My online poker resume so far....Suggestions?

Hello all,

I joined this site a couple weeks ago when I started playing online poker for real money. I had very little experience with poker before this. I read a couple books and have read all the guides on this site.

I have had some ups and downs, but mostly downs. In the fist couple weeks I made some critical mistakes. For instance, if I took some bad beats in a $2 tourney and then I would buy into a $5 or $10 dollar tourney. I realized (too late) that I was tilting. During this time I lost about $200 of my set aside $300 bankroll.

I took a break for a couple days and studied. I read the 3 harrington books as I like tourneys the most. I also tried to set goals for myself and determine how to avoid going on tilt.

I have recently stayed in the low limit games and started to realize I am better at 6, 9, and 18 player sit and go's. I have had great success in heads up sit and go's too. In the last week I have made back only about $20 of my lost money, but I am just playing small stakes games. I feel like I am improving but I can see it will be a long process if I want to make money.

Is the above normal for starter players? Should I consider giving up before I lose more money. I would really like to improve and become a profitable player. I make a good living with my career, but would love to make a little cash on the side with poker.

Any suggestions?

Sharkscope shows me down $175 or so. My goal is to patiently bring that number back to even.

I have had tough luck on the 45 player sit and gos. I think that the ITM percentage is tough as they only pay 6 players. What are your opinions on the best tournaments to play for an average and improving player?

I play on full tilt with this same name I post with.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions or help.

P.S. Is there any site that I can track my play on that does not cost money? pokerratings.com or something like that has some good info, but it does not show me my overall negative profit. I also notice that it does not rank my games of sit and go's with less than 18 people...

Well, I'm in a very similar situation.

the point is not to give up, especially if we are playing such small stakes. A week ago i was complaining that i kept losing in the bubble in tourneys, so i went back to playing $2 Sng (9 people) and have been doing wonderfully this week. I know it may not be much money, but little by little is the way to go.

I've been playing on fulltilt for about 2 months, almost 500 games so far.
Started with $50 bankroll, played mainly $2.00 SNGs 1 table.
built up to over $100, found I like the $6 6 plyr turbo SNGs. after About 150 games, have ROI of 14%, my bankroll has swung between $100 & $200. I know you got to pay your dues, dropped a few hundred learning at Party Poker. Been playing for 18 months now.
My advise-
Read & re-read Harrington
Dont fall in love with your hand, (22 beats AK & 77-22 beat AA)

That's something i've learnt lately. So many people just can't get rid of their monsters after the flop, or they slow play them to the river without knowing they are beaten.

id say not too give up, i noticed i was kinda bad at first, but i think the more u play the better u get so u'll turn it around im sure.

I'd suggest rather than a site to track your play, getting PokerTracker or PokerOffice. Then you can review hands/sessions as well as your overall win/loss rates, as well as have useful realtime info as you're playing.

And yeah, as you've discovered it's much easier to lose your money fast than it is to increase it fast. Building takes time and discipline, losing just requires one evening in a bad mood.

Hey all,

Thanks for the input. I bought pokertracker and it has already helped me out. One of the amazing things I found already is how much I lost on AQo and AQ suited. I need to be more careful with that hand it seems.

I went down $170 my first month, but my last week I have made back about $20 of it. I am excited to see my graph start to move upward. I have a very long way to go before I am profitable if I ever get there. I expect it to be a long road, but I am having fun trying.

Thanks again for the help.