Re: How does it feel...
 

Looks fine. No reason to raise the river for what is at best a split. You can only break even or lose money here.

Re: How does it feel...
 

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Apart from the basic education this little fish needs, should I really stick to .5/.10 until my bankroll is sy 150 dollars or so??

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I did this and it worked out okay. .05/.10 isn't even raked at some sites so your win rate will be much higher, and the play is also bad, so it won't take long.

It really depends on whether you can afford to put in more money if you bust. Even a good player stands a decent chance of busting with a $30 roll at .25/.50 -- that's only 60BB, which is ridiculously small.

On the other hand, for most people $30 is essentially disposable income, and they can afford to reload if they do go bust. If this is you and you don't get any enjoyment out of playing nano-limit poker, then there's no reason why you can't take a shot at the higher limit.

Re: How does it feel...
 

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should I stick to .05/.10 until i hit 150 or more??


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To make it simple, YES!!! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Don't worry about playing in games where they don't take it seriously. As long as you do you should win. Like the others said, If you haven't got SSH, get it right now.

The concepts you will learn in the nano limits will stay with you forever. I started at .5/.10 and have moved up accordingly. Stay at stars and grind it out till you reach $200, then move to paradise and hit the GRANNY bonus. I can prove to you that with solid play, it can be done.

Good luck and enjoy the journey!!

Ben

Re: How does it feel...
 

Yes, If you're not willing to put up more money into your bankroll you stand a very good chance to lose it all. Just use the 300BB rule and you won't go wrong. However, if you find that you're learning and beating the game after a lot of hands (at a minimum of 10k) and you have extra money I would think you could move up quicker but always make sure you have that 300BB in your bankroll. Also, if the players are not really serious they should be easy to beat.

Re: How does it feel...
 

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I did this and it worked out okay. .05/.10 isn't even raked at some sites so your win rate will be much higher, and the play is also bad, so it won't take long.

It really depends on whether you can afford to put in more money if you bust. Even a good player stands a decent chance of busting with a $30 roll at .25/.50 -- that's only 60BB, which is ridiculously small.

On the other hand, for most people $30 is essentially disposable income, and they can afford to reload if they do go bust. If this is you and you don't get any enjoyment out of playing nano-limit poker, then there's no reason why you can't take a shot at the higher limit.

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Well basically, I just want to become a decent player, preferrably asap. When I started playing for play money on Everest I concluded that I was not goning to learn poker from sitting at a table where everybody calls and chases down to the river. I did a little reading on the internet and decided to deposit 50 into PokerStars. I played .01/.02 NL and .02/.04 fixed. Then after a week or two holding my own I felt the urge to gear up a little and looking back that's were it went wrong. I went from 70 to 25 in just two or three sessions playing NL.
Then I switched back to fixed and started winning again but since it didn't go fast enough (that must be a classic beginners mistake) I started playing .25/.50 fixed and now i still find myself continuously losing my winnings on bad decisions grrrrr.

so for now back to the .05/.10 fixed it is... and i'll order the books you recommended right away.

Re: How does it feel...
 

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hi and welcome.

you should probably not be playing .25/.50 holdem if $50 is the extent of your availible poker bankroll. general consensus is that 300 big bets (in this case $150) is needed to avoid going broke due to bad luck. this assumes winning play, however, so more might be needed.

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see my reply above, should I stick to .05/.10 until i hit 150 or more??
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in any case, why did you raise the river?

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I know it was stupid, but I make stupid mistakes (still). If I think back to the hand I figured that we were all playing the board and it was also in the back of my mind that you can't or rather shouldn't lose three pots with AA within 90 hands... I see now how dumb iI still am.. [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

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it depends on you and how much more money you are willing to deposit into learning the game. some people pay $100 an hour for a single golf lesson and can't hit the ball after one hour. should they stop trying? no one can tell you what to do. however, if $50 is it for you, and you want to be able to learn the game and hopefully become a winning player (if you aren't already) then you should move down. 100 big bets seems like a lot, but it isn't in the grand scheme of things.

don't worry about making stupid mistakes. everyone does. we're all here to learn the reasons WHY our mistakes are mistakes, and attempt not to repeat them.


