Anyone lost money like me, or it's just me?

Ahh.. where do I begin...
Well, I didn't watch poker on ESPN or get influenced by any rich pro poker player like durrr or Phil Ivey. It started few months ago, I was a good kid never seriously gambled in my life except few cash games in snooker rooms. I hated gambling to be honest.
One night I was introduced to this video game called Governor of Poker, once i started playing it, I was like hooked to it. Whenever I had time I would just sit down for hours and finally managed to beat the game. After that I was convinced that I was good enough to try some hand in online poker.

Once I opened my first account in pokerstars, it seriously blew my mind with all the cash games, tournaments and everything. Thought I could double my cash easily,but I didn't know it was very fierce competitive world. I instantly deposited $10 and started playing sit and go games. I would win 1 out of 5/6 games, my target was to reach $100 on my bankroll. But I was depositing more and more to reach my goal. And then I realized I had deposited more than $1000 within a few weeks on pokerstars. After that pokerstars suspended my account forever saying my account is "High Risk" for them but didn't give me any reason for the suspension. I wrote them several times, their reply was same, it was final decision. But now I don't blame them, may be their decision stopped me from further wasting my money.

But I was not satisfied, after loosing that much, I wanted it all back, whether it may take me 6 months / 1 year or more. So I opened my account in 888, I tried fulltilt first but it is seized by government or something, so I decided to stick with 888. This time I was more serious, I downloaded and read many poker books to enhance my game, I learned about many pro poker players, spent hours watching hi-level games on youtube and live games of pro players. I made my first $10 deposit on 888, started playing cash games 0.5/0.10, within 3 days my bankroll was $30. But I was also playing tournaments with $1-$3 buyins, I know it needs real luck to win tournaments, but I wanted my money back as quickly as possible. So i think I have wasted my bankrolls on thoese games. After playing like 8/15 tournaments, I did went up to top 50, 3 times and once reached on final table. Again I was back to cash games 0.5/0.10.. and again I am depositing more often. Several times I sat down hours with $10 for better hand, I try to play very few hands, but it's my luck or whatever.. I get thrash cards.

I fail to build my bankroll everytime. I am not addicted to these games, I know I have enhanced my game, I can honestly say I am better than many other players out there. I am not addicted to game now, I have better things for entertainment. I just shut it off whenever I tilt. And I Sometimes think of quitting, but I not a quitter. No I never gambled my grocery money or borrowed friends money to gamble. No I dont have dreams of becoming top players, I just want my cash back and then I can think of conclusion after that. But I am just worried on a long run.. I might just go broke someday if it continues.

When I see clearly that I've been loosing money lately what I do is going to cheaper tournaments (I only play tournaments) Started with 50 euro deposit. And Yeap, I guess I had been lucky with fake money in Pokerstars and I tempted to think poker was so easy. I would start playing 1$ sti&Go and tournaments... And I was so lucky I remember the way I used to play and takes me a while to see why, but I won one of that 90 persons tournament. 22$. It looked fantastic, I was over my initial bankroll with my loose aggressive type of play with just some basic knowledge of initial cards (Better high than low no real attenttion to suited ones and any couple is just better than no couple... NO matter they are AK... I guess that resumes pretty much what was my knowledge at that moment concerning preflop hands).. Concepts like anything but putting all my money in as soon as I felt I had the best hand wouldnt go for me. Yeap... Just like that, I quitted playing 1$ tournaments when I was around 15$ left (From my more than 70 initial ones)... And yes I felt very stupid trying to recover through 0,10 tournaments (6,6$ to win if you bet the other 359 people in) all the money lost dollar per dollar... Even winning many of theese it is going to take me a while to recover my initial 50 euros. Well life wasn't so easy... When I reached less than 7$ I started to play this crazy pokerstars Sit&Go 0,02$ 990 players. Just yesterday I won my 3rd 4,40$... And I tell you... I AM GONNA GET MY MONEY BACK. Its just a matter of time. More important to me at this point is to learn the game anyhow...

