Being a sissy?

B

BondsHOF

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 20, 2010
Total posts
58
Chips
0
New to online but not to poker and can't belive the beats people take. I've sat live 30 hour sesions and haven't seen what I've witnessed online. I'm talking flop sets vs. deep stack wheel draw 4 outer and hitting on the regular. AA vs AJ pre flop. KK vs J10off pre flop. Flop nut flush vs. weak two pair (89off) to spike a boat on the river. I want to puke. Granted none of this was any of my money just observing tables and some of the freerolls I play in.
I guess my question is if I'm comfortable at a live 2-5 nl game should I adjust and play in mutil-table cash micro-stakes to off set this seemingly unrelenting sting of suckouts. Or SIN and sit with my entire bank and play in the 1-3/2-5 NL game.

(found some hiding in an old jacket:canabis:) Truth is I'm nervous about investing any real money to an online account to play in a 1-3 or 2-5 nl game. I was very profitable (just under 3K) last year live, but with extra cash came trouble (DUI's) now stuck at home, online is the only action. I can't bring myself to make a deposit. I feel if I deposit $25, $100 or even $500 it will just be a waste (the bad beats). It was Sammy Farha who said on wsop ESPN afew years ago that he can beat the good players but bad players are toughter to beat. "I can't beat bad players" Sam Farha.

Think I'll just be taking a break from poker until I'm finished with this court BS and take money from friends at their homegames and get rides to the pokerrooms when I can. Or I'll just keep doing what I'm doing and freeroll and maybe get an online bankroll that way. I hate my life. HA!!!
 
Last edited:
bigdog111

bigdog111

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jan 21, 2009
Total posts
147
Chips
0
sounds like you just want to kill some time, micro stakes might be your game,it is entertaining,and competitive, and you cant loose to much, you can build a bank roll and have fun doing it,you will also get lots of practice in online play,as you said it is much different at these stakes level, but still fun. good luck with the courts and at the tables
 
bhood1776

bhood1776

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Feb 17, 2010
Total posts
182
Chips
0
I wouldn't invest a lot of money if you feel tentative of online play. It will always be in the back of your mind and will ruin your game. Just invest a small amount and try to have fun with it instead of trying to make a big score.
 
NCfoldem

NCfoldem

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Apr 13, 2010
Total posts
259
Chips
0
In one of my 1st posts, I exclaimed "I can't afford the bad beats!" I was roundly criticized for this - some even thought that my perception of what a bad beat was might be errant. I'm glad that I am not alone in my perception. Some online players will not fold, and they will get lucky. 1st one player, then a different player at the same table. It's like dodging a minefield. I also feel that my game works better against better opponents. You're not alone; if I had a solution to the problem I would give it to you. I haven't funded any online account in months, and have no immediate plans to do so. If I can do a "Chris Ferguson" and turn nothing into something - great. If you figure out a way to offset the bad beats, let me know. I wish you good luck, though.
 
forsakenone

forsakenone

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Nov 24, 2009
Total posts
1,385
Chips
0
just ad 20$ on a site, play some micros, see how it goes, if you bust. so be it, it's 20$.

the beauty of online is that instead of playing a game of 2/5 you can play 10 games of 25c/50c and one bad beat at a time won't heart you as long as you play decent poker and if you are above your competitors even if just by a little.
 
TheNoob

TheNoob

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
May 2, 2008
Total posts
540
Chips
0
You're worried about people making stupid calls?

I'm not an expert, that's for sure. But I think people playing badly is how you make money playing poker.
 
TheNoob

TheNoob

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
May 2, 2008
Total posts
540
Chips
0
In one of my 1st posts, I exclaimed "I can't afford the bad beats!" I was roundly criticized for this - some even thought that my perception of what a bad beat was might be errant. I'm glad that I am not alone in my perception. Some online players will not fold, and they will get lucky. 1st one player, then a different player at the same table. It's like dodging a minefield. I also feel that my game works better against better opponents. You're not alone; if I had a solution to the problem I would give it to you. I haven't funded any online account in months, and have no immediate plans to do so. If I can do a "Chris Ferguson" and turn nothing into something - great. If you figure out a way to offset the bad beats, let me know. I wish you good luck, though.


It's simple math, isn't it?

The more situations you get in that you are favored, the better. It doesn't matter if you win or lose.

In the long run, a bad beat means nothing. If you were a favorite to win the hand, it means you were making the correct decisions.

