Winning Low Limit Hold'Em - online?

[bubbahotep]

Hi,
Its safe to say I'm basically a noobie. I've been playing .01/.02 limit hold'em on ultimatebet for about the last two months daily. I read Lee Jones book Winning Low Limit Hold'em twice before I ever played and I feel like it was a good starting point. I have done quite well following the books reccomendations in .01/.02 but when I moved up to .25/.50 (the next limit level at ultimatebet) I have lost pretty consitently over multiple sessions.

I was wondering if others have seen similar results using WLLH as a guide. It seems like .25/.50 plays quite differently than .01/.02.


Ive just started reading SSH, and I gather that the suggestions presented there are totally different.

I am mainly interested in hearing others results (and at what limits) using only WLLH as a guide.

[hitrun]

two months is way too long for .01/.02 limit hold'em. It wastes your time. You might learn bad habit from there. Try higher limits like .10/.20.

[og5]

I have to say WLLH is an great starting book for a total newbie. When i first started I barely knew the game and WLLH was an excellent guide for me. My next book was ITH, which was difficult for me to understand before WLLH but afterwords it was an easier read and solidified the points in WLLH. ITH is an excellent excellent book and I recommend you get it, it really is WLLH online (One of the things I didn't like about WLLH is it assumed you play live, and ITH helps here since it focuses on online play)

EDIT I noticed you said you were into SSH already. In that case you may not need ITH since it is generally regarded as a starter book to ultimately help you build up to SSH. My copy is in the mail and I can't wait to read it /images/graemlins/smile.gif

[@bsolute_luck]

welcome to the boards! being a noobie myself, i'll let you in on what i've found on these boards: while the WLLH is considered an alright book, most of the experienced players here find the SSH book a better book to study and base your game on.

i haven't read WLLH, but i have read and reading again SSH. i wouldn't try to put each put in an exclusive, but rather use them both to form your game. i think playing .01/.02 is a good start if you're comfortable there as long as you focuse on the suggestions in SSH and avoid result-oriented thinking.

focus on the beginning lessons of SSH: pot odds, preflop play, player reads, and counting outs.

[topspin]

.25/.50 is easily beatable, although you will find it (relatively) much tighter compared to 0.01/0.02, which is more or less like play money.

One possibility is that you haven't played enough hands yet -- the regulars here will tell you that prolonged losing streaks are not uncommon. Another is that the change in limits is too drastic a jump, both in terms of the type of play you're seeing and in terms of size relative to your bankroll. If the bigger $$ numbers make you uncomfortable, you can always try a site like Paradise or Stars that has a more gradual progression in limits.

[Thigh]

I would watch out for creating bad habits at .01/.02 games. I played them for a while on UB, before I realized that I was doing things that I shouldn't be.

So I moved up to 25/50, and then 50/1. The worst thing is the big jump from betting just .01, to betting .25 or .50. I noticed that I was playing too soft because of the amount of money I was having to bet. So I took the initiative and when up to .5/1 games and played for a while, then moved back down to .25/.50. At that point, I had no problems laying in bets at that limit.

[pokerrookie]

[ QUOTE ]
So I took the initiative and when up to .5/1 games and played for a while, then moved back down to .25/.50. At that point, I had no problems laying in bets at that limit.

[/ QUOTE ]

This can't be good advice. "I get nervous betting at the 10/20 limit, so I am going to play some 20/40."

I understand the fear of the higher limit bet...I have it myself. But surely the better way is to feel more confident in your game rather than confidence in what you have bet before.

[Thigh]

With me, it wasn't lack of confidence in my game, it was the amount of money I was betting. It worked just fine for me. I just played tighter at .5/1, and actually staid even. But it made a world of difference when I went back to .25/50.

[daveymck]

Using WLLLH I was a slight winning/breakeven player I didnt have poker tracker so that might not be 100% correct.

Following its advice you should be able to at least break even at .5/1 and below imho, but bear in mind you are going to have swings and it could be that you are playing scared after moving up. WLLHE is disliked around here basically cos it has some bad habits (a search in the book forum for many discussions on what these are) but its still decent initial guidelines imho for a noob player as it gets you tightening up and playing less hands preflop, correcting most noobs bad habit of playing too many hands.

On the later streets the advice is probably a bit weak tight for most round here.

[Wally Weeks]

[ QUOTE ]
On the later streets the advice is probably a bit weak tight for most round here.

[/ QUOTE ]

Funny you should mention that, I just got into a minor debate about whether WLLH is weak-tight or not. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showthreaded.php?Cat=&Number=1788198&page=1&view=c ollapsed&sb=5&o=14&vc=1

WLLH was the second or third poker book I read; the first book I read was Hold 'Em Poker by David Sklansky. I just read that Gus Hansen has only really read Hold 'Em Poker in a Card Player interview. Dammit, I wasted all of my money! Maybe amazon.com will give me a refund on my dog earred books. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Regards,
Walter

[TALLBrad]

I was basically in the same boat as you, but feel I've made the turn at 0.25/0.50. The biggest difference is that the game is tighter at the higher level and you probably play too passive and just call down too much, for 0.25/0.50 you need to bet/raise a few more times and fold instead of call many more times than you do now.

At 0.25/0.50 you need to be aware of hand strength and your position to the field. As others have suggested, SSH is a good starting point to get from the passive to tight/aggressive style of game.

[K C]

You may want to consider other sites, if you need to make that kind of jump. On the other hand, if you can afford the education, sticking to the .25/.50 may not be a bad idea. Go over your game and try to figure out where you're going wrong. Without knowing anything about your game though I'd say you're probably playing too many hands and probably overplaying them as well. Thank God for players like this though, but if you want to step out of the crowd, you need to play an intelligently tight aggressive game.

KC
kingcobrapoker.com