I finally know how to play. I think.

I'm new to the forum, and just want to share my success.
I've been an avid reader on these forums just lurking around for quite awhile now. Being a "fish", I experienced my first 'swing' on Full Tilt Poker
August, 2009. To make it short. I did fairly well due to my time spent in the military. But what I realized were my mood swings and bankroll management really dictated how I played. I lost my net income of about $300, -$50 for the initial deposit. My gains/losses were very sporadic/irrational due to ME. I couldn't handle the swings and not being able to see the other person. I had no set of boundaries what so ever, yeah I was a complete DONK. Chasing cards and foolish bluffs was my usual repertoire. That day when I lost my final buck made on FTP, I decided to never play online poker again....

February 16 of 2010, I decided to give it one more shot but with a different approach. During my absence of poker, I was reading and lurking threads on my free time. I watched probably almost every poker series on you tube. I just thought it was finally time and that I'm finally ready (mentally) to keep a consistent bankroll. I deposited $20 and enrolled in one SnG tournament and a MTT. $10+1 of 9 and a $3.30KO with about 900 entrants. Surprisingly, I placed 1st on the $2.25 and 3rd on the $3.30KO. I play only 1 session a day for about 2-3 hours due to being a full-time college student. Either I'm running real good, or I've actually learned something. But than again I guess it is too early to tell.

I'm also kicking myself in the butt for not downloading poker tracker earlier! Installing it was a kind of a pain (not computer literate). I'm probably going to wait till the weekend so that I can start playing with this thing and utilize it to the max.

Here is a quick snapshot of my winnings. I know its not much, but I'm pretty proud how I got to this point. My current ROI is 31.41% and ITM is 31.6%. Oh and by the way thanks to everyone for the informative threads. Keep them coming! Noobs and fishes do read them

-James

Attached Images

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BTW, I have about $400 as my current bankroll. I usually play at about 5%.
What do you guys suggest my limits should be in SnG?
Thanks.

-James

I would start at the $5.50's if you are playing standard speed sng's. You really need between $500-1000 to play the $11's. Plus it is probably best to learn at a lower level.

A must is buying Collin Moshman's "Sit'n Go Strategy.

Good luck and glad you started posting. We have a small sng group who will be posting here this month:

$$$March SNG Thread$$$

Feel free to jump in!

Oh and not to be a naysayer - but get mentally prepared for that ROI to take a big dip.

Congrats, But I think U shoul study some about bankroll manegement.

And be prepared to up and downs...

I'll differ with the crowd here a bit.

With a $400 br and the fact that you are playing tourneys, not ring, I suggest the occasional bigger buy-in tourney. Not regularly, but after a decent showing in any SnG or tourney, I have taken the stance that I can reward myself with a the bigger game.

So while it is correct to make the $5+ games your current standard, the occasional $10-20-26 game will begin the process you will need to deal with about dealing with the excitement that comes from bigger Prize Pots. And until you run into that wall, you might not believe it exists. Trust me, it does.

If you are a bit squeamish about popping for a $26 buck affair, you should investigate Satellites. IN general, Full Tilt $26 tourneys/SnG play about like most CC buy-in games, major dif being most of our buy-in games have money added. So get involved here and enjoy the +EV of our games.

I suggest you put in most of your playing time at a level where you have a decent win rate plus enough buyins to mitigate your risk of going broke. As for moving up, you can use part of your winnings to test the waters so to speak in order to determine if your game is suitable to move up, and also if you want to emotionally / psychologically.

With $400, you have plenty of bankroll for $5.50 SNGs, and depending how conservative a BRM strategy you choose to adopt, possibly enough for $11.

Also keep in mind that you don't have to move up at all regardless of your roll. If it grows to thousands of dollars and you're content playing $5.50, that's fine.

Thanks for the quick feedback everyone. To be honest I've been playing $11 and $5 SnG. I'm about 7:2 in my last 18 SnG.