In the long run, this is all that matters.
 
L

LarryT503

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
May 8, 2008
Total posts
375
Chips
0
If you're scared to invest your own money because of the bad beats, then just freeroll until you can win some money to play on. DUI? Sounds like you got bigger problems than poker! Grow up before you kill someone!
 
NCfoldem

NCfoldem

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Apr 13, 2010
Total posts
259
Chips
0
It's simple math, isn't it?

The more situations you get in that you are favored, the better. It doesn't matter if you win or lose.

In the long run, a bad beat means nothing. If you were a favorite to win the hand, it means you were making the correct decisions.

In the long run, this is all that matters.

Oh, man ... you make it sound so sensible. I'm tellin ya Noob, I make good decisions .. I can go a couple of weeks without being behind in an all-in sometimes, and of course my game is far from perfect, but how much should I be willing to lose on my way to winning? I have had payouts, winning months also, but really am not willing to have multiple bad days. I'm not a gambler (at heart), just like the skill involved with poker. I hijacked this thread .. my bad. I apologize to OP.
 
C

Curty Curt1

Rising Star
Silver Level
Joined
May 1, 2010
Total posts
15
Chips
0
As I whole heartedly agree that BAD BEATS are a part of poker, just not to the extent you see online !!!
We have all experienced them and rarely do we remember the "Ace on the river" we got to make that 10-K good, but we do remember the 2PR flop, bet, call.....and SHAZAMMM, dONK spikes the Ace and knocks you out of the Ferg....
BUT.....the cooler hands that I see daily is INCREDIBLE !!!!
All I "try" to do is play small ball, till about 10% of the players left.

This is very hard to do and will test your Anger Management skills, but any Live Touney player will tell you that this is successful formula in real tourneys.

Practice, Practice, Practice

Good Luck....
Curty 3.0
 
NCfoldem

NCfoldem

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Apr 13, 2010
Total posts
259
Chips
0
I don't suck out much ... could be weeks. I'm not behind generally. My faulty play is elsewhere. I also don't consider a tourney where I survive due to a suck out as a successful tourney, just a lucky one. No, I don't enjoy winning with a suck out either, with 1 exception. You know, when that donkey finally gets what he deserves ...lol!
 
Wes747

Wes747

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 30, 2009
Total posts
550
Chips
0
Dude....don't play 1/3 or 2/5 nl online. First off I don't think they have those stakes. It would be 1/2, 2/4, or 3/6. Second - FROM WHAT I'VE HEARD (not firsthand knowledge) live stakes don't even come close to matching online stakes. A 1/2 live game matches up to a .05/.1 online game. The players online see much more hands than a live player. I could see as many hands online in an hour as you did in your 30 hour live session.

Sooooo what I'm trying to say is, follow what these guys have told you. Deposit $50 or so and start playing .01/.02 or .02/.04 cash games and see how it feels. Try to keep a proper bankroll (at least 20 buyins for the level you are playing) so that you don't go busto. You may think that online poker is "rigged" and yaddayadda....but its not. If you want to discuss that I'm pretty sure there is a massive thread around here somewhere that does exactly that...
 
TheNoob

TheNoob

Visionary
Silver Level
Joined
May 2, 2008
Total posts
540
Chips
0
Oh, man ... you make it sound so sensible. I'm tellin ya Noob, I make good decisions .. I can go a couple of weeks without being behind in an all-in sometimes, and of course my game is far from perfect, but how much should I be willing to lose on my way to winning? I have had payouts, winning months also, but really am not willing to have multiple bad days. I'm not a gambler (at heart), just like the skill involved with poker. I hijacked this thread .. my bad. I apologize to OP.

Doesn't sound like a hijack, really. Your post seems to be right in line with the spirit of the OP.

I'll say it again just so I don't misrepresent myself: I'm certainly no expert here.

But some of the very important things we all need to learn about poker are very simple and not at all difficult to come to terms with.

Did you see Doyles little blurb on PAD? "It's not about winning or losing, folks, it's about making the right decisions".

You ask how much how much you should be willing to lose on your way to winning? I think the answer is - whatever it takes. If you are making the right decisions, it doesn't matter what you lose (assuming your playing within your bankroll).

You say you're not a gambler, and oh man I can relate. Part of the problem with my game, I think, is that I'm way too easy to bluff. I just don't want to do too much gambling.

