I think I'm getting better....

I just played in a fake money 10/1 PL Hold Em tourney on PartyPoker and took 1st place. I know it was fake, but there is still a competitive spirit to it. It went shorthanded very quickly and I only played the strong hands, nothing marginal. I was patient, I played smart, I folded when I felt I was behind. I did maybe make one mistake, but I decided that the pot was big enough to take a shot. I thought I was going to get 3rd, but the 2nd place went all-in and got eliminated. So it was about T600 to T5000, I was a big underdog. I loosened up a little bit, played the strong hands, blinds went back and forth for a little while, and then I hit him when it mattered. I let him think I was weak, he bet, I raised, he came back, and I took him down. Persistance was the key to this game and I had it from the beginning.

I remembered position, which helped big time. I read the part in Small Stakes Hold Em about Very Strong - Strong - Marginal hands, and I was able to identify what was considered a marginal hand and that helped me big time.

Again, I know it's fake, but all of this knowledge I have been building, I finally put it to use and it worked out for me.

Thanks to the people who responded to my first post and straightened me up a little bit...I should say A LOT!

[ThinkQuick]

Good.

Now post some hands.

also, your slowplay: It may very well have been correct, but beware of being too fancy in any kind of play money or low limit events. You are playing against poor players that will pay off straightforward agression from you.

[aargh57]

Congrtatulations. It sounds like your on your way to building a solid game. I played a lot of play money tourneys before I took the plunge and I think it helped a lot. You're also doing what you need to do to improve: Studying and playing and thinking about the game continually will help you lots. And as the last poster said, post some hands. If you really want to get better visit the micros and respond and post to hands.