what to do?

hi guys, complete newbie here, anyway after alot of swatting up and research i finally joined partypoker 3weeks ago,
invested £75/$120 and im down about£23/$35 playing mircro cash games 02/04 05/10 and have played 2600 hands,
i fully expect to be down as i see it as learning curve, now im following all the newbie rules of playing tight ect
but just seem to wait forver to get playable hole cards and my stack just drains away, iv had a few good sessions showing small profit
but mostly lose.
now here is the question, when i go on the free money tables to practise i sit with 250 chips and can quadruple my stack playing a looser game
with, opening with not recomended hole cards, so im at a point of confussion, should i play the cash tables as i play the free table?
or is the free table set to just give you an ego boost so you go blow your cash on the real tables, sorry its a bit of a dumb question
but any sugestions would be appreciated.
many thanks
ANGEL

Doubt the 'free/play chip' tables are 'fixed' in anyway. It's easier to win on there because the majority of your opponents on those tables are terrible.

I would suggest sticking with the lowest buyin tables for awhile until you're able to prove yourself a winning player at that level. (even just 0.01/0.02 for now).

Read some of the HandHistory threads in the Cash Game section.

Start at the very bottom of the stakes ladder. I think PP has .01/.02(2nl) right? Keep playing there till you have a positive win rate or prove you can beat it. Say around 30-50k hands minimum of beating it and then you can move up a level.

Also take a look at this thread.

Where do I begin? A guide for beginners

I played the play money tables at pokerstars and they were terrible, absolutely no help in learning to play. Try to play position and observe your opponents betting patterns and take notes on them. Be aggressive in your betting when you have a good hand, and dump straight and flush draws when you are being priced out i.e. getting 1-2 pot odds vs a 1-5 draw.

thanks guys, ill definatley stick to the small tables but 02/04c seems to be the lowest listed, intresting to know 40/50k hands is an amount of hands to judge how your doing, my 2600 is small in comparison, ill avoid the free tables aswell i think as your right im learning nothing there.....!

just another ask, should i play some freerolls as well as my cash games? or just stick to one game, and any recomendation for another site to join with micro cash games...!

You can play freerolls but you'll probably the same playing those as you do play money. Sometimes I like to enter them just to donk off my stack to get rid of tilt.

If I were you Id move to Pokerstars. They have the best selection of games with the most traffic. They have nl2(.01/.02) as well so you can start at the very bottom and learn and move up. Players at nl2 there are really bad and you should have no problem winning if you put in some study time.

You can play freerolls if you like but I wouldn't. Its almost -ev because you can win more playing a couple tables of nl2 in the same time and learn at the same time. Sure, you wont lose anything in a freeroll but it is kind of a waste of time if you can deposit money with no problem.

As far as to what games you should play, pick what you like best. That way you'll stay focused and get better faster.

EDIT: Im not saying never play freerolls. Im sure there are some out there that have smaller player pools with a decent prize pool. I couldnt point you there but I do know some exist. This site has some too if you become a contributing member.

Where do I begin? A guide for beginners


(thinly-veiled brag ^^^)

I already posted it ITT brah.

ahhhhhh here we go!

PartyPoker does have 2nl tables.

Ahh...here we go Xdeuceswild " I'm sooo smart look at my posts" nahnahnah.

cool the thread is very informative..

I play ReplayPoker.com when I don't want to concentrate on real money games. the play is actually like a real micro limit game with one or two stupid Loose Donks, otherwise pretty decent play. Pokerstars is the absolute worst Play money site ever, terrible to try to learn.

yup i had found your thread already.....great reading and very very helpfull, still reading it over again trying to get it all to sink in......many thanks for that....!

thanks ill give pokerstars a go, yes im not worried about depositing money if im learning properly along the way, and im gona stick with my cash games..thats the game i enjoy most and concentrates my mind the most, iv sat a few of the s&ngos ect and it dosnt appeal to me......cheers