You mention that you think you play with better cards than many of the guys that beated you. Well that is why they put money into the game, because they have a chance. That is what makes so much money going around this game.
I used to play backgammon I was so obsessed with the game that I seriously thought of dedicating myself to it. Forget it, anyone putting money in a backgammon game is at least an excellent backgammon player, not so for poker, anyone than knows how to play the game can play money on poker, because they do have a chance... Concerning some backgammon players, I tell you, if you havent read a couple books you have no chance execpt in what concerns to a miracle.

Quit making deposits, and a build a bankroll playing free-rolls. I haven't made a deposit in months, yet I still play virtually everyday. One suggestion is to go to a site, and look at the private free-rolls.
There are several clubs you can join. CardsChat is one of them.

watching live games of poker players will be of no help to you. Honestly, you are probably not better than everyone else and also you are playing outside your bankroll. Playing .5/.10 you want 25 buy-ins, or $250.

My advice, if you want to learn, is to move down to .01/.02, practice a lot, and read a lot here. You won't lose much and you'll learn more.

Miles and miles and miles of Felt, is what it takes... i think they suggest 300,000 hands before you deposit. It takes so much expeirience and patience man. just hang in there play freerolls, take them serious, and try and improve your game before you deposit again.

I echo the sentiments of cardriver above.

You state "It started a few months ago", so I am assuming you mean the Governor of Poker thing. (BTW thats how I started as well, great game IMO, but beat that and beating a pro is like racing go carts as a kid compared to a Formula 1 race). If you have really only been playing a few months, you may well be "better than many other players out there" but you are only better than the real bad ones. Yes, there are a lot of them, but there are quite a few good ones as well, and they will chew you up. Sounds like they already have.

Poker is an incredibly hard game to master, and it takes a lot of work. One thing that is imperative to have to become a constant winner is honesty. Find out why you are losing, find out where your weak spots are. Dont go around with the attitude "I am good, so losing is because of something beyond my control" cause it is not.

Try checking the hands where you have lost big bucks and analize them. Do this when you are not in tilt, and be as objective as you can. It can help you recognize your mistakes and do something about it to avoid them in the future.

I also agree with Cardriver...start with the lowest stakes cash games and try to work your way up USING PROPER BRM, it's the only way to stop depositing and losing money.

You need to accept that it will take a very very long time to get your cash back, otherwise you will always be chasing those losses and getting frustrated. Much better to forget about how much you have lost and concentrate on improving your game and enjoying playing imo

Oh yea, to answer your question in your title, no it is not just you. A lot of us have lost money. Its often the reason we end up in forums. ... To find out why, and maybe even do something about it..

If you're a losing player, the most likely reason is that you are NOT better than your opponents. Yes, it can be due to variance, especially when your sample size is small. However, if it's not, all you're doing is telling yourself you don't need to improve when the opposite is true, And even if it is true, you're still downplaying the need to improve your game.

Also, knowledge and at the table ability are related, but in many cases, are not the same. Knowledge is simply knowing something. At the table ability also involves knowing when and how to apply your knowledge appropriately, and when not to.

And once you lose money, it's gone. Focus on turning yourself into a winning player starting from now.

your in the majority of players...

If you cannot control your gambling habits, or afford to have them, then find something else to put your energy into.

Bank Roll Management! Depositing $10 to play 10nl is a sure way to go broke. Deposit $40 and play 2nl and you might go somewhere or play free rolls until you build a roll big enough to play 2nl.

I know you're trying to win it all back RIGHT NOW, but realistically that's just not possible. Slow and steady wins this race.

Wow, thanks guys... never expected such grand support from cardschat members. And what a relief I felt after writing my story here, I never told this story to anyone.. it was something I was holding inside and suddenly burst out when I decided to write it down here. My heart feels lighter now, I must do it more often to deal with my emotion. I did enjoy reading other stories in here and on other sites, which made me think I am not the only one with heavy losses.

I thought of dropping to 0.1/0.2, but on second thought.. that will certainly not improve my game, as I will be making easy mistakes, I won't be serious as in 0.5/0.10 games. I tried 0.1/0.2 before, I was raging and bluffing all over lol and loses didn't hurt much. I was more focused when I played that poker video game.

