As a beginner, how long were you in the red, how'd you turn it around?

[QTip]

[ QUOTE ]
Also a newbie and this is my first post on 2+2. been playing 3-6 B&M for 3 months on weekends. Broke even first time out, been in the black ever since. Studied SSHE, TOP and other 2+2 books for months before I started playing. Currently + $900, ave $24/hr live. Have heard that this rate is not sustainable and variance is working to my favor but time will tell... games are VERY soft at the Indian casino where I am playing

[/ QUOTE ]

Live, I believe you'll get about 40 hands/hour in right (I think that's generous, but I'm not positive)? So, you're saying that you're getting 4 big bets in about 40 hands. So, you're talking about running at 10 big bet for every hundred hands and probably better than that because I don't think you'll get 40 hands in an hour.

I don't care if you're playing with 6 year old children at your local elementary school, you'll not maintain that rate...though you probably won't believe it yet.

[JJH3984]

I was lucky in that I read HEFAP, Winning Low Limit Poker, as well as a few other books before I played a hand for real money. I started out at .5/1 and killed that game, since then I've moved up levels (thanks to a few big tournament wins coupled with my cash game winnings) and have never had a month where i was not in the black. I think the common thread here is that study has to be coupled with experience, and the study must be continuous. You cannot stop, thinking you have learned it all.

[velvetdog]

I believe you Q-tip; I'm on a good streak but not sure by how much. At 30 sessions I will calculate standard deviation as MM recommends. I am at 35-40 hands/hr and very doubtful that 4BB/hr is sustainable. But I am playing with people at schoolkid level of expertise... very loose and passive.

[JoshuaD]

I've never, ever been in the red playing poker. My brother and I played 20$ 7card stud spread limit (.25 - 3 I think) freezeouts when I first started playing. I ended up about 140$ from those, and I've never been down since.

I got really close when I deposited my first money online. I dropped 250$ down to 8$, which put me near the even mark, but I grinded that 8$ into my current 5/10 bankroll + profits. [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

[stankphish]

For god sakes dont do what I did. I started out playing Hold'em home games in AK and instantly crushed the games. Went out and read supersystem and thought I was a winning player. Then I went down to seattle for a few months and lost my ass off at live 4-8.

Im in the Black now though. For me it started turning around towards the end of my stay in Seattle just kinda picking it up on my own and with my friend coaching and discussing poker with me. Then I picked up SSH and started reading the forums a couple of hours a day and occasionly participating. I cant overstate how good of a learning tool the 2+2 books and this forum are.

[ThisHo]

not sure how many testimonials you want, but I'll give you mine.

I won a $2 jackpot on UB playing on their play tables. I managed to build that to about $35 by coming in 2nd in some $1 tourny. I played micro limits .01/.02 limit and .02/.04 NL for nearly a year. I never really got any good (though I thought I was back then) until I found a regular home game with guys that understand how to play. I read SSHE at the end of last year. Between SSHE improving my play and going on the bonus whore tour described in this link :

http://tinyurl.com/6pxwa

I'm not sure how accurate all the stuff in there is as its an old post, but most of it should work... and you can check out bonuswhores.com (look for a link from these boards so that 2+2 gets their due).

I've built up a BR where I'm playing 5/10 comfortably.

so, I've never been in the black - mostly because I was lucky!

ThisHo

[12AX7]

Hi ThisHo,
I'll take all the input I can get. This is like my other interest, recording. Meaning I'm always up for a discussion. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Granted I've always found it very hard to read through hand descriptions. Unfortunately I'm a bit on the graphic side and need to see things. I suppose I'll be working on a way to post hands that is easy on the eyes as I progress.

[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[dacubbie]

Like everyone else said a lot of it at first depends on luck. When I first started I put fifty bucks in party poker on my birthday. Sat down at the .5/1 and 1/2 tables. Went down ten bucks and realized I was just going to blow my money. Tried to cash out, realized I had to have at least $50 to cash out. Said I'd play until I got $50 and then cash out. Well, next time I looked I was at $100. Proceeded to go up a couple hundred bbs in the next 3 or 4 days. That is when I realized I was a horribly player. I had a VPIP of like 35, pfr of 3, aggro of around 1, lol. Read some books, tweaked my game, and now I'm crushing 2/4 and 3/6 (until they added 6max) over 20,000 hands. I was very very lucky they I ran so lucky at the beginning, or else I probably would have quit poker early.