Up And Coming Player Stuck

[VTEddie]

Hi everyone, i've been reading these forums for a week or so but this is my first post, so hi to everyone.

My master plan was to get into playing limit holdem online and try to get to the point where i can make some sort of monthly profit, as a little side income. I was thinking of working my way up and cashing out after im playing and winning at 2/4 or 3/6.

So i bought Lee Jones' WLLH, and right now im pretty much following it to the letter, i started at the lowest limit on pacific and have worked my way up following a 250 big bet bankroll guidelines. This was going fairly smooth.

But for the past 2 weeks or so i've been stuck at around the same amount of money. The weird thing is its smack in the middle of my bankroll goals for .25/.50 limit ($200).

So i wanted to get you guys' thoughts on a couple things. Any general thoughts on my "master plan" are helpful. I also wanted to know what you guys think of WLLH. Is that book not enough to win at .25/.50?

I know this is kind of general but i've just been frustrated getting stuck on my bankroll like this when it was going pretty smooth before. I like to think that it will get easier as players get better at higher limits cause they will be more predictable and not call my preflop raises with 92s, etc.

So yeah, any comments, suggestions, encouragement, phone numbers of hot chics in the virginia area, etc are all appreciated. Thanks and hello!

[MEbenhoe]

If you can't handle playing break even poker for 2 weeks how will you handle your first downswing? Poker is a game in which you have to take the longview. Break even streaks, and more importantly down swings happen to even the best players. Also, I suggest you look into getting SSHE. This book should help you advance your play.

[ QUOTE ]
I like to think that it will get easier as players get better at higher limits cause they will be more predictable and not call my preflop raises with 92s, etc.


[/ QUOTE ]

1. This isn't true
2. You should be happy this isn't true, these are the people you make the most money off of.

[MaxPower]

You master plan should be to forget about your bankroll and try to learn as much as possible about poker. Get as much experience as you can and discuss your game with good players.

Learn the game first, then worry about a bankroll.

WLLH is OK. Get Small Stakes Holdem by Miller and Theory of Poker by Sklansky.

Then go to the micro-limit forum and post some hands.

Good luck.

[Evan]

[ QUOTE ]
I like to think that it will get easier as players get better at higher limits cause they will be more predictable and not call my preflop raises with 92s, etc.


[/ QUOTE ]

You're not right

[Greg J]

Hey MaxPower:

I am not a highly experienced player by any means, but do you think that part of being a winning player is having good bankroll management? I started at .02/.04, but have been very serious about proper bankroll, making sure that I could stand downswings. This has worked well for me. Other (much more experienced) posters have expressed similar sentiments -- part of being a winning player is doing it "right." Or do you think I'm out of line?

[BottlesOf]

Hey Dude,

You've come to the right place. Read and participate in the Small Stakes Forum. Keep playing, and read and post hands. Losing streaks will happen to the best players, and they can be much longer than you ever imagined. Read that last sentence again and try to internalize it.

WLLH is a the best first book to read. Learn it and play it. Then, buy Ed Miller's Small Stakes Hold 'Em, and be prepared to unlearn and learn again.

Good luck and welcome to the forums.

[MaxPower]

[ QUOTE ]
Hey MaxPower:

I am not a highly experienced player by any means, but do you think that part of being a winning player is having good bankroll management? I started at .02/.04, but have been very serious about proper bankroll, making sure that I could stand downswings. This has worked well for me. Other (much more experienced) posters have expressed similar sentiments -- part of being a winning player is doing it "right." Or do you think I'm out of line?

[/ QUOTE ]

It depends. I certainly recommend playing at stakes which you are comfortable with.

My main point is that having a bankroll is not the most important aspect of poker. Bankroll management is actually pretty far down on the list of important skills to have. If you are not a winning player in the game you are playing than no bankroll is big enough.

You should focus on the most important things. For instance, learning the basics of poker theory.

I don't know your financial situation, but if you can afford to start over if you lose your bankroll, you shouldn't be overly concerned about it.

[Blarg]

[ QUOTE ]
but if you can afford to start over if you lose your bankroll, you shouldn't be overly concerned about it.

[/ QUOTE ]

That's the tricky part. I'd bet that most poker players are playing well above the levels where their bankroll is relatively easy for them to replace.

Then again, there's that idea about a "psychological bankroll," where even if you are playing at levels financially trivial, it still affects your play when you lose.

So ideally bankroll considerations would be trivial, but I'd be surprised if for most people, they're not extremely important, because they're playing above their bankroll, their psychological bankroll, or, very often, both.

There's often a race to move up limits that results in some pretty hard crashing down.

[BusterStacks]

One thing is for sure, you will NOT be a consistant winner at 3/6 with this attitude.

[Piz0wn0reD!!!!!!]

?

[Blarg]

Which attitude? That of playing within your psychological and financial limits? Surely you don't recommend the opposite.

I've been a consistent winner at 10/20 and 15/30, for what it's worth. Just in stud, not hold'em. I've seen a lot of people hurt themselves and hurt how well they play poker by playing over their limit. In live games at least, it seems to be the norm, not the exception, that people are undercapitalized for the games they're playing. If you would recommend people do play above their financial or psychological limits, we'll have to disagree on that one.

[Lawrence Ng]

Stuck is when you hit a 150 BB downswing for a month and nothing seems to come your way, then you feel like puking and get nightmares about quads beating your fullhouse twice in one week.

Keep reading, keep playing and be prepared for downswings and upswings.

[VTEddie]

Thanks guys, ill look into those book recomendations and i guess its time to be more patient.

Ill start posting some hands even though its annoying cause im playing on pacific and i dont have that nice hand history.