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you can't or rather shouldn't lose three pots with AA within 90 hands

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sure you can, and sometimes you should [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

Re: How does it feel...
 

The players at any of the real money tables are serious. 0.05/0.10 is a perfect limit to learn at. If you aren't beating 0.05/0.10, I don't think you are going to be a winning player at the higher limits. I played several thousand hands at 0.05/0.10, won, moved on to 0.25/0.50 for several thousand more hands, won, moved to 0.5/1.00, won, moved to 1/2, won, moved to 2/4 (winning/but in a horrible downswing right now) - but anyway, take the lumps at the lower limits. Learn about counting your outs, getting reads on other players, pot odds, folding equity, starting hands vs. table position vs. relative position to other players, etc. - all the above can be learned at 0.05/0.10.

Re: How does it feel...
 

I don't think you should get SSH yet. I think that 'Getting started in hold em' would be a much better book at this time.

welcome to the forums.

Re: How does it feel...
 

Something else now.. My compliments to this forum, you guys are fast on the replies.

As I stated before, I will play my next 10k or so hands at a fixed .05/.10 table.

Man, there is a lot to learn about this game, good fun though.
Apart from playing on the internet, i noticed that at a local poolhall they have a weekly game (50 euro buy in or so). I can afford to lose a little if it helps my game and the players seem friendly and "loose/uneducated" (?). Does playing these kind of home games help or should I wait with that for a little while? Is there something to learn from playing live apart from the physical tells you might get??

Re: How does it feel...
 

Learn bankroll management now. You are in the learning stage. The money shouldn't matter to you right now. Think of them as just bets or chips. Tokens. No matter what limit you play they are just chips. Move up when you have a sufficient number of chips for the game you desire to play no sooner. The accepted number of BB's is 300.

The .25/.50 is a tough game for a beginner and you could well go broke playing that limit if you are underrolled. Stay at .10/.20 until you are confident you are playing well. There is no need to wait until you get the full $150 before moving up if you're playing well and studying your butt off just be prepared to quickly move back down if you find you start of on a downswing that brings you BR below say $50. I wouldn't jump if I were you until I hit at least $80 or so no matter how well I was playing.

You have a chance to follow my exact blueprint!

I started by depositing $50 into stars last summer. I promised my wife it was the only money I would ever spend on gambling and that if I busted out I would stop forever. Talk about needing good bankroll management.

I played with play money for about 30 minutes decided it was not worth playing there and moved over to .02/.04 to try to get a slightly more serious game. Again the play seemed too silly so I only played there for about 30 minutes. I moved to .10/.20 and found the game much better. Players were folding and the pots occassionally were substantial to my $50 bankroll. I wound up playing perhaps 5K hands at .10/.20. using only a lousy internet website with a loosish starting hands chart as my only coaching.

At some point once I won up to about $100 I withdrew my initial $50 deposit to appease my wife and started playing with "house money" only. Eventually I moved up to .25/.50 and stayed there for 3 months or so. This is where I really learned the game. I read SSH while playing there and started my 2+2 posting there as well. It is a great place to learn and will definitely provide you with decent competition in preparation for the big jump to party poker when you get $300+. I waited until I had $400 BR so that I wouldn't have to worry about moving off of party if I went on a downsing in the beginning.

I've been playing with "house money" ever since and I've never played underrolled for any game I've ever played. This approach has netted me over 10K in bonuses and winnings during that time frame playing only part-time at low limits (primarily .50/1 and 1/2 at party and skins). If it weren't for the many family related expenses that have drained my bankroll and an ultra-conservative approach to moving up I probably could've doubled that earn.

Why did I tell you that? Because I am proof that if you take your time and learn the game the rest will follow. Money in poker is made by outplaying your competition. The longer you stay at a limit and the more you study the more likley you will be outplaying your competition. Eventually your BR will grow as a result. Moving up will be your reward for all the time and effort you put into your game. Read SSH and just as importantly contribute to this forum as much as possible. I spend as much time here as I do playing. Studying is just as valuable as gaining experience by playing. When you contribute here ask questions! Don't start a bunch of new threads just join the discussion and question what is being said. Say what you would do and why. This will give us a chance to critique your thought process and will improve your game dramatically. There is no better resource than this messageboard.

Good luck!