Do I just need to accept I am not very good?

[PITTM]

play some shorthanded games, youre probably playing too many hands and this move becomes somewhat profitable at party no limit, just dont become a calling station and be patient, you cant always bet the way the books tell you, you kind of have to make your own style. But patience should be a big part of it.

[lostinthought]

[ QUOTE ]
play some shorthanded games, youre probably playing too many hands and this move becomes somewhat profitable at party no limit,

[/ QUOTE ]

Wouldn't better advice be to tighten up? And successful short handed play isn't just about playing MORE hands, it's being selectively aggressive in the right spots.

[ QUOTE ]
you cant always bet the way the books tell you, you kind of have to make your own style. But patience should be a big part of it.

[/ QUOTE ]

well, it depends on what books you are talking about. No, I wouldn't cap preflop with 77 as Hellmuth supposively advises in his book, but I would serious consider raising or folding AQo when facing a raise in limit HE ring games as Sklansky advises.

Own style? What's unique about seeing 20% of flops? What does putting money in when I have the best of it have to do with my style?

curious post, my friend..

[t_petrosian]

My guess, and it's only a guess, is that you are playing looser than you should. Perhaps tightening up significantly, playing Sklansky groups 1 and 2, and adding 3 from late position will put you in a situation where you're atleast not losing too much money. You may in fact actually make some money here. The point is, learn to play these hands really well (raising and folding, rarely calling), then as you get these hands under your belt, add a few more hands. There are probably 100 ways to go about this, but I think this is a nice, conservative approach that will keep your bankroll mostly intact. I also agree with what many people have said here, play limit instead of nl for a while. Add nl later after you're a proven limit player.

[PITTM]

i wasnt suggesting that playing shorthanded would help his regular game, but that the type of game he probably had would benefit from playing at a shorthanded table. i am terrible at full table limit but i just had a 109 bb/100 session on party because people are morons.

About the style, it seems like people just get confused from reading 5 books with the authors all telling them to do different things, i learned by combining all of these techniques for different situations, yes i have read hellmuths book and also disagree with a lot of it(maybe thats why he loses and throws tantrums so often) but i think it is important to find the right combination of these techniques to use for yourself, at least thats how ive learned.

[Cipher]

I went thru about six months where I won consistently at low level (to $1/$2) ring games. I have now been playing both ring and NLSNG for several weeks. Like you, I have been consistently losing at ring games and winning at NL SNG. After a lot of thought and observation I'm convinced that I've just been getting second best cards at ring tables and whether it's a pair or a full house I seem to lose. It is just a cold streak. My opinion is that NL SNG can be won with patience and aggression but the ring game, where every hand seven people see the flop, has more streaks.

I am just going to play NLSNG for a while and go with the flow.

I suggest you look at your ring playing to see if it's bad cards or bad play.

Good luck,

Cipher

[harboral]

If you have really lost thousands of dollars playing the micro-limits then you have a real problem with your play. Spend the $55 it costs to get pokertracker and take a hard look at the hands you are winning and losing with, and especially at the number of hands you are playing. I would bet you are voluntarily putting much more money in the pot than you think. Use $55 for poker tracker, you will reap untold wealth from this tiny investment. AL

[rob7278]

Thanks for all the great advice. I was somewhat gun shy to post, as frequently I see people get roasted for posts like this. I will definitely start playing limit and hopefully I will be able to start taking money out, rather than being an ATM for everyone else. Ideally I would like to find a poker coach if there is such a thing.

[Joe826]

I appreciate posts like yours most of all since they are so honest. Don't think for one second you're the only one losing on these boards. The fact that you posted asking for help and accepting the fact that you may not be playing well puts you a step ahead of alot of other struggling players. I'm still learning as well, but if you PM me i'll take a look at some hands or watch you play and let you know what I think (I play limit, mostly 3/6).

[vienna68]

I absolutely agree with Joe - great post - ever thought about specializing in tournaments? - I think there is big profit especially in online tournaments - and if you are already showing some profit here - why not excel in this part? - Keep up your fine work

BR
Vienna

[MicroBob]

post your hands in the various forums.....either NL or micro-limit.

i doubt you are losing that much without being too loose.

you say you aren't chasing too much...but losses of your magnitude usually come from playing too loose, not too tight....trust me, i know from painful personal experience on this one.