Help me get on track (Long)

A little background information:

I'm a 17 year old freshman in college.
Started playing poker about 5 months ago.
I consider myself (I know, so cliche) better than the average poker player. (Not the average two-plus-two'er however!). I play a lot of games with my friends, $5 buy-in tourneys mostly. I often get to the final 2-3, or win, but get drawn out on a lot. Not complaining, just stating that its usually a loose/weak game. My friends all just learned how to play with other friends. Only about 2-3 of my friends do I consider "good".

I also play on PokerStars daily. I play a lot of free tourneys, either freerolls or play money sit and go's. I've gotten really close to the money in the MTT's a few times, but never closed the deal. In the sit and go's, I win more than half that I play in. There usually 9 or 18 people SNG's.

I've played for money on PokerStars a few times, but not much. I deposited $50 one night, got it up to $86 playing 1/2 NL. I went to bed and lost it all the next day. I then deposited another $100 and lost it. I stopped playing for money for like 3 weeks and last week gave it another shot. I put in $50 and played .50/1 NL for a while doing pretty good. I then tried a few tourneys 'til I was out. That's where I am now, just playing for fun on PS and $5 with my friends.

I'm obsessed with poker. I watch it on TV anytime I possibly can. I want to learn everything I can about the game. I had a big gift certificate to a local bookstore that I recieved for graduation. I used it to get Theory of Poker, Poker Essasys, HOH 1 and 2, Small Stakes Hold 'em, and Hold 'em Poker for Advanced Players. I've read a little bit of all of them. I've read HOH 1 the most because I play mostly tourneys so I thought it would be good to read first.

I'm getting a better understanding of poker everyday, but I still truly know that I'm not even 1% there. I know there is more and more and more for me to learn. I'm setting short-term goals for myself all the time.

My situation now is this: I can't play with anymore money on PS out of my credit card because it's my spending money while I'm here at college and I need it. But my birthday is Sep 17 and I know I will get at least $150. I plan on using that money to start a bankroll on PS. I know that wouldn't even be sufficient for 1/2, and barely enough for .50/1. But I know it's possible to slowly build up a bankroll to grow with.

I would love to hear any and all suggestions. Which of those books should I concentrate on first? Should I start of playing small buy-in tourneys and SNG's to build my bankroll?

There is a casino 5 minutes away from the campus I am living on, it is on an indian reservation so 18 year olds are allowed. As far as I know, there lowest limi is $3/6. Would I need over $1000 dollars to be able to play that level comfortably?

How should I go about becoming an over all better player? Playing ring games or tourneys? What should I aim for?

I think my young age is an advantage right now, because I have a lot of time to learn the game before I'm even out of college. I would love to be able to make a good amount of extra spending money this time next year.

I apologize if that was unorganized, I also realize I may come of young and stupid. I am not big-headed, I know that I have a LOT to learn, and I am looking to learn it. Any replies would be GREATLY appreciated.

[Jorge10]

Ok I started off like you, then I started playing omaha high low and well...search my name if you want to hear more on that, but thats not the point 150 is a good amount to start. What do you play in the sit and gos limit holdem? or NL holdem? I would expect you to play NL holdem, if thats the case Poker Stars is not the place to start, go to Party Poker and play the 25 NL tables and work your way up, 150 is a big enough bankroll for that level. If the answer is Limit Holdem, Poker Stars still stinks, go to Party Poker and work your way up from .5/1 on up.

It's going to suck monster donkey balls... but you have to play $1-2 limit poker or lower... very-well... until you build up your bankroll to 1,000 the big blind of any NL game you want to play.

I don't care how many success stories you hear about people building $100 in a $3,000 bankroll overnight. It CANNOT be done... and it CANNOT be sustained.

My ex-girlfriend is a full time prop player at a prestigious casino... and she still plays 1-2$ limit to earn $50 a day. She uses it for gas, coffee, and movie rentals.

Plus: this limit experience will polish the most important poker skill there is Patience, patience, and some more patience.

Hope this helps.

[Rotterdaum]

[ QUOTE ]
I know I will get at least $150. I plan on using that money to start a bankroll on PS. I know that wouldn't even be sufficient for 1/2, and barely enough for .50/1. But I know it's possible to slowly build up a bankroll to grow with.

[/ QUOTE ]

You're talking about NL as far as I know. In that case, you should know 150 is not barely enough for 0.50/1.00.
$1000 is barely enough for 0.50/1.00. This is very important to learn

[Jorge10]

The 25 tables on party have .10/.25 blinds and are NL holdem, I used to win like 30 bucks a day in those, except I played PL high low, the blinds were the same and so was the buy in, but still its a start once he builds a bankroll he can move up, but itll take time.

Are the books I listed a good collection to grow with? I read Phil Hellmuths Texas Hold 'em and it gave me the foundation I have now. I don't really like that book however, and I'm wondering what book (that I listed) I should study next. I'm thinking SSHE?

Suggestions are appreciated. Thanks.

