Stuck...?

ok so i`ve been playing poker for over a month now. Read few books, articles, i play almost every day for many hours but i feel like i`m still not learning anything.. am i stupid or something? I qualified from few freerolls to play for money but never did too good in those.. I play too tight.. then when i get a good hand and decide to go all in with it since i have a small stack from increasing blinds i end up losing from somebody either holding an even bigger monster or sucking out on me... Is it my luck? I know i need to play a bit more aggressive and learn to read my opponents a bit better but i try and try and still nothing.. I`m starting to feel like maybe i wasnt ment to play this game? I watch some pokerxfactor games of few good people and they seem to play a similar way except they are more aggressive and sometimes very lucky. How do i make the next step up??? I`m starting to get annoyed i really dont like when i put time into stuff and i feel like i`m not getting any better.... I`ve started to play some $1 SNGs and i`m not even able to get to the final table... Have you guys been there as well? Am i expecting too much of myself having to play only for a month? I figure i read some books and play almost every day for hours i should at least be doing pretty good. Hope to hear what you guys have to say about it and how was your start?

nobody has anything to say?

One month playing is hardly anything so who knows but just playing doesn't necessarily make you better. Perhaps you're making the same mistakes and you're just playing but not getting better. Do you have Poker Tracker or some other way of evaluating your own game? Do you post HH here to get the opinions of others? Also I often find that reading a new book will throw off my game for a short period as I want incorporate new concepts learned usually in situations where they don't apply.

It takes time and real effort to get better, only if you won't commit to getting better should you stop playing. Oh yeah, and stop blaming luck. If you play enough and are still losing it's not bad luck just bad play.

Find a stat program and start making plays based on your opponent's statistics. This is a very good way to get started with reads.

i understand your frustration. but like you said, you been playin for a month. not nearly long enough to throw in the towel. one of the most important things to have in poker is patience, patience and more patience. the more you play the more you will see how important that is. yes its annoying when you play 5, 6 or more hours in a day and cant win a damn hand. yes its annoying when your opponent seems to play any two cards and win almost everytime. it would be great if you could just play for a short time, read a book or 2 and boom! your on way. the truth is your gonna have to put in time, lots of time to get better. there is no shortcut to this. the more you play, the easier it is to spot tendencies in your opponents and spot leaks in your own game. my advice would be hang in there, keep playin and you will get better.i wish you luck in your efforts.

Thank You guys.. I agree it takes patience and lots of experience.. The reason i question myself is because i`m not sure where i stand.I think(and correct me if i`m wrong) Poker sometimes is a game where you just cant tell if you are playing good or bad and that frustrates me. Am i doing the right moves? I read , i read , i read, i play and play and play.. I lose to some unlucky hand and start questioning was that a bad call? I realize that some tournaments are won because of lucky suck outs and stuff like that. I watched some pokerxfactor hand histories and i can see that but it is so hard to figure out if i`m on the right track. I know i`m not as aggressive as i should be, but when i start making moves i get burned so i go back to being tight. I guess this comes from experience. How many weeks/months do you think a person should play poker for to expect from yourself some top finishes in tournaments? Thanks guys for replies.

Again it doesn't matter how long you play if you're playing poorly. Post some of your hand histories for the forum to comment on. We'll give you a better idea of where your game is.

BTW, Don't just post obvious bad beats because there really is nothing you can do about someone catching the miracle card on the river occasionally. Look for hands you have problems playing and post them up.

minute to learn liftime to master, good luck

Ouch - biting my tongue to keep me from making a smart-a**ed comment .. .. so I'll try to be nice ...

A month...hmmm. I've only been playing since '69 when Binion's in Vegas was 'THE' poker room and 5 draw and 7 stud were 'THE' games to play and Holdem games were being played in the private game, invitation only rooms. Playing online for almost 2 years now. In both cases, I'm STILL learning and adjusting. (BTW - I am retired and usually play 6-9 hours a day online when I'm not at the casino poker room here.)

Reading books can help a lot, but in many cases the info you derive from reading won't mean a lot if you haven't experienced the hands they are talking about. That takes TIME, and a month isn't even close.

Think of it in terms of nascar or other pro sports. Does the rookie fair well in their first month of competition?

MTT's and MTSnG's are a tough guage of skill and ability if you want making a final table to determine how well you play. You are up against anywhere from 45 to 1000's of players and need to come out in the top 10-20% of ALL players. A standard Holdem FR on Stars starts with over 1,300 tables and you have to get into the top 11 tables for a ticket to advance. A FR at FullTilt starts with 2,700 players on 300 tables and you have to make it to 3 tables to get ITM.

I also 'ass-ume' you are playing mostly NL HE. Realize that NLHE online poker draws the largest group of donkeys ever assembled in the Universe and their primary gathering water hole is FREErolls and low-limit buyins. The strays navigate to the limit games.

Personally, I decided I would NEVER deposit online, and haven't. I have a small BR on Stars and Tilt, where I play 95+% of my online. 'IF' you can, or decide you 'want', to deposit online, try the micro ring games on
Stars. You are playing against 9 other players - only. Try the 'limit' micro rings and it won't commit you to making all-in decisions being pushed by donkeys with their 8,3os and A,rag sukout hands. See how you do there and then analyze your play.

You can also post HH's here as suggested, but that only gives you multiple suggestions, based on one hand, in one situation, in one position, against ONE set of players with ONE particular stack size.

The biggest 'key' that can be offered is - have patience. That includes waiting until you have been playing many months and have lots of results to consider. Best of luck to you - we all need lots of that, too, online...