Some questions for the micro players.

Do you just play poker just for fun ?
-For the most part I play for fun, but I do take it serious and try to play properly.

Do you ever intend to move up in limits and how do you intend to do this ?
-Yes I plan on moving up limits, I intend to do this by making enough money to make it feasable within my bankroll.

Have you a solid plan of action to move you game to the next level ?
-At first I didn't, but in the New Year I decided to use "Bonus Whoring" to help to achieve this. I have a very limited budget as I am saving to go back to school, so poker money is very thin. I deposited $50 at Poker.com to take advantage of thier relatively easy to clear bonus and recently withdrew $120. Now I have moved $100 to Ultimate Bet and I hope to clear my bonus there. Basically taking advantage of bonuses to get my bankroll started.

Do you find yourself tilting and calling against the odds too much ?
-I used to do this a lot, which is why my first couple deposit's were lost, I have managed to get away from this recently, and when I find myself tilting I just suht down poker and go to the gym.

Do you re-deposit on a regular basis, and why do you think this is, are you constantly losing ?
-I deposited $25 twice on pokerstars about a year ago, lost it both times. Recently though I final tabled one of thier 10 FPP $250 tournies, then made a couple final tables in $4.40 180 people and withdrew $100. Earlier this year I deposited $50 in Poker.com as per my plan above. This would make me currently about even poker wise, adn though it isn't uch I'm quite proud of myself.

Would you perfer to be playing at a higher limit because you thing youll win more money from the "better" players ?
-Better players doesn't mean more money. I would like to move up in limits and play better players because of the challenge involved that appeals to my competitive nature.

Do you find yourself taking "shots" at a higher limit ?
-Nope, when I started my plan above I played at $10NL (to much for my bankroll, but the lowest level that I could clear a bonus at) and I haven't moved up yet. When I get my bankroll to an acceptable level to play $25NL I will move up (I would like $300+ to be comfortable)

Do you (or can you) identify leaks in your game, do you even bother to look ?
-Yes and no. I have been reading books and of course following the helpful advice from this forum (other forums too) and I review my hand histories. But I realize that I need to do this more and I need to get Poker Tracker, but for now it just isn't in the budget.


Good post, I enjoyed reading the other replys and replying.

I'm liking this thread more and more, tb, especially if you have further plans to come out of this. Two things I find interesting.

One is that people claim not to have made many deposits. Now that may be untrue (selective memory, embarrassment), or it could true and is due to the fact that the type of people willing to hang around CC and / or are willing to take the time to respond to this thread are the type of players that have decent skills and bankroll management. The players doing a lot of redepositing are either not the CC type or are not interested in a thread like this or may be unwilling to post, which is fair enough too. Although, if you're planning some followup to this using the feedback so far you might keep in mind the potential response bias.

The other interesting thing for me is the view of micro limits as "grinding it out". I guess I could see this at the 0.01/0.02 tables but for me the $10 NL has sufficient risk/reward so it's not a grind, but that's just me.

I said that. I guess the assumption was that most people would like to move up in limits if they could. But I can see by some of the responses to TB's questions that that isn't always the case. I look at the different levels as rungs on a ladder with the goal of someday reaching the top. It's not about the money though. If it were I'd be spending all my time and effort in researching stocks and bonds, not poker. For me it's all about challenging myself. It's about finding something that I can do outside my job and homelife that has no upperl limit to how much I can improve. I've never met or heard of a great poker player that says, "I'm as good as anyone can be".

With that in mind I am constantly analysing my game, reading and learning about the game, and experimenting with different techniques and styles of play. Strangley enough, I think that is my greatest leak. I rarely stick to one format for long. I might spend a month playing hands like a mad man and then another as tight as a ducks ass. A few months ago I started playing limit and had to reload several times before I got the hang of it. Actually, I never got the hang of it.

But the ugly truth is that although I feel I'm a strong (not great) NL player, I've never been able to break out of the lower limits. After more than 2 years I just seem to be treading water. Oddly I do better at $1.00/$2.00 than at .50/1.00, and better at that than .25/.50. The pattern holds all the way down to .05/.10. So why not just skip right over the lowest limits, right? A couple of reasons. 1) I'm not willing to risk large amounts of my familys money on a venture and 2) As aggrevating as the LL's may be, I feel a good player should be able to beat the game and the rake at any limit, and I see the higher levels as a reward for mastering the lower limits. As of yet I don't believe I've earned it.

