How can I go from breaking even to a positive amount?

I've been playing in free rooms for quite a while, then started watching the WSOP episodes, then started playing with friends on a nightly basis for quite a while, etc. Throughout that stuff, it really seemed to boil down to luck.

If you play with 2 others, and none of you are much better than the other, chances are, you'll break even in the end because over time, you'll each win 33.3% of the hands. This is what's happened to us, ignoring any small differences.

I put $20 in pokerstars recently and was playing at the penny tables on fixed limits, and just couldn't do more than break even. It was irritating and I read around online, one person recommended switching around tables till you found people at a lower level, and I did this, and it worked for just a bit.

Then, I found no limit tables, and realized that this is how I had been playing with my friends. I was doing very well, but made 2 stupid decisions, followed by 1 risky move (my full house lost to a 4 of a kind of ace's) and there went the rest of my $20. Looking back, yeah, I could have avoided those, but would have been at the same $20.

What should I do to go further? Should I grab some books on this topic? Any advice? $20 isn't the end of the world, but I don't like losing $20, heh.

hm..wow i feel you dude,,,same thing happen to me to0 so i decided not to play real money ..until i became good at it....play "free roll" tourney until u get really really good it ,its like training yourself to become a good poker player, for now i don think i'm ready for real money play yet just free tourney only *EARN SOMETHING OUT OF NOTHING*

im biting my toungue on this thread.

Welcome to the forum.

My advice is to play as much as you can and read as much as you can

Posting some hands you have played that you have questions about in the Hand Analysis section is a good way to identify where you have holes in your game as well. The articles here http://www.cardschat.com/poker-strategy.php, might allso be of help.

It takes time and patience to be a winning player, good luck with it

Good advice.

Aga (and Hoang), if you are even close to being break-even as a beginner, you are doing OK. Most beginners lose and, if they are careless with their money, they lose heavily. To prevent that, read up on Bankroll Management as your first study topic.

It`s a long road to being a winner. As Irexes says, it takes a lot of work and practice. Worth it if you love the game, though.

I'd have to agree breaking even and you are just starting off is definetly a positive note. When I started off online I was doing ok, but eventually would lose each deposit. This added up to a lot of money over time, but after enough practice, books read, advice, and observing good players I have became a winning player.

Good luck with playing and if you have any questions ask us. I have been a member now for a little over a month and have gained a lot of knowledge through these guys.

I've been playing around three years now. I deposited 25 into ultimate bet and never had to reload. However I've never really had any big cashouts. I've had a few but nothing what I would say is real money. For me it always seems as though luck takes over and you throw your money in with the best of it and maybe only 3 out 10 I win. I get a lot of donkeys that catch runner runner or get lucky on me hense the screen name "unlucky". It gets frustrating but keep at it as you get better it should turn around.

yeah i tend to break even atm, but im playing real money games because i got a free $50 with party poker. however these free tourneys sound good, i may try them.

i dont make alot of money but im gradually going upwards, although occasionally i make stupid calls like following some loose player all in thinking he is sitting on a pair, stupid really but it happens :P

Play whatever stakes you can afford to always lose at, and just keep playing tons of hands until you get good.

No.1 don't beat yourself up over losing w/a full house. You can count the number of hands that can beat you on 1 finger, lol.
However, as long as you play that will always happen becauce you can not play the nuts every hand. Therfore there is always "bad luck", or having the misfortune of getting a great hand when your opponet has a better one.
Learn to read or analyze betting patterns, types of hands that someone might have in certain situations, and when a high probablity exists know to check when you might bet, and or fold when you might call.
The skill of a good player comes for making these types moves.

Good-Luck, see you at the table I'm Mr PST on Full Tilt

P.S. If i raise always fold because i only bet the nuts, LOL

something tells me none of you know what your talking about : P not to be mean... but IF ur a great poker player... it means fairly nothing... just b/c uve won a wsop championship like greg ramer or joe hachem or anyone else doesnt me every single tournament u enter... ur gonna place high... i will give u guys some tips... but im not a perfect player although i have placed 4th in a 10,000 man hubbles hold em... what u need to do is not go all in with say pocket rockets... or pocket dueces for that matter pre-flop... u should wait and just maybe bet a little so the big blind doesnt check and get lucky... then after u raise a little and say u have pocket dueces... and a 3 5 and jack show up... just check... see wat others are doing... make sure u also know if people are bluffing... I hope this helps some people out... leave some feedback on this :P

Thanks for the replies everyone, I'll spend time around here, grab one or two books to get started, and keep looking online for more information. One of the articles on this site linked to an online magazine that we can view archives of, and I might as well do that because it doesn't cost anything except my time.

I do appreciate you posting to give me advice, but I actually have a tip for you. When you discuss/debate things online, who you are or what you've won generally doesn't matter unless you can prove it, and it adds to the discussion.