[Cincy Peach]

You sound sincere, hope you don't mind a long rambling answer. I started where you are at (low bankroll but high eagerness to learn and improve.)

At this point in your pokerlife, PokerStars is absolutely where you should be. You're right, $150 is slim BR for .50/1.00, so play lower. PS has tables with limits that are literally nickle/dime. Moreover these tables are reasonably tough because they attract a lot of people like you. I would play there until you could beat it.

Once you have a little better BR ($300 perhaps) I would move to Empire (same as Party). The only drawback to empire is that .50/1.00 is the lowest game they have. But, the games are much softer, with a lot more casual players. Too, Empire has nice bonuses that are very easy to clear, which should put an extra hundred bucks in your pocket every month or so. All sites have bonuses but empire's are usually 100% up to $100 and VERY easy to clear.

Your post did not say weather you are playing limit, NL, ring games, or tourneys. Choose what you are best at now and play it exclusively until you master it (you will know when that is because you will have a nice BR.) I used to bounce between different types of games, until I noticed that when I played limit ring games exclusively my BR went up steadily. When I dabbled in other forms, my BR went down. At this point in your pokerlife it is more important to build a BR than to worry about being 'well rounded' - you have many years ahead of you to do that.

If you find it difficult to resist tournaments, one thing you can do is play freerolls (free tournaments). Most sites have them - at empire you have to play 24 hands in a day to qualify for a freeroll tournament. The winners split a small prize package. it's a way to scratch the tournament/NL itch for free.

About casinos. When I started playing poker I had a distrust of internet poker and started in a casino. I got my head handed to me. All these guys looked like Johnny Moss. I lost hundreds quickly and fled. After about six months of study and internet play I returned. The difference was night and day . . the same guys that seemed so tough previously turned out to be mostly poor to average players. The live games in casinos are MUCH softer than the internet, and you can make nice money. The problem is that with a $3/$6 game you can lose several hundred dollars in a bad session. The fish will constantly illustrate that it is better to be lucky than good, at least on any given hand. I suggest the following approach to live play . . .

You know the guideline that says you should have a 300 Big Bet BR to play a given game? throw that out the window. Take as much money as you are willing to lose, no more. In my experience, sessions that start bad tend to stay bad. for a $3/$6 game, $300 would be a healthy buy-in, but if you lose half of that, it is time to leave. I have had math types tell me this is silly, but even if it is not mathmatically defensible it is good money management. On the other side of the coin, you could make a lot more than the $150 you are risking. Just be careful not to get sucked into the trap of playing too many hands, just because everyone else is. The pace is much slower live than online. Relax, talk to the people around you, and don't play marginal hands just because you are getting board.

Hope something here might help - good luck

[WordWhiz]

Two words: Bonus whore!

Seriously, with $150, you'll grow your bankroll much faster from bonuses than from actually winning money playing poker. I've won a little over a thousand after 3 months of .5/1 and 1/2 play w/ a win rate of around 2-3 BB/100. But I've made about $1500 bonus whoring, and I only learned about that a month ago. I've made $200 at Pacific, $200 at UB, $300 at Empire, $300 at party, $100 at Classic, $100 at Sporting Bet, $200 at BetHoldEm, and I'm working on even more bonuses at Party, Empire, Absolute, Imperial, etc. as we speak. Have no shame at being a bonus whore. You need money to make money, and that's how you get it.

[KidPokerX]

This is probably the worst advice for you. Please do not follow his idea of bonus whoring. That act is for the kids - you're here to learn how to play poker. Sounds to me like you are very passionate about the game and you sound ready to learn.
With that, please don't lower yourself to a whore.

peace

[pzhon]

You just started college. Poker should not be a high priority. College is much more important.

Set a cap on the amount of time you play (including watching poker on TV). Ten hours per week is plenty. Don't exceed that cap. Don't lose sleep to play poker. Don't skip class to play poker. Don't skip socializing to play poker online. Don't use money you can't afford to lose.

People love to imagine all of the money they can rake in from poker, but you have to learn a lot before you can make more money per hour playing poker than you can flipping burgers. Play microstakes games until you are sure you are a winner, then maintain that habit as you move up. Or, don't worry about trying to improve, and just have fun, the way 90% of people play poker.

If you have the skills, the safest way to build a bankroll rapidly from a few dollars to a few hundred is through SNGs and penny-ante NL. At that point, you can build your bankroll rapidly through bonus whoring, but the key is to acquire the skills. Once you have the skills, you can build your bankroll rapidly.

[ QUOTE ]
There is a casino 5 minutes away from the campus I am living on, it is on an indian reservation so 18 year olds are allowed. As far as I know, there lowest limi is $3/6. Would I need over $1000 dollars to be able to play that level comfortably?

[/ QUOTE ]
Playing 25 hands per hour for minimum wage against horrible players is a waste of time. Even if you average more per hour than playing $0.50-$1 online, you aren't getting enough experience.

$1000 should be plenty if you are a solid winner. $100k is not enough to prevent you from going bankrupt if you are losing.

To reiterate, college is much more important.