Today I just downloaded hold'em manager, I had learned about the program many weeks ago, but it was not working on my laptop. This older version works perfectly with 888. And today I sat down again in 0.5/.10 with my 10$ for 3 hours, I left with 29$. I looked in HM, and it was showing exactly how many hand I played and how much I won, It's exactly what I need.

Many thanks to cardschat and its members for the wonderful replies. I appolize for saying "I am better than many player out there", I am certainly not, but yes I am better than people who go all in with A/4, K/6 etc lol. I am constantly trying to improve my game. If I could just win everyday like today, I'll recover my money in no time.

You're going to lose it too. You could be Phil Ivey and easily lose a $30 BR playing 10nl. Variance is a bitch and it (or bad play) will keep causing you to redeposit.

Learn to beat whatever level you're playing. 2nl is so lol that you NEVER have to bluff beyond a cbet and you'll print money. If you can't beat 2nl for whatever reason you're never going to do it higher. So my advice would be to move down and adjust/learn to beat the game or blow through your current roll and uninstall all poker clients from your PC.

Those are the only 2 way you're going to get out of this without losing any more of your money.

gl

Note WVH snippet above "Slow and steady". You WONT win like today everyday. Some days you will play real good, make great decisions, and still lose. Some days you will go on tilt and make asinine moves and win. Patience and a desire to improve are you best friends ATM IMO.

Holdem Manager is MUCH more than how many hands and how much money. There are a lot of videos out in cyberspace about how the get the most out of HEM. I would spend a lot of time learning how to spot your leaks, since you now have HEM. But, TBO, I think HEM is not what you need to be concentrating on right now.

You comment about not being serious cause of the stakes is very worrying. You need to be serious at any stakes. There is a difference in the way you play 2nl and 5nl and 10nl. Each has a dynamic and each table has a dynamic. But there should be no difference whatsoever in your concentration or your level of "seriousness"

And sometimes people who go all in with a marginal holding are better than you may at first suspect. (But at those stakes, probably not...lol)

^^ This...is very good advice

Deposit $1000, go to high stakes table, offer to pay someone a 3% vig on a 1K flip (Go to 2p2 and find someone if you want a player of repute, urubu111 is known for his flipping tendancies if you search for him, you'll probably have to send vig first). Sit them and losses gone if you win.

DITTO. Exactly my thoughts. GL

^^^^ This is right

Are you beginning to see a pattern yet

For what you said, the problem that I can see is that you, like many persons, always want to recover the lost money fast!! And, we all know, that this is not a good choice because we ended up doing bad decisions that we would not make if we were playing our best. Also, you said that you start with $10 deposits wanting to recover more than $1k that you lose, that's difficult. If you only want to make $10 deposits, I
suggest to you, win this $10 in freerolls and then play with this money.

The first thing you should do is read and absorb all you can
about Bankroll Management.
IMO , this is the first step to becoming a poker player , with many more to follow.

i concur with the wise ppl here... WVHillbilly gave you great advice,
me, when i started playing i deposited and lost (and won) lots, but if you have to keep depositing- something is wrong

with new child i gave up depositing and started freerolling....which i still do to this day, even tho I have created a bankroll on almost a dozen sites now- out of nothing.(and many many hundreds out there still and about 2k in cashes)

BANKROLL MANAGEMENT is a key factor to learn (which I still mess up sometimes(dropped 888 from 50$ to 3$ last couple of sessions(some tilt, some I want it back NOW, some bad bad beats, and some variance))), but i have taken 888 to 100$ from under 10$ 3 times now- peaking at 600$ and a cash of 300 (100 i redeposited- and am still earning bonus cash)

read,research, look at hand histories, and ASK QUESTIONS- post more, ask was this the right play, get more advise...even the pros gotta keep learning...
and beats happen, but with BRM and the right plays at the right times, you will start winning more than you lose.
PS PATIENCE is also key- you wont win it all back in 1 night (tho possible )
gl, welcome to the forum...dont be a stranger
mic