Like I said, I appreciate your advice, but you spent a third of what you posted on talking about how others aren't good, or what you won, a third on ellipses, and another third on more "technical" information and not generalized information to get me going.

I'm very active in online communities and sincerely hope I didn't come off rude, but I thought I'd let you know what I though.

wooow woow... slow down u got this all wrong... im saying... i did good in ONE tournament... and if u would ove read all the other posts above ud see what im talking about by the way these people say there "good" its hard to be good in every tournament... im not going to judge them... but im telling the guy that lost 20 bucks... dont worry dust it off... go in for another bit... :P... obviosly i also said... IM NOT A PERFECT PLAYER... i get mad alot at my play and i take it serious though even though i mostly play play money.

what a jem of advice this is here! and no paragraphs or anything, I think I lost some of my eyesight reading this.

ok so you are saying raise with 22 and then when a VERY VERY dry flop comes out like 35J we should check? wow is that ever a bad play. Im guessing you are a great player because you placed in a freeroll where 1/2 of the field is gone in 20 minutes. If you are not C-betting (that means continuation betting) this very dry flop then you are playing way too passive and will let people with hands like TT - possibly get you out of the pot.

You represented great strength preflop so why not postflop (that means after the 1st 3 cards come down). Sometimes it is correct to shove (push all in) preflop with AA because of the blinds in relation to your stack, like if you have 8 BB (that means big blinds) then pushing with AA is correct because we will get called by much weaker hands because of pot odds.

HEY WISE GUY,
i dont see u in any wsop... that means... world series of poker... U CHECK BET TO MAKE IT LOOK LIKE U HAVE NOTHING... if someone bets u know they have paired the board or have a hi card which in turn i said in there if u know some one is a bluffer... they could be bluffing... and im not gonna show u guys some pictures on pocket dueces... just go to google and type in pocket dueces... also... I HAVNT SEEN U TAKE 4TH IN A HUBBLES HOLD EM THAT TOOK 5 AND A HALF HOURS... loser

also... pocket rockets on the preflop in online poker are horrible... if u act. know what they are... yes they do win hands... but not as much as a 9 6 suited

thats because of personal issues is why I could not go this year which most who know me on here know why. I will be there in 2007 and will be at Borgata poker open. You check with 22 to make it look like you have nothing..... you do have nothing. You do realize that overcards will come out on the flop ummm 100% of the time with 22. You see because 2 is the lowest card in the deck, ace would be the highest.

and no people do not have to pair the board in order to bet into you. And you know why you havent seen me place in the freeroll, get this I play with this thing called M-O-N-E-Y.

This thread just crashed into a telephone pole.

really? this is the dumest thing I have ever heard in my life, so would you be willing to run your 96 suited against my AA 100 times for $10 a hand? please.

wanna know how sure i am? ill bet the 10 bucks on it...

ok lets run it 100 times so send 1k to one of the moderators here and I will also and winner takes it all. Because AA is a 80% favorite. thanks for giving me a new sig.

im about as sure that AA will win in the end as im sure you never have had a typing lesson in your life.

u may be going to these tournys with something called money... but money does not show true skill... gme 7 years and ill be in the wsop... meet me there... im not gonna say anything else to u... if u think ur the best... tell this carddschat to set up a heads up game on pokerstars... would be free b/c ud just sign up for it and i only have 5 cents... after losing 4 and a half bucks

ALSO... Y DO U SAY UR SO GOOD... POCKET ROCKETS WILL WIN... NOT ONLINE THOUGH... b/c its got a good straght and flush posibilities... unlike pocket rockets

why would I need to prove myself to you, people on here can tell how good you are compared to me by your mindless posts compared to mine in the HA section. If you honestly think 6-9 will beat AA over 100 hands well that pretty much proves you intelligence right there.

wow my sig is going to be a mile long after all the dribble you type, I never claimed to be good. You are the one going around saying you are good because you placed in a freeroll.

online or live the hand is the same. 80% favorite.


im almost tempted to send you money so you can lose it and I can laugh but since you are underage I dont want to get in trouble.

hey guys... im done with this site... obviously u guys are kinda rude... and u could come out and tell me things... not give me infractions... so if i get 2 points for begging? how many points do i get for saying...
**** YOU ALL U M***** ****ING C*** S****** SON OF A B******...? hmmm... no ones a pro on here... and no one will be b/c u all suck... delete this thread in a couple of min. ok mods

bye Pat good luck in your next freeroll. I feel somewhat satisfied.

Dang. I wanted that sig.

mods dont ban Pat


PLEASE

Storm please don't scare players like this away from here, we need some padding in the weekly tourneys, besides me that is. Now if only we could get him to deposit some actual money.

I was requested to come to this thread by my mentor.

Oops. Two/to/too late. Sorry.

Oh, and to save this thread from getting any worse I'm going to close it now. Think I'll leave it up for amusement sake, though (at least for now).