Need advise on what to do.

Hi again everyone, I'm a fairly new player of hold'em. I played a few times a couple of years ago and just recently decided to try and play it again this time more intelligently as possible.

Well I played about eight hours straight for the most part on PokerStars. Here is the summary of the 1000 or so I played:

Hold'em (Real Money):

1000 hands played and saw flop:
- 110 times out of 169 while in small blind (65%)
- 140 times out of 169 while in big blind (83%)
- 175 times out of 662 in other positions (26%)
- a total of 425 times out of 1000 (43%)

Pots won at showdown - 83 out of 184 (45%)
Pots won without showdown - 44

After the whole deal I ended up $2.50 negative.

At first I started out playing only one table, then two tables, then three, then four, but realized four was too much so I went back to three and slowly back to one.

Now my next questions are should I play the Micro tournaments and how do I earn FPPs? I deposited $50 so that I could try to earn the free $50, but I did not earn any FPPs when I played the eight hours.

you need to play higher stakes to earn points. im in the same boat as you actually, dont have enough to move up in stakes, but dont have enough to earn points. i played for 2 hours today and made $.06 haha. i think that the minimum level to earn points is .05-.10 but im not positive. just out of curiosity, what stakes were u playing. also, it looks like you have a somewhat high percentage of seeing the flop. people at these stakes call down with bottom pair and you wont be able to bluff. i would recommend tightening up and playing less pots.

I was playing .02/.04, for the first three hours I was losing slowly, then afterwards I won a little bit and stayed about even through the rest of the session. Do you play in the micro tournaments at all? I am thinking of trying one.

Just registered for a .10 tourney. gonna give it a try.

i only have a few bucks on pokerstars right now that i won in a freeroll so i do not usually play in the micro tourneys. however, they can be profitable as long as you do not try to bluff at all. people want to double up quick so they push with top pair. wait until you have a lock and then play it to the max. they usually start out with a bang and then tend to slow down about 20 mins in or so. good luck by the way!!

Thanks for the question and information. I've only been playin' fora little bit now myself and have been testing the waters as well. I've been playing on Ultimate Bet and they have a Bonus $ program similar to what you described, but you can earn points at the .01/.02 tables. For starters, you have to earn 100 pts to unlock $5.00. Then at the next level you earn double, but also need double the points to unlock $'s (which is a real drag - I somehow fell in between and didn't earn anything until I hit 290 points! - oh yea, and any points you earn in Black Jack don't count toward your goal).

Anyway, thanks again for the posts It helps to hear others talk about what I've been seeing on the tables as well. All the best...

i am considering making an account on ultimate bet. what do you think of the site?

how you doing in the tourney?

Here is a summary of the hand that took me out sadly:

PokerStars Game #18703704837: Tournament #95100491, $0.10+$0.00 Hold'em No Limit - Level IX (200/400) - 2008/07/09 - 18:51:37 (ET)
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Eastbaymike: shows [6s 5s] (a pair of Nines)
Hakkuso: shows [9s 8s] (three of a kind, Nines)
Hakkuso collected 570 from side pot
Selrahc Leah: shows [Ah Qs] (two pair, Aces and Nines)
Hakkuso collected 4685 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5255 Main pot 4685. Side pot 570. | Rake 0
Board [Ad 9h 2c 9d 4d]
Seat 1: Zeekik3 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Hakkuso showed [9s 8s] and won (5255) with three of a kind, Nines
Seat 3: bolbap folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: MC-Sebah (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Sirko87 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: Eastbaymike (big blind) showed [6s 5s] and lost with a pair of Nines
Seat 7: jfoy19 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: soccermullin folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Selrahc Leah showed [Ah Qs] and lost with two pair, Aces and Nines

and here is a summary of my session during the tourney:

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 44 hands and saw flop:
- 3 out of 5 times while in big blind (60%)
- 2 out of 4 times while in small blind (50%)
- 5 out of 35 times in other positions (14%)
- a total of 10 out of 44 (22%)
Pots won at showdown - 2 of 4 (50%)
Pots won without showdown - 1

