Can't seem to get ahead.

Hey, everyone. New to the forums but have been playing poker close to 4 years now. I am gradually getting better at online. I prefer playing live, by far. Oddly enough, I get bored and have less patience playing online.

Anyway, I just could not do well playing online in the beginning and now I'm getting the hang of it more. I play micro stakes SNGs most of the time. $1 STTs, DONs, and 45 person tourneys.

I've been cashing quite a bit in the 45 person tourneys and the STTs but I imagine that my losses cancel out my profits?

My problem seems to be that I keep hovering around the same area in my bankroll. It seems like I've had the same amount in there for weeks now. I've signed up with bankroll management websites but they slip my mind and by the time I remember, I might as well just start over.

It's frustrating, to say the least. I'd like to get ahead, as we all would, but it seems like I'm at a wall. I'm not sure if it's just my selection of games or what but I know that I'm cashing more and more but it doesn't seem to make a dent.

Anyone else ever have this issue?

We all go through periods of no profit (and sometimes large losses) you just have to keep at it.
Review your hand histories after a bad game (and a good one as well) and see where you could be making your mistakes.

Are you playing too many hands, not enough in position, are you not raising when you enter the pot, are you trying to draw out too much?

These are just some of the questions you need to ask yourself.
Be honest and look at your play.

If your playing tourneys, well the 45mans ect are always gonna be bigger payouts but at a bigger cost, which on a small BR is not that fantastic. as the the DON'S if ur playing the 1$ 1's imo they crappy as, and get u know where fast, but thats just me! i made alot more in the sng day's playing the 9mans, and mass tabling them loading up 8-10 tables and relaoding everytime u get out playing a very nitty tight style basically not doing a thing until around 10bb tbh, then push fold poker from there. if u can get hold of torrents or a stox poker membership, get colin moshmans sng series, i watched them and cleaned up after that, his style is very very basic tag, style poker and works.
Other then that m8 it may be variance or your style of play, maybe give cash games ago, and see how u run.... thats where i ventured to now a few yrs ago and i cant believe i played tourneys, just h8 them now

but most winning sng players mass table, its kinda scary to start off with but u end up winning more so i found, i think most pro sng guys play around 30 tables n hr from about the 20 - 30$ stakes minimum and up.....

Thanks for the input, guys.

I am not a big fan of multi-tabling. I guess I should have put that in my original post which is probably another factor of not moving ahead.

I considered using my PayPal account money to join an online training site, but ironically, I used that money to buy a poker table, haha.

I don't know. I'll just keep at it, I suppose.

The poker table will serve you much better in the long run anyway.lol

Not a fan of training sites?

You stated that you have been cashing more and more, which is great, just make sure that this isn't all you are playing for. IMO you should be playing tourneys, whether they be STT's or MTT's to win, not just to sneak into the money. Also as others have said, there will be times where you BR stays the same or even worse heads in reverse, this is just part of the game, you can play the best poker of your life and still lose. All you can do is suck it up and keep on grinding and keep on learning. Try checking out a few strategy threads here on CC, read a poker book, whatever it takes to keep your mind in the game because you don't want to be doubting yourself mentally while you are on the tables.

I am new to here but like you been playing for awhile.I have found at micro stakes are hard to get a head if stick with it and play your game you will start to get ahead I started to se alot of improvement in my ROI% when I wwent up to high stakes just seems to me those micros are tough to get ahead but you can do it and move up..I curently am playing 15$ byin T and like you I started off at 1-2$ T and worked my way up..I also got me a mentor which that helped me out alot with my game and that is when I started to get ahead when i alowwed someone else to go over the good and the bad with me after I play T..

What you have described is quite common. I have been there and still end up there from time to time. You must have patience and stick to your game if you are sure that it is solid enough.

You're not alone. I'm sure there are many many more players that can barely do better than stay even. Look at it this way. When you start with a bankoll, you have lost 10% (rake) to start with. That alone is enough to keep you even, even if you are winning player. Although most here feel that skill will reign over the long haul, I have personnaly never competed in a triathalon and don't play enough hands to find out. You also lose 50% of the time on coin flips (a common occurence at the poker tables. And finally, like any other competion, there are anywhere from 1 to several thousand players out to get you!

I have felt the same way recently, and I have been doing some investigating into my quandry. The research into my own game was brought on by a 2 month break even period after buliding a roll from my first 50$ deposit to almost 400$ since Feb. I simply stopped improving.
In the process I found this forum, among other resources, that have helped my game get out of the rut so to speak. I will be glad to tell you what I have found. Maybe it will help you get back on track as well.

1. I feel I have been playing micro limit so long that I started trying to play their game and not mine. Solution- Back to ABC poker at these limits.

2. Bank Roll Managment! Everytime I was feeling good about my play, I would " move up for just a few hands". Get my butt kicked and lose what ground I had gained. I'm now staying within my limits.

3. I stopped reading and therefore learning. I was not going to improve my game watching fish play. I also found that I need to study, read about or watch poker before I play to "warm up a little". Just do not watch HighStakes Poker before you play! That show will kill your game.

4. I am not Tom Dwan, no matter how bad I would like to be. Some lines of play just are not for me right now. I'm staying away from anything to tricky.

5. My deposit bonus has been gone! Sounds small, but it helped me double my first deposit, so I'm currently looking for another site to move to.

Good Luck! Hope this helps

Exactly, I know so many people who watch poker on TV, get the urge to play and then wonder why they have lost a large portion of their BR.

It's been edited folks, you don't see every hand, you don't see someone sit there for 15-25 hands folding pre-flop.
You just see that miracle river card come out and save someone's a**.
Makes for great TV but not good poker strategy

Poker is a game of patience and that means over the course of one game or one year.

Stick with it.