help would be appreciated.

I had this written down somewhere...how to turn 500 into 15,000, but i lost it....damnit

LOL C, that's not what I'm looking for though. That's the opposite of what I want... I want to be able to think like I never hit 15,000 or even more actually :( . That way this number will stop looming over me! Thanks.

tools of poker

What do you mean tools of poker?

The main thing you need to focus on is BR management. If you follow that and move up when your bankroll (and winrate) dictates that you can, and move down when your bankroll tells you the same you should be fine. Remember not to chase your losses and not to play above your roll most importantly.

I'm not sure you understand that poker is a grind and that it will take a while to make a sizable amount of money at it. So if you want to do this right, look in BR management and determine where your BR allows you to play. After that you should head to forum that corresponds to the game of your choice here on FTR, and begin reading every article you can find in the digest. Post hands, entire SNG tourneys, and any other questions, and that will help determine whether your game is on point or you luckboxed your way to $15k.

Anyways, just remember that your BR is no longer 15k and that if you think as such you will go busto again.

Hi,

Looks like you have really bad BR management but are probably a relatively competent poker player. Go to the HU forum and read my strategy guide there, and I'd start at 25nl HU cash and use the 20 BI rule.

GL

Thanks guys. ISF I have read all of your guides on HU they are terriffic. I feel I'm more of a creative heads up player which tends to create even higher varience for myself, and HU cash scares me in the sense that I could pull off a huge bluff and lose 200-300bb. (I know i shouldn't let this bother me...but the losing 10k in 20 minutes kind of has me terrified of HU cash lol...I thought I could dominate the same way but realize it is a different game ) Could my creativity also be the reason I am having a tougher time at lower stakes where I am playing less "thinking players"? Finally do you think I could do well at heads up cash, as I 've only had success in the SNGs? Is there something I should limit in my Cash play opposed to my SNG play? Thanks.

Sorry for all the questions, I just have always been interested in Cash but my stats have been so good in the SNG's that i felt compelled to stay. But if you think i could make the same kind of money i would love to try, and i really respect your opinion ISF, and everyone else, so i just wanted to know your thoughts.

Until you can learn to take 25NL seriously, you're gonna struggle. Maybe try to think in terms of 'buyins', 'stacks' and 'ptbbs/100' or something.