Tried to play as tight as I could and only played a few hands total

PokerStars Game #18703704837: Tournament #95100491, $0.10+$0.00 Hold'em No Limit - Level IX (200/400) - 2008/07/09 - 18:51:37 (ET)
Table '95100491 7' 9-max Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: Zeekik3 (1225 in chips)
Seat 2: Hakkuso (19860 in chips)
Seat 3: bolbap (7260 in chips)
Seat 4: MC-Sebah (1035 in chips)
Seat 5: Sirko87 (2925 in chips)
Seat 6: Eastbaymike (1680 in chips)
Seat 7: jfoy19 (2885 in chips)
Seat 8: soccermullin (1870 in chips)
Seat 9: Selrahc Leah (1395 in chips)
Zeekik3: posts the ante 50
Hakkuso: posts the ante 50
bolbap: posts the ante 50
MC-Sebah: posts the ante 50
Sirko87: posts the ante 50
Eastbaymike: posts the ante 50
jfoy19: posts the ante 50
soccermullin: posts the ante 50
Selrahc Leah: posts the ante 50
Sirko87: posts small blind 200
Eastbaymike: posts big blind 400
*** HOLE CARDS ***
jfoy19: folds
soccermullin: folds
Selrahc Leah: calls 400 (If this was you, then the loss may have been your fault, AQ is a strong hand preflop and based on your chipstack , this should have been a auto shove IMO, If you had pushed all-in preflop then villian may have folded)
Zeekik3: folds
Hakkuso: raises 1200 to 1600
bolbap: folds
MC-Sebah: folds
Sirko87: folds
Eastbaymike: raises 30 to 1630 and is all-in
Selrahc Leah: calls 945 and is all-in
Hakkuso: calls 30
*** FLOP *** [Ad 9h 2c]
*** TURN *** [Ad 9h 2c] 9♦
*** RIVER *** [Ad 9h 2c 9d] 4♦
*** SHOW DOWN ***
Eastbaymike: shows [6s 5s] (a pair of Nines)
Hakkuso: shows [9s 8s] (three of a kind, Nines)
Hakkuso collected 570 from side pot
Selrahc Leah: shows [Ah Qs] (two pair, Aces and Nines)
Hakkuso collected 4685 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5255 Main pot 4685. Side pot 570. | Rake 0
Board [Ad 9h 2c 9d 4d]
Seat 1: Zeekik3 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: Hakkuso showed [9s 8s] and won (5255) with three of a kind, Nines
Seat 3: bolbap folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: MC-Sebah (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: Sirko87 (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: Eastbaymike (big blind) showed [6s 5s] and lost with a pair of Nines
Seat 7: jfoy19 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: soccermullin folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Selrahc Leah showed [Ah Qs] and lost with two pair, Aces and Nines

Yes that is me forgot to state that I am Selrahc Leah. Good to know the next time around, thank you.

Would you say playing micro tourneys are better because you possibly get to play more hands per cent or dollar?

Also where can I find advantages of Fixed Limit vs Pot Limit vs No Limit. I've only played tournament No Limit and Fixed Limit (not tournament, just join table and start playing?)

So I played another Micro Tourney and here is the hand that killed me not much choice in playing it or not: (btw i'm Selrahc Leah)

PokerStars Game #18706812221: Tournament #95113065, $0.10+$0.00 Hold'em No Limit - Level XIV (800/1600) - 2008/07/09 - 21:21:04 (ET)
*** SHOW DOWN ***
AndreLima: shows [Js 3d] (a pair of Aces)
skripath: shows [4s 7s] (two pair, Aces and Sevens)
skripath collected 864 from side pot
Selrahc Leah: mucks hand
skripath collected 4704 from main pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 5568 Main pot 4704. Side pot 864. | Rake 0
Board [Ad Tc 5d 7d Ah]
Seat 1: Fold'emULose folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 2: skripath showed [4s 7s] and won (5568) with two pair, Aces and Sevens
Seat 4: Suicyco352 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 5: titans16 (button) folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Selrahc Leah (small blind) mucked [5s 3c]
Seat 7: AndreLima (big blind) showed [Js 3d] and lost with a pair of Aces
Seat 8: 8gouch8 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: LittleLegend folded before Flop (didn't bet)


Here are my game stats:

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 74 hands and saw flop:
- 3 out of 9 times while in big blind (33%)
- 1 out of 9 times while in small blind (11%)
- 4 out of 56 times in other positions (7%)
- a total of 8 out of 74 (10%)
Pots won at showdown - 5 of 6 (83%)
Pots won without showdown - 1

I came in 24 out of 360, I feel I didn't get very good hole cards this time around, but feel I played better and have one hand early in the tourney I felt good about and here it is:

PokerStars Game #18705627255: Tournament #95113065, $0.10+$0.00 Hold'em No Limit - Level IV (50/100) - 2008/07/09 - 20:24:34 (ET)
*** SHOW DOWN ***
GChoice: shows [Ad 5d] (a pair of Tens)
Selrahc Leah: shows [Jd Qd] (two pair, Jacks and Tens)
Selrahc Leah collected 3640 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 3640 | Rake 0
Board [2h Td Js 3c Tc]
Seat 1: Selrahc Leah (button) showed [Jd Qd] and won (3640) with two pair, Jacks and Tens
Seat 2: ReneTheRobbr (small blind) folded on the Flop
Seat 3: TittyBan (big blind) folded on the Turn
Seat 4: wado1521 folded on the Flop
Seat 5: Poker Ch*PokerStars folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 6: Krista W folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 7: stuporman1 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 8: GChoice showed [Ad 5d] and lost with a pair of Tens
Seat 9: COMANDITO folded before Flop (didn't bet)