I also ordered Moshman's book today. Thanks.
BTW, where can I go to read about poker lingo: ev+,roi,itm,etc. ?

http://www.cardschat.com/poker/guide/glossary

and don't overlook this;

Hand Analysis Lingo & Other Poker Terms

I play with the 2% rules for SnGs so at 400 bucks you can safely play $8 games. This is a bit conservative and may take longer to build a bigger role but it guarentees I never have to ive in the streets

I also suggest the 2% strategy. Also taking a shot every once in a while is ok but makr sure not to make a habit out of it.

I'm a big believer in sats. I tend to get a bit anxious playing higher buy-in tourneys -- but not if I satted in. Then I can convince myself that the buy-in was actually the cost of the sat and can relax into my game. There definitely is a wall when it comes to the bigger payout games -- knowing that there is a huge prize for the winner does seem to have an impact. (It's best to ignore that completely -- but almost impossible...)

I look for satellites that pay out 20% or even more. They are fairly easy to do well in. For instance, there is a $5 sat at 14:30 on Sundays at FT to the Double Deuce (a $20+2 tourney on Sunday afternoons at 16:22) that is one of my faves. These high payout satellites are also good if you like to unregister and take the T$ -- and then play the tourneys within your normal BRM limits.

BTW, it looks as though you are on a nice upswing. Sadly, variance will likely slam you soon enough. Expect it. Consider it an exercise in dealing with adversity and managing tilt. Monitor your emotions. Any impulse you might have to play too high to make up any losses or make big gains must be wrassled into submission.

The most recent book I read that truly helped was The Poker Mindset. It definitely helped clarify some of the mental aspects of the game. In fact, I may need to reread it....

Good luck.

Well I was reading through this thread, and I have to admit, I learned quite a bit! =D I especially like the book references, since I've managed to just about read every book on poker in my library system here lol.

You can usually get books via 'inter-library book loans' (so you should/could be able to get just about every book out there). In my area I can order up any poker book via library as long as it's date of publish is at least one year old (in the first year they don't ship them out to other libraries).

As far as OP's post goes. Read up on Bankroll Management. Here's a quote (but not verbatum & not sure of who the source was).. Even if you were the very best poker player (shitty wording there)... if you don't practise bankroll management you will go broke... it is fact.

Winning MTT regs. suggest that you actually only use 1% of your bankroll for a buyin (1% rule). 2% for a STT/SNG. I think in the micros you can stretch it a bit more than this... but not by alot.

Why 'after a decent showing'?
The buyin one needs to play at is kind of a balance of things... ie. if the buyin you're playing at doesn't get your interest (ie. you can't get motivated to play it) then you won't be playing your best poker. Same goes for if the buyin is too high for your bankroll. You need to find that balance. If one isn't rolled enough to play at a buyin they find to be ideal (ie. comfortable playing at it but still motivated to play their best game for the win) then either deposit more OR find a game within your bankroll means & grind away to get a bigger roll.
Playing low buyin rebuys is a good alternative to taking shots at buyins out of your range.... with the oppurtunity for playing deepstack poker after the rebuy period, where better players will have a greater edge over their opponents (& the prizepools are much larger than the freezeouts). Also be willing to rebuy & learn about rebuy mtt strategy.

I know a guy who is up over $250k online but never keeps a bankroll much above $10k online at any one site (sometimes lets it get to $20k). When he is fully rolled ($10k) he plays any and all buyin MTTs on Fulltilt, up to & including $500 Ftops MainEvents. Once his roll dips below $3k he drops down in buyins and if it goes to $2k he wil then grind the $2-$5 rebuy MTTs to bring it back up. Seems to work well for him.
Another thing he mentioned is... when he's rolled at $20K, he doesn't play as well as when he's only rolled with $10k.

Another problem with taking stabs at higher buyins is... let's say you're rolled for the $2's.. but you play a $20 and take it down. Can you see yourself going back to the $2's? (many can.... but many more can't!).

My own personal advice is.. 'slow & steady wins the race'.

Thanks for the tip, I'll look it up. (sorry, off topic)