Help i am on the rollerCoaster

[Mashey]

Well I am fustrated need advice. I started in MAr with a $25 BR. Prior to that in Jan thru Mar 15 i dropped 320. I then discovered this site and read the post and stratergies and then i started to play again and i fixed a myriad of holes. I play the $5 SnG and 25NL game. I do good at the SnG as long as i donot do stupid stuff like i do at times but i am ITM at least 70 of the time. I have had my roll up to 150, but i am back at 100. I can never just keep it rolling upwards i lose some then i win it back. My main problem i feel is that i do not understand how to bet (value, POT). I can bet my monster hands w/o problems. AA/AK/KK. but i have lots of problems with grp2 - 3. How do i bet these hands? I have the bet chart, which someone posted, and i understand a little about position. I am afraid to bet sometimes i feel i am a Calling or Check station!!! Is there help for me Also i was thinking about getting Poker Tracker, is it worth it and does anyone feel it helps their game. My goal is to pay off my credit card roughly 11k. I play for around at least 3-5 hrs a day. Whats your alls advice
thx

[Laeelin]

Well I am fustrated need advice. I started in MAr with a $25 BR. Prior to that in Jan thru Mar 15 i dropped 320. I then discovered this site and read the post and stratergies and then i started to play again and i fixed a myriad of holes. I play the $5 SnG and 25NL game. I do good at the SnG as long as i donot do stupid stuff like i do at times but i am ITM at least 70 of the time. I have had my roll up to 150, but i am back at 100. I can never just keep it rolling upwards i lose some then i win it back. My main problem i feel is that i do not understand how to bet (value, POT). I can bet my monster hands w/o problems. AA/AK/KK. but i have lots of problems with grp2 - 3. How do i bet these hands? I have the bet chart, which someone posted, and i understand a little about position. I am afraid to bet sometimes i feel i am a Calling or Check station!!! Is there help for me Also i was thinking about getting Poker Tracker, is it worth it and does anyone feel it helps their game. My goal is to pay off my credit card roughly 11k. I play for around at least 3-5 hrs a day. Whats your alls advice
thx

First thing is bankroll, you really dont have the bankroll for the $25 no limit game (you should have like $350-$500 to play $25 NL) and you need ~$75 for the $5 SnG's

Check out that post on bankroll here: http://www.flopturnriver.com/phpBB2/...pic.php?t=4971

My goal is to pay off my credit card roughly 11k.

Very cool goal btw!

[Cocco_Bill]

My goal is to pay off my credit card roughly 11k. I play for around at least 3-5 hrs a day. Whats your alls advice
thx

I suggest you set some realistic short term goals first. Your reason for playiing worries me...

[Humphrind]

My goal is to pay off my credit card roughly 11k. I play for around at least 3-5 hrs a day. Whats your alls advice
thx

I suggest you set some realistic short term goals first. Your reason for playiing worries me...

So I wasn't the only person who looked at this and said, "gambling problem?"

[Mashey]

Thanks, but no gambling problem here...... I donto think
No i only have 250 on the card from party Poker, and thats because the wife, but she knows now and i donot intend to put anymore gambling on it.

[Humphrind]

Thanks, but no gambling problem here......

The first step is admitting.

[eeeee]

My goal is to pay off my credit card roughly 11k. I play for around at least 3-5 hrs a day. Whats your alls advice
thx

I suggest you set some realistic short term goals first. Your reason for playiing worries me...

So I wasn't the only person who looked at this and said, "gambling problem?"

It is nice when we look out for each other, but...
Mashey has been advised (in several other FTR Forum threads) to have a goal, or reason to play -- his is to get out of debt, which is not a new game system, or a Harley, or drugs, or some other toy -- it is a relatively noble cause.
He is playing 3 to 5 hours a day. I know far too many people that watch TV 3 to 5 hours a day, and don't even seek advice on how to BETTER watch TV, but Mashey wants to do better at poker, which is why we hang out at FTR.

Mashey, are we talking NL? --

• Poker Tracker will tell you if you are a calling station or not.
  
  You will experience big scary swings in your bankroll when you play outside your bankroll -- see 'Rilla's guide to BR mangement. You appear to be playing outside your bankroll.
  
  Betting is better than calling/checking, because it gives you two ways to win and buys you information. Try this -- bet your group 2 hands preflop; bet your group 3 hands preflop only in Button and CO and CO-1 position, but limp in all others; limp/call any other pocket pairs preflop from any position looking for trips. Then see how the flop hits. (This is not a gospel system, like 'just play these cards and this will make you win', but a starting point to expanding and learning your game.)
  
  Read a poker book. Get to know/understand pot odds if you are going to expose yourself to post flop play by betting non-monster hands. There are a couple to memorize right away. Flush draw - 9 outs - 4:1, OESD - 8 outs - 5:1, catch a card and looking for trips/2nd pair - 5 outs - 8:1. Four-to-One means that your call/bet PLUS all the other bets-and-pot should be 4X larger than your bet; your dollar bet should bet into an at-least-$3 pot. A pot-sized bet should keep an informed player from chasing 9 outs, and that works both ways.
  
  Boredom at low limits, playing above your bankroll, hiding purchases from your spouse, or unrealistic expectations about gaming, can be all be signs of a gambling problem, and may be something you want to keep an eye on. If you keep a long term view about winning, and understand the eventuality of downswings, you will help yourself avoid unhealthy attitudes about poker.

Did we catch all your questions? There are some big questions in there -- please don't think my answers are the whole solution, because they are not. Keep reading the forum, because the answers are already there.

[JeffreyGB]

In reference to preflop betting, it's a good idea (esp starting out) to have a set amount that you are going to raise if you are going to make a raise. A good suggestion is 3-5 times the big blind (ex. when I played NL$25, my standard raise was $0.95 preflop no matter what cards I was raising with...if you get reraised or have a raise in front of you, that changes things - reraise with the big hands; call with the moderately good ones; fold the mediocre).

Hope that helps a bit...let me know if you'd like more detail on this subject.