I think good poker players are gamblers, but they are gambling with odds that favor them. You will never win at the craps table because no matter what you do, the odds will never be in your favor. Over the long term, you will always lose.

Making the right decisions at the poker table will tilt those odds in your favor, so in the long term you will win. Keep playing, keep making the correct decisions and power through losing the 4:1 and 5:1 situations. Over time you will win. It couldn't be more important to emphasize: You hit your set and the donk calls you down to hit his gutshot on the river. You know it just as well as I, you want him to be making those calls all day long. The few times you will lose there, smile and know you played it correctly. (ok, punch the cat and know you played it correctly ...... whatever).

I truly believe part of Phil Ivey's success (on top of his finely honed poker skillset), is a sense of when he should gamble and a very enthusiastic willingness to do so.

Ah, it's just thoughts and I imagine they are worth about .02.
 
Poker Orifice

Poker Orifice

Fully Tilted
Platinum Level
Joined
Jan 19, 2008
Total posts
25,602
Awards
6
CA
Chips
968
You say your experience online has been in freerolls.... how can you consider comparing this with a real game? (of course there'll be ridiculous suckouts because of the retarded play in the freerolls). Comparing play in online freerolls to real money is apples & oranges..... obviously.

If you read any of the poker mags. you will regularly see pros making statements like this >> (Justin Bonomo >> " a player who is a winning player at their local casino in $5/$10 making a transition to online & attempting to play at those same stakes will be busto within a month or two" << not verbatum but pretty close). Many compare live $1/$2 to 10nl online ($0.05/0.10),... there are a TON of online micro grinders, some of them taking it very seriously in an effort to move up in buyin levels (you'll see alot of players in micros who've played 100K+ hands there).

I had no qualms about depositing $'s online when I first started out & had never heard anything before about 'freerolls'. Once I got going though I did happen to come across some priv. poker forums that offered freerolls to their members (& the play was half decent & at least gave me an oppurtunity to see many hands). A short time after I got playing online I wished I'd deposited more than I originally had... not because I was losing but because I wanted to be rolled to play at higher buyin levels (didn't want to be stuck playing $1 sng's). The slow & steady grind was okay though & provided me with alot of entertainment/recreation.

My suggestion would be to make a deposit (maybe $100 - $200) & start out at micro limits (10nl if playing cash game) & then grind out a few thousand hands (10K+) and then just take it from there (only seems like a natural progression). On the flip side, I've known many people where I live who'd deposited online & have attempted to play at limits they'd typically play live, lose their entire roll, deposit again... lose it again & then claim how online poker sucks so bad & that no decent player can win at it (none of them believe me that I'm actually +$'s online, lol... except when they're purchasing chips from me, lol).

To consider sticking with only the freerolls after already knowing how to play & with some experience..... idk... I guess it just depends on what your own goals/aspirations are with it. Personally I love online poker it f'n rocks (I'd be devastated if online poker ceased to exist).
 
B

BondsHOF

Enthusiast
Silver Level
Joined
Mar 20, 2010
Total posts
58
Chips
0
Much help, very greatfull. Seems the question I should have asked got answered. What levels should I start with being new to online yet still a knowlagable live player? 10nl huh, who knew? 10nl seem like a great place to start.
 
norriscjn

norriscjn

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Apr 6, 2008
Total posts
308
Chips
0
Yeah you better get use to losing on suckouts if you havent played online before. You in for a real suprise if your use to live poker. Its like night and day difference. Good luck at the tables and try microstakes if your worried about your bankroll. Oh yeah maybe you should smoke that pot you found in your jacket after you take the enormous beating your about to receive online.
 
T

TinaPete

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Jun 30, 2008
Total posts
130
Awards
1
Chips
16
Hello, I agree with you and so do a lot of other people...too many bad beats in online poker..I would not invest a lot of money..but playing online will improve your game ..it's like NY if you can make it here you can make it any where...smiles...good luck to you and all cc members
 
C

cheddachris

Rock Star
Silver Level
Joined
Apr 21, 2010
Total posts
107
Chips
0
I'd have to agree with putting 20$ on and just seeing how it goes in some small tourneys or micro stake cash games, if dont want to put anything on try playing some freerolls or with some play money just to get the feel of playing online
 
Mase31683

Mase31683

Legend
Silver Level
Joined
Sep 27, 2008
Total posts
1,474
Awards
1
Chips
1
30 hours live is about 900 hands, that's about one hour of play online
 
Top