Hi thanks again. I am happy to say that my bankroll is now 40$. I played hours and hours, without loosing my focus and played very smart. Yes there were times when I was almost back to where I started, but I didn't shut off my laptop or let it effect my mind. After analyzing previous games, i just figured that I was folding too many hands, suspecting they might have bigger cards.. although I was playing very few premium hands, folding too many times after calling was the biggest problem of all..it was taking half of my money from the table, then I'd eventually go frustrated and start calling/betting with mid level cards, that's when they'd pwned me with powerful pairs, 2pairs, straights and three of a kind.
And going all the way with A/A or K/K was a very bad idea, most of the time if I don't force them to fold, they'd come up with straights, even if you hit 3 of a kind.

I am reading another ebook right now called "Treat your poker like a business", it's a very good ebook, i am really impressed. Thanks to everyone for wonderful advices.. I think I am finally understanding the rhythm. May be after a week or so, I will share my progress ... thanks.

In the book you're reading Dusty recommends a BR of 100 Buy-ins before moving up. Yet you continue to think it's possible to play with 3 or 4. Redeposit in 3..2..1

hi WVHillbilly, I am not sure If I should drop to 0.1/0.2 at the moment, because it will take me forever to reach 40$, and I am totally sure that I'll start playing bit careless on those tables, never improving my game. But I will take your advice.. If I ever have to deposit again, I'll definitely drop to 0.1/0.2 games. I really appreciate your advice and I will write my progress here in one week, Thanks again.

Your logic is seriously lacking. I play 10NL (when i play cash) and some of the play is awful. I don't then think it's going to take me ages to win $1k so I may as well play $200NL when I have yet to beat any level and I'm under-rolled.

FYP

Maybe so 'but' he "wants to win/get his money back".. it'd take forever to do this playing 2nl.
OP, I mention this ^ because I think you need to change the thinking.. 'forget about the money'.. work on getting better at the game & the money will take care of itself.

San, seriously, you are suffering from a form of tilt. "I HAVE to make my money back"

Its a sure fire recipe to lose more. Win at lower stakes first. Get your game together. Your thinking is not congruent with winning long term.

San i got a Question Did you do alot of bluffing in that video game??
2nl is better starting point, most play the same way in 10nl. Don't try to bluff in low limits.
And as stated before, start out in some freerolls and build your BR.

Derail:

OK, I keep reading these content-less one liners from you, and then read you complaining about posts being deleted and your post count will never rise etc. You have been given tips and hints, as well as links. (and maybe you even got a PM IDK.)

If you have nothing to say bot non-content generic stuff, then dont be surprised when these are deleted and your post count does not rise. From a comment you made about not getting your post count up to the limit for the freeroll club, I can only assume that is why you are here and posting. The freeroll club is for people who are interested in learning poker, and become active members of this forum, which means they take part in discussion, not just glance at threads, make mundane remarks that show a total dis-interest in the actual discussion. These players often improve, advance to a stage where they no longer play freerolls (sometimes anyway...lol) and then start giving back - in the way of their combined experience and knowledge.

Now, if you dont get it this time, there aint no helpin ya.......

end derail/rant

+1

I was down about €1k after my first 3 months of poker. Financially there was no way I could keep that up. I took some time off to read and practice at the lowest stakes, and haven't had a losing month since then.

Honestly, BRM isn't just about not going broke, it's about not checking the cashier after every hand, not thinking, "hmmm if I lose this pot that's 1/3 of my bankroll gone".

I only wish someone had told me to stop and think a bit earlier, so I would be an extra €1k into the black now!

I lose all the time online, but do real good in live play, gee go figure.

San,

1. Stay with CardsChat, reading, posting and learning to get in the Freeroll Club. Then you can play and learn against some quality players representing the best of the skills necessary to better your game.

2. DO NOT, start playing tons of freerolls on the major sites. My reasoning stems from the logic of Roy Rounders Below:


3. Be patient.

GL...
CAMurray

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