I like to think I am a good player

I really like to think I am a good player. But, truth be told, I am not. I have the basics down well but I lack discipline. One of the truths is, I cannot afford to be going out and gambling my money away (I do not have enough for that). So, I get to do freerolls online. I lose my patience with the typical freerollers out there & It seems to turn into one myself as a result (hence: lack of discipline). I have played some cash & have done well at first but then I either get tired or too loose or a bit of both in the end. I dream of one day being taught the ins & outs of no-limit hold-em & being able to play with & bring it to the pros that are out there. I am a very versitile player & often find myself switching up my play out of habit or instinct with no pre-determined plan of doing so. My downfall in most cases is two-fold. Part one of my downfall is my ego. I can't bring myself to believe that someone else can possibly have a better hand than me if I have a good one. The second part of my downfall is going all in when I know there's a (what I would call) better than twenty percent possibility of me losing. I call this reacting quickly instead of taking the time to think & then act according to my thoughts. My greatest weakness is not seeing the possible flush on the board if I do not have it (especially if it comes on the turn or river & I hit my straight at the same time or if I already had two pair or trips post-flop/pre-turn). In a nutshell, I get caught up in the excitement of the game (I would not be playing it if it were not exciting to me) & I do not take my time to think the hand & the play through. I really wish I were an avid reader. I can read & comprehend fine but, I find reading boring & I just want to do. This is where practice (search & research) comes in. I want practice but cannot afford "real" practice. I want to be good before I go out & start to play real money. I want to play freerolls or "practice games" with people who will take the game as serious as me so that we can all benifit from it. This is why I joined cardschat. I understand the need for multiple posts from a member before letting him/her have any of the freeroll passwords. There is a need to make sure of one's sincerity in thier efforts to become a better player before giving them access to any of the games which they could make unpleasant for others if he/she were not as sincere as they came off to be. Still, I am discouraged by the amount of posts required for me to gain access to the freeroll passwords. I have no Idea what questions I may ask on this forum whatsoever until I begin to play with the better players of this forum. I will try to get 50 posts in but, it will take quite a bit of time for me to come up with 50 "quality" posts. I look forward to meeting some of you online in freerolls.........someday (sigh)

well the number of posts must seem alot if each has this many words in it with so few gaps - hard going reading it

also I think there is a good chance you may be overestimating your poker playing ability there are parts of your post that show you have the wrong mindset to be a winning player

Your lack of patience in poker play and willingness to work up your post count will stop you being a long term winning poker player

I understand what you're saying.

I need to slow up & do what it takes to get me where I want to be.

Especially if it's so important to me.

I must attain a better mindset.

Ya see, already learning!

I will attempt to remember to space my lines also.

I forget, not everyone has the same vision as me.

Thanks for your quick & dreadfully honest reply.

You hit the nail right on the head! :-)

I think you are on the right track with the self-realization that you're engaged in. You can't develop your game if you can't be honest about your weaknesses, and I think you're starting to do that.

One of the best moves to learn is the fold. Sounds like you have a hard time doing that. Don't worry about being bluffed out. That happens and will happen to you no matter how good you get. But a common mistake beginners make is to under-estimate the opponent or to think your opponent is bluffing all the time. Truth is when an opponent represents a hand, they usually have it. Also, if you are re-raised, you are usually beat. If you get re-raised, then find a good reason to call or raise back - I mean a reason that goes beyond your ego or your disbelief.

Get the book "Zen and the Art of Poker" and develop the poker mindset. Learn to play your cards as they are (which usually means not playing them) rather than what you wish them to be.

Work on discipline and a peaceful mind. Forget the loose aggressive mode for now. Play tight aggressive. Since I've become a winning player, I'd have to say that poker is less "exciting" but more profitable. You often sit on the same chip stack for a long time before a playable hand comes along. Think of your hands as investments. How smart is it to invest in this particular hand?

The fifty posts is easy and should be the least of your worries. Go to the "Learning poker" subforum and ask questions and discuss things.

Eventually you'll want to learn to calculate odds and eV, but the important thing now is mindset and discipline.

Don't play play money games. You learn bad habits. Hand selection is haphazard and there is no discipline. Play for real money, even if it's the penny tables on Pokerstars. Don't freeroll too much. Crazy play there, too. I think it's better to learn at ring games, where the value of a hand stands alone. Tournament strategy is a whole other overlay. By concentrating on tourneys, you are learning the game backwards.

Gary

I can quote from experience that every time I play with "scared money" I loose.


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I thank you for your advice. I am wondering though, what do you mean by "learning the game backwards" when you mention tournament play VS. game play?

