Want to get back into the game...suggestions
 

Hi, i have been reading through the forums for the past couple months and have decided to get back into playing online. I consider myself a decent player (not great and not bad) but seem go on downswings and then get taken out by poor play due to tilt. I realize this is a terrible flaw and have a hard time handling bad beats and get frustrated and cash out. Anyways, after a long break and a lot of reading and thinking i want to get back into playing poker. I think i was trying too hard and trying to make a lot out of a relativley small BR ($400). So what i want to do now is start out with about 400 or so dollars and multi-table (4 tables max). But what i need opinions is on this: considering all the info above, i want to turn a profit of approx. 200-250 a week (nothing more, and if less than that then fine). This is what im looking for, i know i can do it and im not looking to profit big time money - what do you suggest i do to start? what limits?...i plan to play no more than 3 hours per day as this is just for a hobby, but id like to make it somewhat profitable (so i want to start small). Thanks in advance

Re: Want to get back into the game...suggestions
 

Well... there are a couple of things I'll offer up here.

1) Bad beats & Downswings
These happen to everyone, and I mean everyone. Including the best of the best players in the world. Phil Gordon points out in his book, Phil Gordon's Little Green Book, "If bad players couldn't occasionally get lucky and win, there would be no poker games worth playing." Their bad play is what makes games profitable. Some days they will get lucky more often than odds would suggest, but in the long run the better player is at a huge advantage (the size of the advantage depends on how often the poor player plays incorrectly and how often the better player takes advantage of it). You have to take the "long-view" and look at it as all being one big game. Don't be results oriented. Make sure you're playing every hand to the best of your ability and then look back to see how you can improve. Downswings happen and often their size can be limited by not making mistakes and plugging leaks in your own game. It all starts with your perspective. Think positive, look to improve your game rather then downgrade others, prepare yourself mentally for bad beats and downswings, and take the long-view.

2)Getting back into it.
$400.00 is more than enough to get you started. However, your bankroll is not enough to really jump into anything but .50/1 limit. (300 big bets is recomended at any limit you play) To play 1-2 a bankroll of $600 would be recomended. At .50/1, 4 tabling, and 3 hours a day... 200-250 is possible (depending on your skill level and that of your opponents). However, it may be too high to start off with. I'm in favor of setting goals that are obtainable with hard work but are also safe mentally if you do not reach them. I'd suggest just playing your game for a couple weeks and trying to improve. At the end of the couple weeks figure your BB/100 (big bets earned per 100 hands played). Then set a goal that will require work and improvement but not add stress. Say you are earning 1.2BB/100 the first couple weeks. Shoot for 1.7 for the next couple weeks and repeat. You'll find that continuing to improve and achieve smaller goals will allow you to move up in limits and reach your $200-250 goal easier and with less stress. Remember when moving up in limits the play changes. Your goals should then start over and begin small agian.

Hope this was of help to you.

Cheers,

deacsoft

Re: Want to get back into the game...suggestions
 

10 sngs at party, i started with 200 and ran it up
to 1k 3 times already this month(included a 2nd in a mtt tho).

Re: Want to get back into the game...suggestions
 

I think you have some good points, but I don't agree with setting results oriented goals for yourself. Your win rate during any given week will be hugely erratic, and should not be the focus of too much attention. The important thing is to keep playing, and keep improving your game, so I recommend setting goals of playing a certain amount of hours (not tilting), stopping at once when recognizing tilt, posting a certain amount of hands each weeks, etc.

For SnG play, I might add a

3) For a bank roll of 400$ you should not be playing at higher levels than $10+1, and probably $5+.5 (don't play the $5+1s, they are a rip off) is preferable if 400$ are your last poker money in the world. On average it should be possible for a good player to make your weekly goal of 200$ playing about 100 $11-SnGs. Be prepared to quickly drop to the 5.5s if your BR takes an early hit, downswings can be bigger and longer than you think.