Beginner Interested in Tournaments

[Student]

My interest in NL HE tournaments springs from watching poker on TV, so what else is new? I've enjoyed TV poker for years, and now I've spent $201 on some of the best poker books, have done about two weeks penance in freeplay ring games on PokerStars, have read lots of posts on 2+2 and all the Internet Magazine articles from Feb thru April, and the covers of the aforementioned books. On April 6th I started playing 1 cent/2 cents poker on PokerStars, real cash!

I'd started with $50 on PokerStars, and my experience with 1,274 hands played has been up and down. Actually, I won $1 the first day, and was feeling pretty proud! But this was short-lived, as my account drifted down to just below $42 before the slide hauled. Then I went to about $49.39, and back to about $43.40. Then it was back to $49.27, and to $43.54. Most of these numbers are approximate, though they sure do look accurate!

This morning (and I have not played today) I'm at $48.48. I'm looking at my track record, and I think I might be harboring some psychological barriers to the idea of actually making money, playing poker! My method is to read and play: read, play, read, play, etc. I say I'm teaching my subconscious to learn poker, and it seems to be working! I'm more confident about poker this morning (after winning $3.40 on 152 hands and 4 sessions, yesterday), than ever before. It's starting to make a little sense to me, compared to the strange notions about poker I'd obtained watching TV!

Enough background, so now I'll focus on tournaments. At the top of my reading list is "Harrington on Hold'em." Actually there are 4 other books awaiting reading, before I even get to tournament-related books I own. I'll mention these 4 titles later, if someone asks. Meanwhile, I have Cloutier et al, "Championship Hold'em" and Sklansky, "Tournament Poker for Advanced Players." They would be read in that order, at a later time.

Obviously I believe strongly in the idea of learning at the lowest levels, and then moving carefully up the ladder of levels. PokerStars doesn't seem to have very low-stakes NL HE tournaments for 1 table or 2. I think they never drop below $5 + $0.50 for single tables, and that's not what I had in mind. $1 entry fee single-table tournaments would be OK, and 50 cents would be even better.

Then too, in this competitive world, I'm sure there are poker sites that cater to this need! After all, beginners need to practice in real-cash tournaments, yet low-stakes is the key for me, and I suspect it's key for many, eh? But the only way one can find these low-stakes tournaments is to load software from all these poker sites, or else learn this from the friendly folks on the 2+2 Tournament Forum. So that's my need, and that's where I need some help! Thanks in advance!

Dave

[LetYouDown]

First of all, ignore almost everything you see on television. Most of the time it's shorthanded play against extremely good opponents. Their moves will get you eaten alive at a "No Fold Em" game. That said, I didn't even realize .01/.02 was a legitimate limit that could be found. How do they rake that? LOL.

Kidding aside, not sure where you're going to find tournaments that low. It's not overly profitable. If you can afford a bankroll of $50...why not take a shot at the $5 tournaments? It can't be *that* far out of your bankroll standards. I say roll up the stakes and go to vegas buddy! If not, why not keep grinding it out at the limits you're playing until you can afford a $5+1?

If you've read/understood those books, you're miles ahead of the average $5+1 player out there.

[Slim Pickens]

It sounds like you've got the right attitude about playing. I started taking SNG poker semi-seriously when I realized I could actually make money just for being smarter than people like my idiot friends, with whom I had mutually agreed to never play blackjack again after a heated argument about the nature of random processes and my insistence on "taking the dealer's bust card," or something like that. Anyway, I digress.

It seems like you're looking to get over a bit of a bankroll hump. I would guess that most, if not all, successful SnG players play at a level far above where they could afford to play when they started. That's the result of success. Your problem is that the 5+1's or 5+0.50's are about as low as you can possibly start if ever want to make any money at this before the poker-boom/fad ends, and as low as you can go before the play deteriorates so far as to no longer resemble poker in any way. So here's my question about that $50 bankroll of yours. If you lost it, would you be financially and psychologically able to deposit another $50 next month?

Slim

[Geordie Ramone]

Pacific Poker $2.50 + 25c 5 handed SnGs. The worst software you will ever find but also some of the worst players. They also have a £2.00 +20c two table SnG. If you have the patience they must be the easiest way to build a BR

[JP Rocks]

They have $1+0.1 sngs on UB, which are pretty useful to take up time while wading through the first 2 hours of a MTT. Also, the play isnt doo dissimilar to the $5+0.5 and the $10+1, so its a pretty good practice field.

[Student]

I continue to enjoy watching TV poker, and I suspect I'm not the only poker player who does!

The rake is 5% at PokerStars, but for 1/2 cents poker they charge nothing until dollar intervals. Examples: 99 cent pot - 0 rake; $1.00 pot - 5 cents rake; $1.93 pot - 5 cents rake; $2.07 pot - 10 cents rake etc. They also have 5/10 cents NL HE, 10/25 cents, 25/50 cents, 50/100 cents etc.

It's not what I'm able to afford. After all I spent $201 on books right off. I feel as though I learned 30% of what it's possible to do playing freeplay, will learn 35% more with 1/2 cents poker, and the rest of the 35% will be spread over a lifetime, and poker at all higher levels. When I've played 100,000 hands (at any level), much of the remaining 35% that it's possible to learn will be in the bag. Of course, being of retirement age, I expect to forget the stuff as quickly as I learn it, even at a fairly low level. So I might be playing 1/2 cents poker 10 years from now!

But what I'm trying to do is find the sites that have NL HE tournaments for low-stakes, however "low-stakes" is defined.

Thanks for the response!

Dave

[Student]

Thanks for your cheerful support!

Yes, I can come up with $50/month for my poker hobby. I'm reluctant to do it, given that I haven't actually learned of any really low-stakes NL HE tournaments. I know that PokerStars has games scheduled for $1, and $0 entry fee, both Saturday and Sunday morning (here in the Rockie Mountains). It will be a tournament with thousands of entrants, and will probably be 4 to 5 hours of play. When I first went to PokerStars, I joined a freeplay tournament, and this tournament was limited to the first 6,000 entrants. The tournament filled, and I played my very first poker against all these people. I wasn't impressed that 2,300 of them left the tournament before I did!

A few days later I played a 3-table freeplay tournament, and this time I came out 5th, and hence won some free chips! I noticed your observation about the predicted end of the present poker boom. That's interesting... Gee, I hope it doesn't die before I do, but I suspect you believe it won't be long-lived.

When would I logically bite the bullet and start playing $5 + 50 cents poker? Presently (yesterday, for example), I win at a rate of about $1/hour (at 1/2 cents poker, if you can believe that!). I played 152 hands, won $3.40 (170 BBs), and scored 112 BB/100 during these sessions. Now then, that said, then I'll have a losing day, like today. Some call it variance, fluctuation, bobbing-and-weaving, statistical standard deviations etc. Let's say I join this huge $1 + 0 tournament Saturday. They'll probably have 5,300 entrants, and give about 530 prizes. The minimum prize will be maybe $1.34. If I get in the money it will be a thrill, and it will be akin to playing 1/2 cents NL HE ring games. Importantly, it will be tournaments, and that's where I aspire!

Dave

[Student]

Nice source, and I suspect I have the software uploaded to my computer already! Thanks...

Now, would you mind telling me what "sng" and "MTT" stand for? Appreciate it!

Dave

[illab]

sng=sit n' go (the tournament has no starting time, just begins when the preset numbers of seats are filled)

mtt=multi table tournament, as opposed to stt, a single table tournament

[Student]

I really appreciate it! I fear most of us just quietly permit ourselves to go on with subpar communication established, because of the sea of acronyms we swim in. I'll try to remember those.

Dave