making a profit
 

My main goal in playing poker it to turn a profit. It is not fun otherwise. I know some people like the throw their money away and gamble, but I want to consistently make a profit. I have noticed, however, that this seems much easier to do at the casino than online. The caliber of play seems better online, and you see the same guys over an over, and many of them are obviously profitable as well. So the first question is..how can I adjust my play and be sucessfull online? IT is much tougher to read players since I cant see them, and players are always coming and going and it is tough to pay attention. I dont like this and I get imaptient and then I start making a few bad decisions and get frusterated.
The other problem I am facing is in tournaments. Clearly the odds of making money in a tournament are lessened, but I play totally differently as well. I play more agressively, which is probably correct, but my hand selection is poor at times and I am being impatient from the get go. I know I am a better player than that, so why do I play so differently in these different situations? What is the best advice to playing profitably from a variety of situations? Do some pro's avoid online games for this reason?

Thanks.

Re: making a profit
 

Online games are tougher than B&Ms for the most part. However, they're still beatable, and adding multi-tabling can easily make up the difference.

I think your best bet for a consistent profit (fairly soon) is mastering lower-limit ring games. Pick up Lee Jones book or Ed Miller's. Get Poker Tracker. Read these forums and post hands for discussion.

Once you start grinding a profit at 1/2 and 2/4, you can move up to limits that start becoming fairly substantial. I'm at 3/6 now -- a modest 1.5-2BB/100 can quickly add up.

Re: making a profit
 

Online is definitely harder than B&M. I was surprised the first time I played a live cash game. I think I might start playing more B&M games.

Re: making a profit
 

Don't forget bonuses and rakeback. It's POSSIBLE to "grind" 3 tables of .50/1 or 1/2 for a mere 1.2/100 with bonus and rakeback for a rather nice profit. Move up to 3/6 and it becomes a VERY nice profit.

Re: making a profit
 

what do you mean by B and M? It's remarkable to me how much different casino play is. If the blinds are 1/2 in a nl $100 or $200 max game you see pre flop raises of $10-20! So it becomes very easy to know what decision to make. On the other hand, online play is more standard. The problem I have with it, is that is it so damn convienent and you dont have those chips actually infront of you, and I am just staring at a screen all day so I get impatient and play poorly. I can not maintain a profit online, even though I am fully capable of it, I believe. Should I just forget playing online? I am fed up with it and I wonder if I am alone or not....

Re: making a profit
 

B and M = bricks and mortar.

In other words, a real casino, as opposed to an online version.

Re: making a profit
 

You are not alone you are in the majority. It is dificult to develop the skills and maintain the discipline to play winning poker.

Keep your sessions short and when you feel that you are getting impatient or not playing your best then quit.

Re: making a profit
 

Bluffoon has a very good point.. you must maintain discipline. If you start getting bored try opening up another table or two, so you have a chance at getting better cards more often and dont feel inclined to play your marginal hands.

Re: making a profit
 

I suggest only playing one table online. The reason is that because you can't see the other players, and they change so frequently, it is very important to pay close attension to betting habits and other note taking.

I play .25-.5 PL and average 40 bb/hr playing one table. The only time i will play a second is when i have a good awareness of my current table.

I can't speak for other players because they seem to advocate the use of multi table playing, but as for me, i tend to get into huge losing streaks when i'm playing two tables.

Re: making a profit
 

I agree. Play single table on line and make it your primary goal to catagorize each player at the table so you know how to play against them. My catagories, in order of frequency seen, are: (1)fish, (2)seems ok, (3)aggressive fish, (4)tight, (5)weak, (6)equal to or slightly better than me, and (6)avoid. After a while it becomes very easy to pick the table to join next time based on your records. Naturally, I pick the one with the most fish.