You might have been one to say it, Four Dogs, but I know you're not the only one who thinks it. And, in a few months from now or a year from now I might think the same thing.

I think I would find it a grind to play at the 0.02/0.05 or 0.01/0.02 level exclusively from where I play now, so I guess I can relate, and similarly I find it difficult to play those levels because of the unpredictability and the higher disregard for things like pot odds, partly because less players consider them, but also because the cost of calling/bluffing is lower. I should assume there is some degree of improvement in those areas gradually as you move to more expensive levels.

I could put money into my bankroll and move up to another level, but I'm cheap, and I want proof that it's a valid investment. Maybe if I don't test the waters above I won't find out, but I guess I'm just happy mucking around where I am right now.

Everyone tilts. Someone who thinks that they don't, haven't looked hard enough.

Good thread.

Oh, and that Shinedown has heard "define solid" from a woman in bed, is more than I needed to know.

I said I never tilt, which I guess is a lie.

I suppose my game will get affected slightly if things are not going my way but I never get mad and if I think my play is getting weak I am out.

Being tired, playing for too long, trying to get even, trying to get back at somebody, getting angry, not really thinking about what we're doing but acting on impulses...

It's rare that I get mad, but it happens. Being mad is not a problem, though, playing differently because of it, is. Tilt, to me, is any emotional or psychological state that makes us play any less than our best.

Do you just play poker just for fun?

It started out that way after watching Late Night Poker on Channel 4 at stupid o'clock back in the day, but fell in love with it and realised there's gold in them thar hills!

Do you ever intend to move up in limits and how do you intend to do this?

I'm currently playing .$10 NLHE, playing under rolled as I know I can beat the level comfortably. I did have a $400 roll and had to surrender my BR for financial reasons. I built that up playing at this level from $25. Once I hit my 300x buyin level, and have achieved a comfortable level, say 7.5k-10k hands beating the level, i'll move up again.

Have you a solid plan of action to move you game to the next level?

As above, but got it from several BR threads and mainly this article:

http://www.cardschat.com/poker/lessons/bankroll


Do you find yourself tilting and calling against the odds too much?

Not really. I learned to deal with tilt a long time ago. If i'm outplayed, then I'll give the player props. If its a bad beat, then i'll give the player props and win my money back later.

If I lose a couple of pots when I know I should have done better (probing bet/folding etc) and i'm getting angry because of the result then I turn the computer off. I go and get angrier at attempting to play Pro Evo 6 on my Xbox 360. I won't come back until i'm completely calm and sorted again.

Calling against the odds is a problem i'm attempting to remove, but I find myself only calling against the odds when I know the player i'm against is a) reckless and probably doesn't have much of a hand anyway, so i'm probably ahead or b) weak enough to push off a hand with a semi-bluff on the turn/river.

Do you re-deposit on a regular basis, and why do you think this is, are you constantly losing?

Sort of, I remove my BR as a last resort to a tight financial budget, and when times are good again i'll re-deposit. If I can't afford a deposit, I freeroll it.

Would you perfer to be playing at a higher limit because you thing youll win more money from the "better" players?

I started out at the beginning playing £50 or £100 tables, but my winning was sporadic and was losing more. I now know to play at such levels you need to be sufficiently rolled to deal with a bad streak.

Do you find yourself taking "shots" at a higher limit?

Nope. Time and a place for it, but i'm not risking my hard fought BR at a higher level to lose an inproportionate amount.

Do you (or can you) identify leaks in your game, do you even bother to look?

I attempt too, I have PT and read as many guides to use it as possible. I also read as many hand analysis & bad beat postings as possible to see if there is anything i'm doing thats a mistake, or trying to learn of any tips/tricks I can incorporate to my game, as well as buying/analysing poker books.

If that's the definition of tilt, then yes, I definitely tilt, whether it be because I've got two decent hands at the same time while multitabling and I start to panic, or because the table is boring and I start reading CC threads/checking email/etc. instead of paying enough attention.