ok, here's the story. I feel like I'm a fairly good poker player. I have a lot to learn as well as we all. I'm 20 years old and have played for little over a year for off and on and have recently been playing daily. I've read 6 or 7 books on poker. Mostly the classics. I've played online only and I have always consistently won at the micro stakes, but haven't played over .05/.10.

I was on pokerstars but am now on bovada. I put 20 on a little over 3 weeks ago and have turned it into 120 so far on .02/.05. I beieve I have the potential to be a very good card player and would like to eventually count on it as a consistent check each month. Not millions, but something. I am a finance/accounting major at a respected University so I have the math background that a lot of the pro's that I see have. I own a small business that pays for things and keeps me going that only requires me to work 1 or 2 days a month so I have plenty of time on my hands and have decided I'm about to devote that to poker and see how far I can take it.

I come to you guys because I find myself having questions from time to time and this site I think will help out. I have a 120 dollar bankroll playing .02.05 (short hand). I am waiting to build that to 200 before i make the move to .05/.10. My first question is should I add some to that so I can start playing higher limits sooner. I have some extra money right now to put on here, but don't know if it will suit me better to just take the time to beat all the limits.

My weakness is tournaments. I know a little bit, but I want to master them so I know the proper play to in every spot. What books? Any tips?

Third, is I turn 21 in a few months and will be going to casinos and starting to play live. What do I need to know to make the transition successfully. Because I would like to avoid a learning curve. Any reading material on that?

Also, any advice is welcome. Any good book suggestions? I just want to become a complete poker player with the help of you guys.

What has made you better players?

Sorry for the novel, but have several questions that I have accumulated

also where do i post hands and situations here?

Hi goldtide, welcome to Cardschat!

I'm not a grinder or anything; I play very recreationally, but I can give you a little advice. I can tell you that there a lot of knowledgable people here who can help give you a lot of good advice, if you're willing to take the time to listen and work on your game. Let me give you a few things to check out here:

I would suggest taking a look at our Strategy Articles. There's a lot of great info there, and most of it is geared toward a somewhat beginning player such as yourself. The Golden Archives is another great section to look at. A lot of our best strategy threads and discussions are stored here. We even have some members available for coaching as well.

If you want to post hands for analysis, we have sub forums for that in both the Cash Games and Tournaments sections, depending on what type of hand you want analyzed or have a question about. Be sure to read the stickies in those sections to know how to properly title and post your hand (be sure to use our hand converter to make it easier for readers to review your hand).

Take a look around, and don't be afraid to jump in and ask questions in threads, or join in the discussions. I think you'll find that for the most part, Cardschat members are very helpful.

As far as cash games vs. tournaments, in most people's opinions it's best to pick one that you feel you excel at and work on that. You'll find of course that there are very different strategies to both.

Oh, and remember that as a new member, you have a daily post limit of 7 posts per day until you reach 65 posts, so make sure you use them wisely! If I think of anything else, I'll post more, but that should at least help get you started.

thanks! I didn't even know that strategy tab was there or I would have already read it. It looks pretty thorough as well

What books have you read?

I have played cards in US for 8 years. My early 20's I was a server and played live everynight for 4-5 hours at casinos with my tip money. I have played in brighton England, Ive played so many places. Live is tough to adjust to as you only play online. Its much slower, haveing patience is probally the toughest part. Also tells become more of a varible. But as far as poker period, the more Felt time you get, the more hands you see, the more you learn... Everyday you learn something new.... Good Luck!

[quote=goldtide;
My weakness is tournaments. I know a little bit, but I want to master them so I know the proper play to in every spot. What books? Any tips
Also, any advice is welcome. Any good book suggestions? I just want to become a complete poker player with the help of you guys.

I would recommend for tournaments (and I know lots of people will scoff) Phil Hellmuths book (which i read and then lost) I think it's called "Play Poker Like The Pros" which surprisingly enough says that the most important ingredient in playing tournaments is patience

AMEN PATIENCE! Also i recommend getting online poker stragy guide like full tilt for dummies... seriously man It is very informative, and it shows hand stats and probilities, and percentages, it also explains betting tendencies and avereges with starting hands, and what to expect simply by a raise preflop. its a great guide my friend stole it and I never got it back!

"Harrington on cash games" are the only good cash game books that I read when starting out

Originally Posted by goldtide

My first question is should I add some to that so I can start playing higher limits sooner. I have some extra money right now to put on here, but don't know if it will suit me better to just take the time to beat all the limits.

If you are not in any particular rush, I would grind my way up through the limits. If nothing else, it will give you more hands of experience and will likely help make it easier to understand and weather events such as large downswings. In my personal situation, it took about 4 months with an average of about 10 hours a week to go from grinding a $120 bankroll at 5nl up to a $1200 bankroll (25nl or 50nl) in a disciplined manner. Could the process have gone faster if I had deposited some money? Most definitely, but I would say I learned a lot during that stretch of about 250,000 hands, and there really is no substitute for experience.

I would also highly recommend you make a goal outline for what you want to accomplish in poker, how long you expect it to take, and how you plan to accomplish it. It will likely help your poker play if you treat it the same way as your business. You can sort of think of it as writing a business plan but for your poker -- a poker plan that will help you organize your play, your thoughts, and your approach.

In fact, as far as a poker book recommendation, many around here have suggest Dusty Schmidt's "Treat Your Poker Like a Business". Dusty sometimes makes posts here on CardsChat as Leatherass -- you may see him around from time to time.

Also, just to know where you're at, are you using or are you planning on using any poker tracking software (Hold 'Em Manager or Poker Tracker?)

also where do i post hands and situations here?

This is the cash game hand analysis forum:
http://www.cardschat.com/f50/ (http://www.cardschat.com/f50/)