Where to go $52 BR/Interpoker Q's/Beginner Querys

[iNsChris]

Hi,

I read homers beginner post and I’m fairly confused as to what I should do next.

Here’s my short story:

I joined Ukpoker with $20, Built up to $40 and withdrew my original deposit.
I took a bad beat and dropped to $4, I reanalysed my game, Read posts, Read ITH etc and built this back up to $52 currently on 0.05/0.10 games.

Today I played around 600hands(Less I think, My counter got reset due to software glitch) and have won $4.08.

I’m fairly confidant at this limit but know I have leaks in my game. Possible ones are:

1, sometimes playing scared (I’m a tight player, 80% Preflop Fold usually)
2, Being “Money” Obsessed rather than playing poker, But am fixing this.
3, not to good at reading opponents, I’m ok but seem at micros a lot of “Fish” call with random hands and are very hard to guess what they hold.

My ultimate goal is get to a limit i’m happy with, Making a nice profit daily and playing perfect (or near perfect) poker game as I possibly can. Would love to get to $2/$4 stakes eventually.

Books I’ve read: ITH, Will soon read Advanced poker by Slansky.

Anyhow, Progress at 0.05/0.10 games is slow, Specially if i’m building my BR up to $200 (As gregs beginner post recommended). Trouble is Ukpokers .10/.20 table(1 table) is hardly ever used and I did play and win $4 (joined $5 got to $9) but next day I lost my $5 joining cash and left. I took a lot of badbeats to a maniac calling with 78o, 34s etc and hitting lots of straights etc but it knocked my confidence.

I also feared losing as I clicked raise when holding AA as it seemed so much money, But I kept to my tight game and unfortunately didn’t work out the 2nd time.

So i’m not sure where to go? Don’t I want to take full advantage of bonuses?

Interpoker looked good, But the minimum games are $.50/1 isn’t $90 way to small of a BR to play these?

What site should I move to? With how much of a BR? What books should I buy now (if any)?

Generally looking for guidance, Thanks – Much appreciated.

p.s. Ukpoker doesn’t given good hand histories, I feel i’m not progressing due to this as well. Thanks.

[Pov]

I can't advise you on your main questions (sorry) because I've never played at this level, but I do think I have a few general poker things I can mention that will help you nonetheless.

First, I don't know anyone who shows a reliable daily profit from poker. I am relatively pleased with my overall winrate and I frequently have losing days and losing weeks. Looking back month to month I have done well, IMO, but if I was trying to pay monthly bills with my earnings it would never work - at least not with the number of hands I play.

If I'm allowed to speak his name, I believe bisonbison managed to limit his losing streaks to under two weeks in length while he was playing pro. He played between 1000 and 3000 hands per day, though, which is what I shoot for in two weeks. Also, his winrate was probably much better than mine which would further reduce the length of his downswings.

The point is - downswings can easily last more hands than you have probably played in your career so far. It is crazy and very difficult to understand. I've been playing quite a while now and I still don't get it all the time. Once you grok this you'll begin to understand how tough it is to make money at this game even casually.

Okay, so I never made it past the first thing, but this is a big thing and I've got to go get something to eat. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] Good luck wherever you take your bankroll, but take care of it!

[bluefeet]

I don't have stock in the company or anything, but I would recommend PokerStars. I believe there is a deposit bonus going on right now (you'd have to check the website for details).

What I do know is they have plenty of micro-stakes limit and no-limit (30+ tables of each .10/.25 & .25/.50).

Another fairly new feature is the Instant Hand History (under Requests in the main lobby). I'm a no-limit sng player, but I too play fairly tight (I like the word 'patient' better). A great way to spend the time folding is make player notes using hand-history. Within 15min or so, I have notes on everyone. Without fail the majority come into play when I choose to play a hand. IMO this is also an excellent way to stay 'in the game' when you're not in a hand.

For every hand called through the river, I'll note what people raised with, called with, etc. Not many players mix things up as they should, with a little work you can pick up on habits. These notes are permenant -- the next time you sit down with them you'll have some interesting reading [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

I have to be honest I'm not a big limit player. But 80% sounds a tad too tight - especially in limit. In addition to the premium hands, limit is ideal for limping with connect or loosely-connected suiters.

Not sure about where you play now, but PS also offers a mix of 6 & 9 seaters. Perhaps someone can speak to what might be advantagous to limit players, but the 6-seater sng's are ideal for my tight(patient)/aggressive style.

BR. If at all possible, I wouldn't even explore cashing out quite yet. Consider your $50 deposit a one time expense on your road toward poker greatness. As it sounds like you're gathering, the fixation on BR, +/-, etc. can be detrimental to your play. I don't know if you've seen it yet, but certainly you will -- chat that looks like this.... "damn cash-out curse! i never should have cashed out, i can't win, this site is rigged, etc.etc.etc.". Statistical varience is a given. Random is random over infinity. When things aren't running your way - the constant check on the ol' BR will kill your game. The word 'tilt' comes to mind. Play the game you know how to play. Remain confident in your decisions regardless of the outcome. A 'bad beat' or two is not bad if you made the correct decisions in the hand.

This is certainly a bit contrary to the previous paragraph, but I would recommend recording your activity. Create a spreadsheet keeping track of your sessions, keep notes on the sessions. Both good results and bad results are worth noting. While you will be exposing yourself to your ever changing BR, you can reflect on both the upward & downward swings...."played like zen tonight", or "chased a few too many flushs", "played well but the cards just didn't fall right". More specific is fine of course, but a little daily affirmation can go a long way toward maintaing your convidence, or pointing out self-discovered flaws.