PokerStars Game #18705832256: Tournament #95113065, $0.10+$0.00 Hold'em No Limit - Level VI (100/200) - 2008/07/09 - 20:34:08 (ET)
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 2500 | Rake 0
Board [Th 8h 4h]
Seat 1: Selrahc Leah folded on the Flop
Seat 2: ReneTheRobbr folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 3: JonAAAs folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: wado1521 (button) collected (2500)
Seat 5: Poker Ch*PokerStars (small blind) folded before Flop
Seat 6: Krista W (big blind) folded before Flop
Seat 7: RAGMAN54 folded before Flop
Seat 8: 8gouch8 folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 9: Dr. of Love folded before Flop (didn't bet)

shinedown is right, you probably should have just pushed with ace queen. aq is best against one player, and shoving will result in 1 caller at most. also, with the blinds at 200-400 plus 50 ante, the pot before any betting is 1050. if you push and everyone folds, you almost double up. if you push and get called and win, you almost triple up. if you push and get called and lose to either Eastbaymike or hakkuso, you got the money in while you were ahead, which is all you can ask for.

also in the last hand you posted, seeing the flop 10% of the time seems a little bit too conservative to me. it could have been that you were just not getting cards, but i dont know. oh never mind, you said you were getting no cards. but anyway, suited connectors in late position are great hands to limp with, and if no one raised, lead out with them if there are not many people in the pot. because you do not play many pots at all, it gives you more credibility that you have a high pocket pair or face cards, and if you hit the flopor have a draw, no one will expect you to have those cards. i think that you will find that when you hit your hand with suited connectors, this is when you will make the most money because people have you pegged as a tight player and only play high cards or pocket pairs.

[i am considering making an account on ultimate bet. what do you think of the site?]


I think that most of the online poker site are farily similar, with only minor differences. The freerolls on Pokerstars have ALOT of people, but Ultimatebet has a cut-off of something like 5000 people. The cash games range from .01/.02 blinds all the way up and the SNG's start at .50/.05 which works great for me (a fairly new player). I like the basic black background, although they do offer other backgrounds. The black one keeps me on track somehow.

I don't like the Bonus Dollar program they offer. I referred my brother and received $50.00 bonus $$ when he deposited $50, but it take a REALLY REALLY LONG time to open them up.

Ultimatebet hass all the same players the other sites do. You know, the ones who go all-in on bottom pair? Then, there's those who go all-in with absolutely nothing hoping for pot steals. However, once you weed through these guys/dolls in a Tournament or a SNG, things rool much more smoothly.

I do like the fact that you can at least use your Ultimate points (while trying to earn enough to open your Bonus $'s) to enter $$ tourneys. I think that's the true bennie of Ultimate Ponts. Hope this helps and if you happen to deposit there, think of me McMilo, when you make a deposit ;0)

thanks mcmilo for the information. i dont know yet if i am going to create an account here but if i do i was referred by you

I really like PokerStars. There is a large micro population, unlike Bodog which I used to play on.

Here is how FPPs are earned at PokerStars:
Play Poker for Free Online Promotions and Freerolls

I do not like micro tournaments, at least not the 0.10 ones. You can end up spending a couple hours on it, which only will yield a couple dollars if you do very well. I would not expect myself to place if I was just starting to play poker.

Micro ring games require little skill. You can just play TAG and expect to win in the long run. I'd start with the smallest stakes (0.01/0.02). You have a lot to learn and not the biggest bankroll to learn from. Once you feel like you're winning consistently over a moderate period of time and are getting bored of the measly sums, try bumping up to the next stakes, but promise yourself (and keep it) to go back if you lose with only one max buy-in or only your current overall profits, or anything like that.

If you don't want to get frustrated by only winning one or two dollars a day, I'd suggest keeping track of your wins/losses. I log my bankroll at the end of each day (along with what I used it in during its course). It gives you a sense of accomplishment. It's also a good way to spot your weaknesses. I used to think I was good at STTs, but after looking at a week's play, I saw that I profit a lot less than I would if I spent that time on ring games.

Another thing about tournaments. I feel that they take a lot more skill than ring games at the micro level. With ring games you can make a profit by just playing TAG, whereas with tournaments you need to know about bluffing, stealing blinds, and more. TAG will only get you halfway to the money.

There's my n00b advice.

Very good stuff to know and thank you for taking the time to share the knowledge.

I think i will also try to track my bank roll daily and stop playing in the micro tourneys possibly, while i do get to play many hands, it's fairly difficult to get into top 36 consistently to at least break even. I believe i will start by trying to learn from micro Fixed Limit and move onto No Limit later on.

IMHO, pokerstars has the best bang for your buck.
The tournaments are bountiful as are the poor players and you'll almost always find a tourney to play that is within your BR.