How long does it take to get good at poker?

[whittiphil]

good post

[PokerCat69]

I find that if you multitable all your doing is playing the cards. This works much better in limit poker where everything is pot odds and math. NL is more about reads.
If your unable to win when you move up, try doing so with only 1 table. Don't let the clowns here tell you how much better 4 or 8 tables are.
NEVER take your eyes off the table inbetween hands, watch what players are doing and make notes.

I also believe you are likely just running bad when you have tried to move up. My only advice would be to keep reading and posting on this site. It has helped my game tremendously in the short time I have been here.

[FreakDaddy]

Breathe. Post a touble hand. Breathe. Read a new poker book. Breathe. Play some more. Breathe.

"It's not how fast you get there, it's the enjoyment and beauty of the path you take."

Poker is like any other skill you learn. You will hit plateus, doubt yourself, and then suddenly have another break through. Then you'll keep playing, hit another plateu amd then have another break through.

If I had to classify, I think a few of the biggest things that seperate the fair-average players from the great players is the following:
1) Ability to focus, take in all available information and apply it.
2) Ability to understand flop textures - ie, understand what pocket cards and flops will win small pots/lose big ones and vice versa.
3) Hand reading ability
4) Understanding of bettting patterns based on flops and previous play with opponents.
5) Knowing when your opponent is weak and attacking regardless of what cards you hold (ie you play your opponents cards)
6) Understanding the flow of the table you're at and how to maximize the value of the flops you take.
7) Knowing when to switch gears and how to prode weaker opponents into making mistakes.

All of these skills take time to develop. Be patient.

[whittiphil]

"Poker is like any other skill you learn. You will hit plateus, doubt yourself, and then suddenly have another break through. Then you'll keep playing, hit another plateu amd then have another break through. "

I think this is right... nice post.

[lautzutao]

Read this . It helps me when I get in a funk.

[The_Bends]

I have only just now broken into a posative BB/100 at party sites after 6k hands. Obviously thats not a horrible downswing but for the 4k hands I played while trying to move up it was pretty terrible. I got knocked back 3 times from NL100 before making it stick. There were faults in my play but I was also getting horrible cards. Its a nasty situation because you're not sure how much you can blame the cards and how much to blame yourself because you have no frame of reference.

My solution is to head off and bonuswhore another site cheaply. Provided you have a neteller account you can move money around quickly without large penalties so its easy to do. I find this helps for a couple of reasons.

1. The bonus money gives you something of a cushion.
2. Its gives you a fresh start, which personally I find helps focus and sharpen my play, reevaluate my preflop range and other basics. It also gives something of a mental break which seperates you from the bad run on the other site.

After my 4k failed hands at -5BB/100 at party I moved to Fulltilt and then Absolute going at about 7-8BB/100 before moving back to party 15k hands later and whiping out my bad start in a couple of hands.

Note, I am in no way suggesting one site is unlucky, rigged or any of the hundreds of conspiricy theories out there.

[whittiphil]

dude, everyone knows party is rigged, don't you read the chat in NL25? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[The_Bends]

Heh. One of the funny things about bonus whoring around is that I've heard people on every site on the net claim that flushes/straights catch more often on that site than any other.

[mason55]

How long does it take to get good at poker?

Forever. You will never be as good as you want to be. If you are then you should quit the game.