Alright, Alright, Alright......

Ok i just cn't seem to step up my game....I am getting on tables with very aggressive players and almost fold immeditaly unless i have a ver strong hand post flop. I just started playing June 2008 or so and already lost a but load of money trying to learn the game. I tried learning in the play money games but it seemed to me that people pretty much just played anything.. I am not looking to make a fortune but i would like playing to be self suffient. I am not sure i unserstand potition or how to get a good read specially online. SO HOW DO I STEP IT UP. I play stakes 1cent 2 cent ring games and my tourney averge buy in is 4 or less. i tend to stay away from sng and recently noticed my i finish in the top 50% of the feild but just can't sseem to hit the money. Lastnight was m best finish in a couple of months 240 ish out of 4081 with 64 plces pying out. my best is 1rst in a 180 sit n go. i just orderedd two books phil gordons little green book and daniel n on tourey ply. is there anything out there book was that is better and mabe pertains more to the internet than live games. thx. also u can see my stats on poker rankings under ding566. please some solid advice would help thx.....

Doyle's Supersystem would probably be the best way to start here if you are just learing. Use the options the site gives you too with making notes of other players and how they play. Make a habit of tracking your play and start remembering how you played a hand and what decision you made at that time and see if it applies to the present and what would you do different if you lost or won the hand.Your mind is the best thing to use when playing this game. Your knowlesge will serve you well in the future but you cannot expect to hit big when you just started playing. What you see on TV with WSOP or WPT events does not happen for a lot of people just starting out. Read as many books as you can to help with your play and not just from the same author either cause everyone of them has a different style. You also have to develop your own style of play too. Once you have done this and learned from your mistakes you will become a much better playing.But there is a lot of truth in the statement is very true that NL hold'em takes a minute to learn but a lifetime to master. Even the great Doyle Brunson learns something new every time he plays and he is 73 years old.Better luck to you.

Hi Ding,

I've noticed you've dropped from the higher buy-ins to the 25 and 10-cent tourneys. That may be too low. IMO they're only slightly better than playing freerolls.

I rarely play ring games, so I can't offer any advice there.

Looking at your OPR stats, I'd say you're too tight. Your early-middle and middle finishes are way out of line from just the average.

Just a couple of questions:

***Do you find yourself pretty short on chips by the first break?

***Do you findyourself allin pre-flop right around the break or in the second hour most of the time?

If that's the case, then you're probably playing too tight.

I'd recommend the FTP Tournament Strategy book and google "Bond18" and read his 18 part series on "Things it took me a while to learn."

GL

I sounds like you are not doing a heck of a lot wrong early in your tournament Playing premium hands early is a sound way to go. As the tournament progresses you need to change your style and play a wider range of hands with a little more aggression, esp when your getting near the money stage. If your in late position and there are no raises before you try a decent raise you may steal the blinds uncontested , players with lower stacks will often fold just to "hang in there" . If you are called dont be afraid to put a bet out if you miss the flop . The flop rarely hits anyone when its heads up. Getting a read on players just takes practice no shortcuts there . After 15 - 20 mins at a table you should be able to pick up patterns on players by how much they bet preflop , what they do when they hit the flop etc , size of bets . If you make it to the final table then a lot of its down to luck. When you get a decent hand and sense a bit of weakness in the other players get as many chips in as you can .
Thats my advice you should get plenty more so good luck

Your right about the play money tours. On FT you gotta get to the 10k buy in to get any decent practice out of them (not sure bout the other sites). I also Like to do the Matrix tours for play money while waiting for real monney tours. It gives me a chance to make all the stupid moves I know I shouldnt make, but have a hard time resisting.

Harrington on holdem is a top notch book for tourney play, give it a look

I would stay the hell away from freerolls and super-microstakes. Anything where people will call you with ANYTHING. Unless, you want to master the donk tournaments which, in my opinion, is mastered by super-tight play; patience; and, surfing the net.

If you got a little more money to blow, I would invest it in more serious games. But, not too serious.