First Time Post...theoretical question

[RedZX9R]

Good evening to all (replace with morning/afternoon as it applies)

My background - - I've been playing online for money in microlimit and no-limit games for about 6 months maybe a little longer. I've read and tried to put into practice three books. Mainly stick to .5/1 limit and .25/.50 NL with some mild success. Started with $10 deposit, currently @ $150 with one $50 withdrawal.

Here's the question. What would you consider being a successful player at any given limit or NL game over time. I ask because I want to try and guage my level of skill against the games I regularly play.

Also, would you consider this statement to be true?? "you must master the game at your current level (blind/limit) before moving onto higher games regarless of your bankroll"

I look forward to benefiting from those who have gone before me. Thanks for your help.

[greg nice]

i dont think you need to 'master' a game before moving up, but what i think you mean is.. very often your bankroll outpaces your skill level. this is often true.

in 6 months of play id expect you to have a larger roll than that, especially playing those low stakes NL where the play is usually very bad. however, in that timeframe maybe you have only played 10k hands. who knows.

[GrunchCan]

How many hands have you played?

[RedZX9R]

I'd have to guess on the hands. I've only played at Pokerroom.com and for most of it I was doing it outside of the downloadable game client. Since switching to the game client it's been about 4k hands. So I would guess that 10K isn't out of the realm of possibilities. Perhaps more. I'm starting to get much more serious about my poker playing, and see myself at a crossroads. If I don't think that I can improve to the kind of player that can maximise the profit for the level of play I'm at now (very low stakes) I will have to consider stopping all together. Life's too short to play poker for an average of $1-2/hour. But I would much rather keep playing, improving and winning.

BTW- I'm still reeling from last weekend in Vegas. For a guy used to betting two bits, the $2/4 tables are a little spendy. It's not that the players were better, in fact they knew very little for the most part, but my luck started out bad and went down from there. Which isn't good in a game where no one folds...ever.

[GrunchCan]

If you have a total career of between 4,000 and 10,000 hands, then your bankroll growth has little or no correlation to your skill as a poker player. You just haven't played enough hands. And frankly, if your entire study curricula consists of reading 3 books (which ones, BTW?), you have much more studying to do. A big portion of your learning can be done here, at the forums.

Poker is a hard game, and its a streaky game. It will take a lot of work and a lot of experience before you can determine weather your'e a good player or not.

If you really are serious about poker, then its time to get serious. Buy pokertracker. Contribute to the forums. Focus on one limit and one structure (limit vs NL). Build your BR to $300 and move the the PP .5/1 games. Study until your brain bleeds. Play 10s of thousands of hands. Track your play and be critical of yourself. If this sounds like something your'e willing to do, then you can reach your goals of making $ at LL. If not, then poker might not be for you.

Good luck. And welcome to the forums.

[RedZX9R]

Thanks for the warm welcome! The three books are Low Limit by Jones, Small Stakes Hold'em by Miller, and I got Super System for christmas.

I'm still learning the acronyms but I assume you meant Party Poker by pp? Pokerroom.com is all I've ever done. What's special about the $0.5/1 game over at Party?

I've read a little about the Poker Tracker software. It seems to be a good tool for analysis. I think that I'll give the trial version a go before I lay down the cold hard cash.

As a side note, I do want to start joining other sites to pursue the deposit bonuses and re-buy bonuses as I've learned others here do on a frequent basis. I just have to wait until the bankroll is a bit bigger as I really can't committ any more savings to this deal. Also, would you recommend the "rake back" web sites, or are these a scam?

Thanks again for the welcome.

[bigmac366]

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Small Stakes Hold'em by Miller

[/ QUOTE ]
good, now read it 3 times before bed.

[ QUOTE ]
I'm still learning the acronyms but I assume you meant Party Poker by pp?

[/ QUOTE ]
yes

[ QUOTE ]
What's special about the $0.5/1 game over at Party?


[/ QUOTE ]
its a aquarium, if theres even ONE other good player at your table you can move and find a easier table.

[ QUOTE ]
Also, would you recommend the "rake back" web sites, or are these a scam?


[/ QUOTE ]
some are scams, but if you use someone out of the classified on this site they wont scam you, and it can add significantly to your win rate.