Near the end of my brief Online career -Whine

[BillsChips]

I've been playing online (Absolute) for about a month. I deposited $95 and was basically able to play break-even (1/2 Limit) to earn my $180 bonus. Had the account up to $285 and now after a brutal week and a half, have only $21 left. During this time I've reread SSHE and started up PokerTracker to see if it's me or just bad luck. According to PT, my two biggest losing hands are AKs and KQs. I can't win with a set, ever. I don't slow-play my big hands because I get outdrawn almost every time. My most costly made hands are sets, including Aces. My monster hands either win me the blinds or cost me a fortune.

Thought I was going to close out last night's session with a nice win to bring me close to cutting my loses in half(for the night). I flopped the nut flush in a raised family pot. Runner-Runner eights gives somebody a boat.

I know...whine, whine, whine, but I just don't see this ever working. I've been playing live for 2 years 10/20 limit and 1/2 NL, and have been successful.

Fold, fold, fold...monster...broke. This is the pattern.

I'll bleed off the rest of my feeble stack tonight and then it's goodbye to Online poker.

Bill

[4_2_it]

A $95 bankroll is no where near adequate to play 1/2. $600 would be the minimum for a winning player. I play NL online and use a 20-30 buy-in rule before I consider moving up levels. I recommend that you look at the FAQs in some of the limit forums to get a better idea of what to do with $95 online. I know in NL, I would say go build a stack in the micros.

[Niediam]

Most 10/20 live games are MUCH easier than Absolute 1/2.

[BillsChips]

I understand that $295 is a relatively small bankroll, but I think it's enough for me to see that this won't work out at all. Even if I was a total fish, I should be able to win once in a while. I think that by playing tightly in these very tight games, I'm getting blinded to death. It also doesn't help that I just can't catch a break.

Fold, Fold, Fold, Big Blind - hit top pair with no kicker, take a stab at the pot by betting, get called or raised by someone on a good draw or same pair, better kicker, lose.

Rinse, repeat.

[AASooted]

[ QUOTE ]
During this time I've reread SSHE and started up PokerTracker to see if it's me or just bad luck. According to PT, my two biggest losing hands are AKs and KQs. I can't win with a set, ever. I don't slow-play my big hands because I get outdrawn almost every time. My most costly made hands are sets, including Aces.

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So it's pretty clearly bad luck, wouldn't you say? In the long run those hands will make a lot of money. In the short term, anything can happen. How many hands are we talking about?

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I know...whine, whine, whine, but I just don't see this ever working. I've been playing live for 2 years 10/20 limit and 1/2 NL, and have been successful.

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I still suck at poker, and I've managed to net a decent amount of money (most of it bonuses) this year playing a few hours a week at a variety of sites. I'm not saying that to brag, but to point out that it is possible. Absolute is filled with tight bonus whores, though. If you want something more like the casino poker experience, you should try out Party. The players there are pretty bad. Even with bonuses and the unmentionable at Absolute, I'm starting to think playing at Absolute may be less profitable than Party for me.

I can sympathize. I've done much better, far more consistently in B&M games than online. It seems like it goes in streaks, and when in a bad one, nothing will work. I think online seems worse because of the large amount of hands we play in a relatively short period of time. We remember every bad beat and screw job, but not the zillion folds and regular hands that aren't outstanding in our minds. Last week I was in an online tourney with 20 people left. It paid to 12. I'm in approx 10th place. I get pocket 10's OTB. Fold to me. I raise a fair amount, trying to steal the blinds. BB raises me big. He's a LAG and has pulled this stunt with mid pairs a few times over that last 25 or so hands. I put him on a mid-pair or two overs. I go all-in, he calls with 7-7. Looks like I'm gonna be the chip leader !! Flop is 5-6-10. Yee haw! Turn 3, river 4. I'm busted. Dang near threw the monitor out the window. Swore I was gonna quit, for real this time.

I'm still playing. I think they call us masochists.

[SheridanCat]

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I've been playing online (Absolute) for about a month. I deposited $95 and was basically able to play break-even (1/2 Limit) to earn my $180 bonus.


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First off, you got very lucky here. That's not nearly enough to play 1/2 and weather an even modest downturn. So don't go complaining about your luck - you dodged a bullet here.

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Had the account up to $285 and now after a brutal week and a half, have only $21 left.


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Many, many experienced players have gone broke this way. You should have played lower and recognized, as you slid, that you needed to move down to survive.

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During this time I've reread SSHE and started up PokerTracker to see if it's me or just bad luck. According to PT, my two biggest losing hands are AKs and KQs.


[/ QUOTE ]

How many hands? Not many, I reckon. It's just poor luck.

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I can't win with a set, ever. I don't slow-play my big hands because I get outdrawn almost every time. My most costly made hands are sets, including Aces. My monster hands either win me the blinds or cost me a fortune.


[/ QUOTE ]

That's weak-tight talk borne of some bad luck smacking you in the head. You need to step back and think about what you just said. If you don't understand what I'm saying, then you need to do more studying.

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I know...whine, whine, whine, but I just don't see this ever working. I've been playing live for 2 years 10/20 limit and 1/2 NL, and have been successful.


[/ QUOTE ]

Then you should understand the typical swings you will experience. Especially when playing weak-tight on a short bankroll.

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Fold, fold, fold...monster...broke. This is the pattern.


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Funny thing about people. We love to see patterns - WHERE THERE ARE NONE. Know what I mean?

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I'll bleed off the rest of my feeble stack tonight and then it's goodbye to Online poker.


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Perhaps that's for the best. I'm not trying to be facetious or unkind, but it's entirely possible that online poker is not for you. If not, count yourself lucky for recognizing it with only a $95 loss.

Regards,

T

[BillsChips]

Fair comments and I appreciate them. I'm around 10k hands.

Don't understand the Weak-Tight comment though. Were you referring to my not slow-playing sets? Every book I've read says that's a bad play except occasionally in very uncoordinated flops. Not that it mattered, because I lost with most of them anyway, playing them aggressively.

Haven't seen any "Swings" yet, just losses. I started playing .25/.50 but wasn't making progress against the bonus. Moved up to .50/1.00 and then Absolute changed their raked-hand requirements from .25 to .50, which was nearly impossible to clear at that level. Moved to 1/2 to clear the bonus, which I did in about a week. Briefly tried 3/6 and had some success, but knew I didn't have the BR to continue.

As far as the $95 BR, I don't really look at it like that. I played break-even poker and cleared the $190 bonus. So my problems actually started when I had nearly a $300 BR...not optimal for 1/2, but seemed to be adequate.

I think a 150 BB downturn is significant.

I didn't mean this thread to be "Oh, poor me, look at my bad luck". Yes I've had some bad luck, but I'm not sure that with the tightness + rake of these games, that they can be very profitable, even if my luck changes.

[AKQJ10]

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Most 10/20 live games are MUCH easier than Absolute 1/2.

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I don't play live $10/20, but I can imagine this must be true.

[jmillerdls]

Well, clearly you have to adjust your game to the type of players you are against. You can't play the same way at Absolute as you do at Party...it's just not the same game. And saying that 150BB is enough is just ignorant. It is not enough, simple as that. But if you are so set in these ideas, then you were right about one thing...online poker is not for you.