Knowing your skills?

I'm still pretty new to poker and up until i read a couple of books and after about a week on CC, I realised I'm not nearly as good a player as I thought I was. I found out that I've got so much to learn and my game needs alot of work...

When do you know your not just another fish? I'd also appreciate any advice on becoming a better player... anything I should read or watch that WILL help me...

Read articles, study the game, post hands at the forum, discuss poker with other, better players.

When you look around the table and salivate at the prospect of playing against the other guys

What are you interested in ? NLHE or another poker variant ? SNGs, MTTs, Ring Games ?

The big thing is, when you know you didn't know as much as you thought you knew. In all seriousness that is when I knew I needed to know more. You seem to be at that point, read more play more. That is how you learn more. The more you play after you read, you can then go and reread and you will be able to understand more. Good luck.

NLHE MTT's and SnG's micro buy-in...
Do you think the large freerolls on fulltilt is good experience for me?

Thanx, makes sense in a creepy master yoda kinda way

Your half way there Percy. You know you need to learn more. Surprising how many players can't get to this level.

Next study every player at the table and base your game on your reads.

Tell us how you get on.

The standard of play in large freerolls is often very poor and not a good example to learn from.

If you can afford $5.50, try some of the CC buyin games, perhaps the Sunday one on Full Tilt. The standard of play there is much better than average. In fact, you will struggle to find similar in a public tournament at less than $50 buyin. If you can`t afford to play, try watching one from the rail.

Also, read some of the stategy threads here at CC. There are some very good MTT threads here. For example:-

This one, and this, and this one too. And there are lots more if you look around.

You learn poker when you play a lot of time. You can't learn poker just from books and you must considered a book just a guide for your plaing poker.
I hope you will became a good poker player in future

This I'm finding quite difficult... getting reads online, i get moved from table to table in big tourneys so I don't have time to study the players...
And to be honest most of the time I don't know what im looking for

Thanx will go check them out
Can't wait to play against other CC members, unfotunately I'm broke and trying to create a BR from freerolls, so the buy-in games are gonna have to wait... Really looking forward to the CC freerolls...

See you there...one day

just finished reading those 3 articles... Really liked yours on the final table, however the times i do make it ITM I just survive, so my final table might still be a while...

I've been playing the african freeroll on fulltilt for a couple of weeks now and my best finish is 2nd... although theres only 300 entrants on average...

Any advice on winning a small one like this?
thanx again for the help

During the first hour, play tight from early and mid position, but open up your range from late position whenever you have a chance to see a cheap flop.

Observe the opponents closely and try to work out who is playing carelessly and is exploitable.

During the second hour, aim to maintain your cheap stack by stealing blinds from tight players.

As far as possible, maintain a stack somewhere around the tournament average as the blinds rise.

Good luck.

yeah, try to get to where you can play in the CC fr's...its like a free entry into an expensive tourney. i shouldn't admit this, but it has helped me...so i'll leave names out. there are tables where i'm totally confident to make certain moves...or to make semi-bluffs every now and again, but there are a handful of people where if there's 2 or 3 of them at the table i'm at...i just KNOW it won't work...sometimes that doesn't stop me from trying.

part of understanding the current limitations of your skills has a lot to do with knowing, and pardon my french, who is and isn't just gonna put up with your shit. a coinflip is sometimes the best you can ask for; the CC freerolls have given me a chance to see other people's moves, and those are more important than my own...especially once you realize who really is decent. yeah, there are always a couple people who are not very good (now) and there are always a few who are decent but are gladly donking it today, and that should be evident. its hard to just 'watch' pros play, or watch some big money tourney going on, or watch a high stakes cash table, it is for me...but to be in the game against a lot of people who understand a lot about the game; you have decisions to make in it too, there's more to learn. so hey, another 50 decent posts or so, i promise you, getting to take part will help you assess your skills even more.

thanx guys...
When I eventually get into the CC FR's, I'm gonna have a big target over my head thanks to this thread

As for help with online reads, may I suggest this thread for a newbie>> Free Hold'em Manager style HUD

Also look here>>> How do you interpret VPIP Stats?

and now you have made the most important discovery in your poker career, for all time.

basically, we are all going to seem like fish somewhere. the question is to pick your games so that you are the "big fish" aiming to eat the small ones... it seems like you are on the right track to achieve that, at least for the time being. good luck!

What I've been doing is I'll go to a 1/2 limit table with $25. If I drop to $12 or below, I know I'm at a table where the either the competition is to high for me, or I'm in a bad seat. If I can beat the other guys except maybe one or two, who usually end up making me fold due to high betting (ie, maniacs) then I'll probably switch to an open seat if it were available, and lol, bet them out of their hands lol.

I also started using Hold'em Manager, and I noticed something that helped me DRAMATICALLY - lol at least temporarily. By keeping hand-to-hand bankroll stats, I noticed that after a winning a big bet, I get cocky and try to play fancy...and how depressing it is to watch the graph shoot up, and drop down immediately after

All of those are experience, but not "good experience" as the play is rather sporadic and loose with mostly players who have yet learned how one should play a hand. It is still experience and worthwhile assuming one has no bankroll.

You assume right... trying to get a BR going. Although if you get somewhere in those big donkaments you must be doing something right...

THE MORE YOU PLAY, the better you will get assuming you LEARN from mistakes and analyze your play. Also, read poker strategy blogs and develop discipline and patience. GL, Wally

Go buy HEM for $55. It's worth it in the long run to look over ur hand history. Watch some videos, read lots of articles on this site (this site has some WKD memeber who know wut there tlking about).
Read lots of books but make sure u read reviews b4 buying them as some books are jus useless.
Develop ur patience. Ur gonna need alot of it in poker or ur jus gonna start playing way too many hands and loosing chips. Tighten that belt is what a random guy told me once on a cash table.

Have fun at the end of the day! If ur a sore looser then u need to change ur attitude or stay away from the game. Bcos this game is crazy at times and it'll make u wanna punch the computer, but that's why we love it