clearing a bonus?

[rybones]

100% 1st time deposit bous at fulltillpoker!!!

I just got an e-mail from full tilt so this appears to be valid info if anyone cares.

now on to my question/situation:

I played fulltilt before it went real money. made the money in two tournements that paid real money and then lost that money after they went real money playing small limits. I then placed itm a few weeks ago in my newbie freerolls at true poker. I deposited money so I could withdraw my money and got a bonus so I played small limits to clear the bonus as well. Of course I lost it all. I do truly feel I am better at tournament (both sng and mtt) poker than I am at ring games. so:

1) is it possible to be better at tournament poker than ring games? (maybe I stink at both)I cannot allow myself to use the "everyone calls at this level so that's why I don't win" excuse. That is lame. yet, I cannot seem to win there while I am winning sngs and making the money in mtts?

2) With the temptation of a 100% deposit bonus, is it worth going for it?

3) aleo has a great guide for sngs, does anyone have a guide for clearing bonuses?

[Marcotte]

I myself have had the same experience. I started out playing small limit ring games (.25-.50 up to 1-2) and at the beginning lost a little. I dabbled a little in tournaments but not too much. After going through about $100 and my first deposit bonus, I decided a little research was in order. I got (shudder) Hellmuth’s book, Doyle’s Bible, and finally HEFAP. I continued to play 1-2 and 2-4 online and started going to the local cardrooms, (playing 2-4). I had one winning session (+$80) and several losing ones. If I had to guess, I’d say I’ve lost around $400-$500 at cardrooms and about another $200-$300 online.

Then I found this forum and SNGs /images/graemlins/grin.gif. Since I started tracking my progress with Aleo & Jurollo’s spreadsheet, I have 40 $10+1’s under my belt with an ROI of 61% and ITM of 47.5%. I know this is a small sample, and I expect these number to fall before I get to 100 tournys, but I can tell that there is a big gap in player ability between online 2-4 Limit and $10+1 NL SNGs. (Incidentally, I’ve found the online limit ring games much, much tougher than their B&M counterparts).

The main reason I think I have been doing better at SNGs than at the ring games is this forum. I’ve learned a lot in the short time I’ve been here that I believe the vast majority of $10 SNG players don’t even know to think about. (eg: shifting gears, stealing blinds, pushing with <8-10 bb, etc.) No Limit is (imo) a much more difficult game than Limit, but I think the learning curve at the beginning is relatively steep. Fortunately, I think most low level players are still at the bottom. I’m still young in poker years (and probably still a losing player), but the small amount of knowledge I’ve gained here has given me a huge advantage over the majority of my opponents.

On the other hand, the gap between myself and my opponents in the ring games is much smaller (and probably negative at the 2-4 level).

Even if you make mistakes (and I do), if you make less than the other guy, you will probably come out on top.

[ukgazz]

There are many differences between sng's and cash games and you will ahve to decide for yourself which suits you better.
I found that I could win good money in cash games but got bored with our after our of the long slog and prefer the gear changing that is required in sng's

If you find that you are good and enjoy them work your way up the levels and any bonuses are soon worked of playing them.....

I do not have many posts but have clocked in 1800 ish sng's so far this year mainly at $50 and $100 levels and love them /images/graemlins/smile.gif