Losing too much money...

[dimitrix]

I fairly new to poker... Ive been playing for about 3 months, and i really want to get better and improve my game. Ive read a couple of books, try to count odds and I play fairly tight. The problem is i cant stop losing money. I had to re-buy 3 times this past week. I dont think im playing bad, and i think i have a good understanding of the game. Whenever i have a monster hand , it seems like i always lose it on the river.... usually to a weak flush. These big hands I play very aggressive so when i lose on the river it costs alot...
any advice would help ....

[dimitrix]

some more info.

I play very tight pre-flop. Always try to see the flop cheaply.

I dont play many suited connectors... havnt had much luck with them.

play less hands in early positions.

it seems like when i have a QJ ... AK falls on the flop.

I play .50/1.00 and preflop raisers has been the death of me

[thirddan]

post some hands in the micro forum that are giving you trouble. Most likely you are not playing as tight or as well as you think.

[Songwind]

You might want to move to a lower limit where the losses won't be as financially damaging untilyou're more confident.

[ewile]

[ QUOTE ]
some more info.

I play very tight pre-flop. Always try to see the flop cheaply.

I dont play many suited connectors... havnt had much luck with them.


[/ QUOTE ]

1)You need to raise fairly frequently pre-flop. Seeing every hand "cheaply" is a big mistake.

2) suited conectors are often fine to be played. Particularly in a loose, passive game you are loosing by not playing them

3) You need to move to a site with real micro-limit games and play the cheapest possible games (ie. .05/.10) untill you can beat them.

4)post hands in the micro-limit forum.

[RED_RAIN]

[ QUOTE ]
havnt had much luck with them.

[/ QUOTE ]

You haven't played enough hands. AK you could lose 90% of the time in a small sample, doesn't mean you should play it.

[fluff]

How is your bankroll for .5/1? Ideally you should have $300 (300 Big Bets) for that level, and that way you will be comfortable with short term loses. If not, you should move to lower limits.

How much do you buy in for each game? Ideally you should buy in for at least $25 with a rebuy handy if you drop below $10.

Now to repeat some of the better advice already given: Go post some hands in the microlimit section. Especially hands that you thought you played well. Also spend some time reading some of the hands posted there.

[helpmeout]

1. Play free money games while you learn the basics. Learning to fold 80% of your hands preflop is a good skill to learn especially when everyone calls with anything.

2. When you can smash the freemoney tables go to micro limits. I'd suggest pacific poker as the easiest place to start your bankroll. Make sure you start with a 300BB bankroll minimum.

3. Move up when you have 300BB for the next limit, move back down when you lose 100BB.

4. Read, analyze and practice.

[RED_RAIN]

[ QUOTE ]
Make sure you start with a 300BB bankroll minimum.


[/ QUOTE ]

I know many people post this because they saw someone else write it. I also think a lot of people didn't start with 300 BBs.

I know I didn't, I had a lot of play money poker experience and lots of home game real money low NL experience. I started with $100 and never went broke.

Yes 300 is for people to give cushion, and for bad runs of cards. I've stated it before, if you play .5/1 or below, and have a run of over 150 BBs downswing, I would like to review all your hands for that downswing as I question the player not the 300 BB rule. I think the player has weaknesses that he should study more and play less till he thinks he has these done. If you do proper research, then I think you can start with less than 300 as I didn't want to start with $300 into something I wasn't sure I would even like.

[helpmeout]

If you wanna go broke and continually put money into your account, tilt more often because you are underfunded then start with less than 300BB.

It is easy to lose 100BB and for a beginner with little knowledge of variance it is much better to start with a 300BB or more.

Sure someone with a lot of experience playing well below their limit can play with much less.

But a beginner with minimal experience its best to play it safe.