just graded myself on ptr

well i just graded myself on ptr and got pretty much all f's. It keeps saying about me being to aggressive. I find this weird because its really telling me to tighten up but every poker book i pick up says how important it is to be aggressive. I am currently not a winning player, i just had a big loss on pokerstars loosing $200 playing in the 0.5-0.10 game and yes i went behind bankroll managment and ended up in the 25 50. I know it was stupid i can see it now its just that i want to improve my poker but the opponents at 5 10 i dont think they are doing me much good. Im not to bothered about making money i just want to learn as much as i possibly can... although money would be nice.

Post some hands where you lost a buy in

I don't know how it works but PTR is probably right because they're grading your play in those specific stakes. You can't really apply what you read in the books to the micro stakes, you're not playing in a table full of tough players so forget it. Even if there are good players, you shouldn't be looking to play against them when there are so many fish out there.

Just try to identify the calling stations (catch a hand and value bet them to death), the weak players who rarely go to showdown (they'll be playing good hands pre-flop, but you'll usually be able to make them fold after the flop. Don't get carried away, though, since when they do seem willing to call all the way to showdown, they're strong) and the maniacs (catch a hand and let them bet for you). These are the guys that will give you money. If there are none at your table, change to another one.

It's fine. You just have to realize that raises are not absurd obstacles to you getting in your top pair.

After betting on the flop and getting raised, you have to slow down. The board is so cordinated and wet, its really hard to think we are ahead here. And on the turn, we only beat bluffs so to bet and essentially lose value from all bluffs makes it a bad bet. Its closer to a c/f on the turn tbh. The turn and river bet there is a guaranteed loser.

A couple of tips:

Aggressive != Loose. Being more aggressive doesn't necessarily mean you need to open with a lot wider range. It just means you shouldn't play passive when you do open a hand. The key to winning aggression is selective aggression. And like marginal said, you need to learn when to slow down. Not to necessarily fold immediately, but to practice pot control when you have a strong yet vulnerable hand.

When posting HH's for critique, it's a lot more helpful if you post them in standard formats. Most of us are used to the standard format and it's easier for us to read and follow the action. So make sure your poker client is saving HH's to your hard drive, then cut & paste the HH to the forum. Better yet, use a HH converter to post it in a nicer forum-friendly format. Deuces Cracked has a nice, free converter,[/quote] and if you use Firefox look at their Handfire extension to make this even easier (you won't have to go to the website to convert HHs, you just copy to clipboard, click a button in Firefox, and paste).

ollie627 said:

... and yes i went behind bankroll managment and ended up in the 25 50. I know it was stupid ...

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Let me guess, you lost most of your bankroll in the 25 50 tables. I realy think your problem is bankroll management and you can't starting playing highest table because you losing in the low tables.

The PTR grading is based off the top ten(?) winners' stats at the selected level. The problem with that is many of the top winners at .10 NLHE multi-table and play an entirely different game opposed to 1-2 table players.

I would pay little attention to the grade itself. There is some advantage to making minor adjustments based on them. However, basing all your adjustments on them is hap hazard. Play solid poker and forget what works for everyone else. Find your own style and tweak your plays based on your opponents, NOT what the numbers tell you.

Pay attention to the common mistakes at those levels and capitalize on them such as over playing weak aces, min betting as a bluff, playing mid range hands out of position, over playing moderate draws. Those are but a few common errors made at those stakes you should learn to exploit.

PS. PTR may be a violation of the TOS for your poker site. I know for a fact using it as a Pokerstars player is a violation and subjects you to a ban from the site.

marginal said:

After betting on the flop and getting raised, you have to slow down. The board is so cordinated and wet, its really hard to think we are ahead here. And on the turn, we only beat bluffs so to bet and essentially lose value from all bluffs makes it a bad bet. Its closer to a c/f on the turn tbh. The turn and river bet there is a guaranteed loser.

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+1

dmorris68 said:

A couple of tips:

Aggressive != Loose. Being more aggressive doesn't necessarily mean you need to open with a lot wider range. It just means you shouldn't play passive when you do open a hand. The key to winning aggression is selective aggression. And like marginal said, you need to learn when to slow down. Not to necessarily fold immediately, but to practice pot control when you have a strong yet vulnerable hand.

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+ 1

Zorfox said:

PS. PTR may be a violation of the TOS for your poker site. I know for a fact using it as a Pokerstars player is a violation and subjects you to a ban from the site.

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This is only true if you use it while playing. If used when not on any tables on pokerstars, its fine.

rssurfer54 said:

This is only true if you use it while playing. If used when not on any tables on pokerstars, its fine.

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Technically, by the letter of their ToS, it is a violation. It's actually on their "always prohibited" list. They have said "unofficially" before that they won't go after anybody over it, after the ruckus it caused with privacy laws some time back with some Euro countries. But it's still spelled out in the TOS so I would just tread carefully and not do it in game at least.

Ironically enough, today on the DTB forums this topic came up. Someone suggested the coaches should not link to their PTR results for this reason. Hunter came in and said they had a good relationship with Stars and that he was sure this wouldn't be an issue if not done while playing. After it was pointed out that PTR was on their "always prohibited" list and not just their "prohibited while playing" list, Hunter came back later and agreed that all coach's results would be converted to screenshots instead of PTR links, so as not to lead customers into violating a site's terms. So apparently it was enough to concern Hunter and DTB...

Just food for thought.