Books, etc..........can't really help you here. It sounds like you have a handle on basic strategy. Continue to look at hand-history posts on this forum, post a few of you own when you're looking for feedback.

Good luck to you.

[iNsChris]

Yeh i had a big loosing streak early on, I really fear these lol.

So what limit do you play then? I play around 600 - 1000 hands a day current, Have alot of spare time at the moment.

Thanks, Look forward to your reponse and many others.
p.s. I read BisonBison's post, Very inspiring - I dont have $400 to chuck into poker though [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

[Pov]

You're playing a lot more hands per day than I gave you credit for. I was just assuming the 600 in your post was a big day. Most people posting here are playing like 100 hands every couple of days or something - then when they lose money for a week or two they go on tilt and jump up limits and lose their whole bankroll.

I flop around in limits a lot. I started at .50/1 and worked my way up to 3/6. I think I was doing okay at 3/6, but my first real losing streak freaked me out. I've had bigger ones in terms of BB's, but when the BB is $6 it just seemed like a lot more money and I felt too emotionally invested in my earnings or losses to keep playing "my game" regardless of how I was running like I know I should. So now I mostly switch up between $1/$2 and $2/$4 and cash out extra money from time to time when I want to buy myself a present. Part of me really wants to know if I can make it at the higher limits, but realistically I'm actually happier at the lower ones for now. I still play $3/$6 and $4/$8 live.

[iNsChris]

Hi guys thanks for responses, I seem to play 400handsperday Minimum.

I make notes whilstimnot playing, I.e. ill type out for one guy(after seeing say 10 hands).

"Starting hands: 78o, 45s, DontRaise AKo Etc" if they follow these patterns.

Also paste handhistorys into note box to give exmaplesof their game play etc.

How much should i go to PokerStars with? Interpoker stakes seem to high, Although their bonus looks very nice. But i fear id lose it playing those stakes and be backcrupt.

Thanks.

[Pov]

I think playing for stakes that are too high is your primary concern if you're not wanting to reload. I really struggled with the concept of why I needed 200-300+ big blinds when I was starting out. It just seems like there is no way you could lose that much without doing something drastically wrong, but you can. Of course that doesn't mean you aren't doing something drastically wrong either! I think that's why it can be so difficult to learn to play winner poker - without a strong grasp of the theory you can't really tell if you're losing because you're unlucky or because you suck. That's why you need to post hands in the micro forum. They will be quick to tell you if you are making mistakes. Do not fear criticism - post and learn from your mistakes - it is probably the quickest and best way to learn.

So getting back to bankroll - I would strongly recommend you not try $.50/$1 yet. Go for a combination of .05/.10 and .10/.25 games until you build up to $150 or $200, then hit the .25/.50 tables. The 300 BB rule is really a good one both mathematically and psychologically. You're much less likely to do something stupid after losing 10%-15% of your bankroll in a bad stretch than you are if you lose half of it.

Playing 400 hands a day it really won't take that long to reach these levels and the patience you learn will serve you well. Just remember, winning 3 big bets per 100 hands is good! This is going to take a while.

[Greg J]

Homer's post is good if you have a few hundred bucks and want to grow it into a few thousand. Homer's post is not good advise on someone with $50. I made a guide you might find helpful. It seems tailor made for you. Here is a link. This shows you how to take full advantage of the bonuses.

As far as improving yr game goes, become a regular on the micro forum. Read and study hands. Also, Ed Miller's book is a must.

[JunkHead]

I seem to remember in another post of yours that you've spent $200 on poker books. Sell them all but SSHE on eBay and put the money you make into a site with micro-limits. Instead of reading eight books on Hold 'Em you would be better off reading SSHE and getting experience by playing micro-limits.

JunkHead

[JKDStudent]

I followed Homer's post at the end of December. I had $100, but I only used $50 (Will Hill was first, since it was hourly), then while I was waiting for my PIN to transfer that back to Neteller, I put the other $50 on another site. Once I built up on the Cryptos, I hit Paradise, then Party, recently did Empire (and have rakeback there, so that'll be my primary non-bonus site). I've continued to go back to the Cryptos. Now that the semester is over, I'll be playing a lot more and hopefully more of my bankroll growth will come from play as opposed to bonuses.

Homer's post worked for me, but there are two problems with the strategy as it stands. First, the Crypto bonus structures have changed. They now require a lot more hands to clear. Second, with the introduction of micro-limits, the 1/2 tables (which are the minimum you have to play to clear the bonuses) have become very weak-tight. To give you an idea, since the beginning of this month, I've played 1,730 hands at Crypto skins. Only 1,046 were raked.

I would suggest, if at all possible, taking $200 and just skipping the Cryptos. Go straight for the Granny Bonus at Paradise. If you're only willing to use the $52, then go to one of the Party Skins and play there.

One other suggestion: Royal Vegas gives you $10 free. I signed up there and played three SNG's. I think I got something like 1st, 3rd, and 1st, and I am NOT a tournament player. This was also prior to reading any poker books. I don't know if that's representative of their games, but if it is, you should be able to build up at least something there. And if not, it wasn't your $10 to begin with. Just learn from my mistake and don't save your password on the computer, lest your little sister start playing without realizing that it's real money until she loses all but $1.73.