How to tell if you are improving

I was wondering how to tell if my game is actually improving. I play on bodog and mostly stick to the 2.20 beginner SnG's due to a very low bankroll. It seems my winnings are matching my losses as after a few weeks my bankroll has not moved more then a few dollars each way. Now on to the real question, how do I know I am actually learning from my experience and not just continually making the same mistakes. I am getting more comfortable playing games but that does not mean I am actually improving does it?

on a side note, what do the terms LAG and TAG mean?

LAG= Loose-Aggressive

TAG= Tight-Aggressive

The easiest way to tell if your game is improving is if your bankroll begins to increase more than usual. Instead of breaking even as you said, you start to notice that you are now moving up and not looking back.
Another way is to post some hand histories on here and see what amazing info comes your way, and from this info, you are also able to judge your ability to play the game with great omgzskillz.

royalburrito24 said:

LAG= Loose-Aggressive

TAG= Tight-Aggressive

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A little extra below

TAG - Is someone who generally plays only the best starting hands, aj+, kqs+ and pp's. They then always play their hands aggresively. There are of course exceptions. They general also play position very well

LAG - Is something i attempt to play very badly. A LAG player will widen up their starting hands, but will play them aggressivly. So you will see raises from middle position with 6,7 suited or k,9. These players are generally very good flop players that make their money from outplaying opponents on flops

Unix said:

I was wondering how to tell if my game is actually improving. I play on bodog and mostly stick to the 2.20 beginner SnG's...

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I think SnG's have more variance than a ring game, and the bigger swings would make it more difficult to tell if you're getting better/worse or if you're just running hot/cold.

Bankroll indicates success, and success usually indicates good play. So if your bankroll was increasing at a higher rate, it's a good indicator that your play is improving.

Using software like PokerTracker would be the best to see if your ROI is improving at all. I don't think that sharkscope covers Bodog, otherwise I'd advise looking at their stats on your S&G record.

So really, I think the best indicator is to ask yourself if you are making better decisions now as opposed to before? I know, "better" is subjective, as any change you make will be because you think it's better, whether it really is or not. What I mean is that, are you now able to recognize profitable situations and exploit them better than before? Do you have a better understanding of when you can/can't steal, or can you now fold that J/J over pair when you couldn't before?

its probably also go alot to do with the payout structure of beginere SNGs. I mean its really flat and means it will take longer to build a BR up.

Unix said:

..on bodog and mostly stick to the 2.20 beginner SnG's due to a very low bankroll.

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tough venue... I've seen a large range of play at those levels... kinda the luck of the draw as to whether your playing skilled players or complete fools...

SavagePenguin said:

Bankroll indicates success, and success usually indicates good play. So if your bankroll was increasing at a higher rate, it's a good indicator that your play is improving.

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Mostly true... except as noted above and with a small BR, a long downswing is tough to weather

SavagePenguin said:

..PokerTracker... J/J over pair when you couldn't before?

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Very good points. Well put.

also... don't overlook the articles tab up above...

PokerPete said:

tough venue... I've seen a large range of play at those levels... kinda the luck of the draw as to whether your playing skilled players or complete fools...



Mostly true... except as noted above and with a small BR, a long downswing is tough to weather


Very good points. Well put.

also... don't overlook the articles tab up above...

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is it me or do you use the oldest internet explorer around?

Gallo said:

is it me or do you use the oldest internet explorer around?

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lol DISSSS.

Gallo said:

is it me or do you use internet explorer?

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royalburrito24 said:

lol DISSSS.

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This would have been enough of a diss

I play a lot more live poker than online. I started keeping track in a notebook how I was doing, recording the dates, buy-in and return. I've mostly been tracking my profit and judging from there how I'm doing. I can also look back and see where I've gone through cold snaps and hot streaks. It all helps I guess if you're serious about improving.

If you are maintaining a positive ROI of +20% or more over lets say 100 sng played i would say you know you are improving then.
Especially sng you can't really judge your game until you play ALOT and check your stats over time,then you know if you improving or not.
Check this software for recording all your results.
Poker Score

pw is yomother






need a measly 1 more post to qualify..think strategy or as we Americans say strategery

Maybe you could check Sharkscope.com and see if your graph has an upwards trend?

not necessarily just your bankroll, cause improving doesn't mean your making money every game,

but are you improving your position, are you consistently finishing top 3, top 2? or are you all over the map???

if you find yourself finishing first one game 7th the other 3rd the next, you probably arnt improving your game. unless of course a severe bad beat it happens to us all. consistency is key as you get better you will consistently rank in the money without even noticing it, and will be mad at yourself if you dont.

Well after someone made the comment about the beginner SnG's being such a flat payout and using some bogus mathematical formula I came up with I figured I should start playing the 1.20 45 person SnG's. And now I am seeing an increase in my bankroll. I hope this trend continues. Thanks for the advice everyone