Yes, I learned that a long time ago myself. But a little review & reinforcement goes a long way.

Dont ply with scared money, and look up and use 'paragraph,' it really helps.

I haven't been here long either. I read somewhere, "every poker player thinks they're good". I try to remember that, lol.
Those freerolls aren't like real money poker, like GL says, but I think they can help a beginner if he realizes that. I notice the possible flush and str8 on the board better, anyway. As far as that goes, every game takes getting used to playing, even every different limit. The differences are subtle, but they add up and it takes practice before I can win at different levels.
There's a wealth of information here to read, but it's pretty scattered, and some of it is from donks like me that should possibly be disregarded, lol. My biggest advances have been from reading books on the games I like. The library had more than I expected to find, for free. I have 2 at home now. I like some of the books, some are above me, some below, and some don't fit my style at all. Sort through all the info, find your style, and you'll do much better, I think.

Good Luck,
Tom

Poker is a complex game. Poker is to chess what chess is to checkers.

A ring game (cash game) is the best situation to learn the value of your hand, when it might be appropriate to draw and above all when folding is a good move. Each hand stands alone, although trends and tendencies are important to figure into your decisions.

Tournament play starts with the poker basics but puts a whole other layer of considerations and strategy on top of it. Because of ever increasing blinds you're forced to make calls and bets you wouldn't otherwise make and you get used to frequent all ins that you wouldn't necessarily be seeing or doing in a cash game. Mastering tournament play is a challenge in itself, but before you add that element of complexity it's best to learn the basics, especially hand evaluation, first. That is best done in a ring game. Learn the ring game first. Learn what a good hand is and isn't. Practice patience and targeted aggression. Learn how to fold. Then add the complexity of tourney play.

I'm not saying it's either/or. If you want to play some tourneys, play them. But concentrate more on the ring game.

In the book "Why You Lose at Poker" there's a chapter "Because you play too many tourneys." It talks about the math of why tourney play in general gives you a lower expected return.

There's a really good player on this forum named BellagioSuisse. He wrote recently that his profits are better since he decided not to play tourneys. For me, the cash games are bread and butter. I play them with an expected win rate and am pretty consistent. I play tourneys too, but not every day. They are more like the lottery. The potential for bigger wins is there, and when it happens it's a nice jump to the bankroll. But if I were only playing tourneys, I'd have more ups and downs, and less control over the outcome. You can play really well and just one unlucky hand will wipe you out of a tourney and waste hours of good play. An unlucky hand in a ring game might cost you a big pot, but you should be able to recover and finish most of your sessions with a profit.

First learn the game, then add tourney strategy.

Understood & thank you for the insight.

Putting certain rules on yourself may help you gain discipline. It also allows you to think about what kind of play-style you want.

I too, get impatient at times and seek action but that's generally not the way poker should be played.

Welcome the forum, patience & discipline are not the only attributes necessary to become a "good" poker player, but they are among the most important. Worry less about how good you are & instead focus on improving. This site has many fine articles & fine successful players willing to offer suggestions to any questions you may have. Enjoy the journey.

thepokerdb which is now bluffmagazine.com's entity is a good way to rank yourself against other players across a lot of sites. Onlinepokerrankings.com lets you know how you match up against everyone on your own particular site.

Hey man, don't sweat not knowing everything yet. I just started playing online poker a few months ago. Before I was restricted to donking my money off onto the casino regulars lol. Anyways, my BEST advice that I can give to you is to just RELAX!!!!

Poker is a game. It is complex in many ways (actually ALL ways) buts its supposed to be fun. Don't worry about having a losing session or losing a hand.

I started with $10 about 3-4 weeks ago and I've practiced good (well sometimes) Bank Roll Management (BRM) and played a Tight Aggressive (TAG) game. My stats are currently at 15%VPIP and 10%PFR. That is like extremely nitty I know, but it's WORKING. Play fewer hands and when you play raise, raise, and RAISE some more lol. Good luck at the tables!!!

Dustin Ranger

There is a question I learned playing live games: What hand is going to take this down?

Answer that question for each and every hand that you're in. If you have that hand great. If you think your opponent has that hand, fold.

there are thousands of people out there just like you, who totally feel like they could sit down at the big game (no, i don't mean the main event, i mean were the big boys play) and win easily, but not so much.

As others said, you're obviously overestimating your skill if you lack the patience to take you farther. Don't expect to make a fortune right out of the gates, you gotta grind it and really learn when to make moves, but more importantly learn how to lay hands down when you're beat

or just try and luck out and see how far that takes you