Positive results, 2nd time at a b & m.

[YoungOne]

Hey, thanks for the replies/tips from my first post. Great news, bought small stakes holdem and read it in a day (itchin to play and win). Went back to the local b & m and played some 2/4 limit holdem and won this time.

First session- buy in $100 and then another 40(-$140)15 hrs
2nd session- buy in $100 (+$127) 8 hrs

I plugged my leaks. ( stayed cool against bad beats, played right, shorter session and my cards held up to them river rats.)

Is it just me or do I feel like it's too easy. I might have been running good and i notice that my competition got better and better as i played (especially the fishes). They stopped calling on the river and sometimes the freaken table all folded (utg + 2) when i raised to $4 preflop which was freaken amazing but bad because i had pocket queens.

I might be paranoid, but i have doubts that i can keep winning by playing solid poker (profits comes from fishes, not good players). It seems like my style is too predictable and good players know what i am doing. (therefore, i won't get my expected goal of at least $100/a session).

Is it normal to feel this way or not when starting out? discuss..... (hope to be a winning player)

thanks for the comments/replies

fellow poster and poker newbie,

YoungOne

[swede123]

Aiming for a consistent $100 per session profit in 2/4 is probably a bit unrealistic.

Swede

[jakethebake]

[ QUOTE ]
Aiming for a consistent $100 per session profit in 2/4 is probably a bit unrealistic. Swede

[/ QUOTE ]

...unless you're pulling very long sessions. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

[YoungOne]

[ QUOTE ]
Aiming for a consistent $100 per session profit in 2/4 is probably a bit unrealistic.

Swede

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Swede,

Oh yeah, my first session I was up $140 (holding $240 on table) but lost it back because of tilt and playing too long.

2nd time, u know (+$127)

So, what would be a good expectation at 2/4 limit holdem? if not $100...

thanks,

YoungOne

[mmmmmbrother]

you wont come out above the felt every time

[topbrelan]

Hi YO --

$100 is definitely a bit too ambitious at 2/4 (unless a freakishly good run of cards comes your way and you play for like 15 hours) - I usually don't even make this at 4/8 unless I play 8-10 hours or so.

I'd say buy-in for like 150-160 and try to fill a rack. (assuming $2 chips, so 100 chips = $200)

As for strategy, it's little use trying to get too tricky at low limit, but once you start winning, use that image to start representing hands, but tighten up if you start getting caught. I once got someone to fold A-Q when I had KK and raised preflop and an A flopped because he had seen me only show down the nuts the whole session! Rare though... unless there are total LAGs at your table, straightforward play should net you profit, just like a baby NL game. Good luck!

[Tom1975]

The standard win rate that most people cite as a realistic goal for play at a B&M room is one big bet per hour (usually expressed as 1BB/hr). So if you plan on making your typical session 8 hours you could expect a win of $32/session on average. This doesn't mean you'll walk away with an extra $32 in your pocket every time you play. You'll have some sessions where you break even, some where you win a $100, some where you lose $100, etc. It's possible to go on long losing streaks and you have to have the patience, discipline, and bankroll to ride them out.

You asked "Is it just me or do I feel like it's too easy?"

The answer is it's not that easy. The key lies in your statement "my cards held up to them river rats". Trust me, you will have plenty of sessions where this is not the case, and it seems like every time your flop two pair with your AK, the fish playing J3 sooted hits their flush on the river. I'm not trying to discourage you with all this; I just want to give you a realistic idea of what you can expect. Good luck.

[canis582]

They won't be as likely to fold to your queens if you raise preflop more often. But that is advanced theory.

[Stinglikeabee]

Congrats. Keep playing a solid game. Being tricky won't help at low limits and with more than 2 callers. And you will continually get action with your good hands because there's a reason these people are playing 2-4.

And you probably won't make a rack each time but keep records and hopefully you'll make a good BB/hour rate. Just make sure not to let your losing sessions turn into massacres because of tilt.

[eh923]

[ QUOTE ]
Is it just me or do I feel like it's too easy. I might have been running good and i notice that my competition got better and better as i played (especially the fishes). They stopped calling on the river and sometimes the freaken table all folded (utg + 2) when i raised to $4 preflop which was freaken amazing but bad because i had pocket queens.

[/ QUOTE ]
If you noticed the fish getting better against you, your mind is playing tricks on you. Think about this:
1. Folding to your river bet is a no-brainer, even to horrible players, when their draws don't come in and they don't even have a pair.
2. Folder to a PF raise is not too uncommon, even for horrible players, when their 5-gapped cards are unsuited.

SSH is a great book, and studying it will improve your game a lot. But make sure you read the section about the brain finding patterns that don't actually exist!

Anyway, it is quite normal at first for your attitude to reflect your results...particularly after a winning session. But make sure you stay focused on the important thing, which is "how well did I play?", not "how much did i win?"