I want it bad....

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jbeezy24

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I got $33.00 in my bank roll on poker stars, got semi knowledge of texas hold em poker, and i want to turn this into big bucks (like everyone's dreams), what do i gotta do.


I wanna be able to turn this into a couple hundred bucks, and then eventually be able to make maybe 400-500$ a month just off playing poker. I know i have to start at the bottom and put in tons of hard work, but I think i'm ready for it and dedicated to it. But what do i got to do?

I am only half decent at Sit & Go's and Ring Games for Texas hold em no limit. I have played more ring games then sit & go's but either way, i haven't been winning the way i should be. I deposited $20 lost it, then put in another $20 got it up to 45$ at one point, but then steadily dropped down to $33 which is where i sit right now. For Ring Games I played (.01cents/.02cents blinds) & for Sit and Go's I did the $1.75 buy ins with 9 people where top 3 got paid.


I don't have the money to buy books on ring games or other things like poker softwares but I have the dedication required. I have read the stuff on CC forums and the strategy articles, and they did help a bit but I think i need more help to be a winning player at the ratio I want. I don't know what to do or how to win, but any positive help is extremely welcome whether someone is willing to coach me or spend a few hours helping me. (Which would be amazingly nice, but i don't think anyone would be willing to do that) or if there are poker books that have been leaked or good free poker articles online I can read that apply to the type of game I play, or whatever there is I gotta do to achieve my goal.


Cardschat has had the nicest members of any forums i've seen, and that is why i've come to you guys for help :)


Appreciate it tons for any help you guys can give, thanks.
 
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mikejm

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i would say play cash games in order to be properly rolled for sng's you need 100 buy ins so your really not gonna be properly and you will probably lose your 30 dollars. now the first piece of advice i would give is to go and get the pokertracker sixty day free trial. it really helps to evaluate your game and helps you multi table more efficiently. then after that just start grinding 2nl and practice strict bankroll management. just play as many hands as possible and do as much reading as possible and you will be on your way.
 
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jbeezy24

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For the reading, where can i find readings?

Are there any readings and things i can do online that can help me figure out in a better way? And i think i'll play a good amount of hands tonight multi tabling.
 
mrmonkey

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beezy, how many hands have you seen at cash 2nl? How many SNG?

You really need about 15,000+ hands at cash ring to get a sense of whether you are a consistent winner or loser, and not just the recipient of good or bad luck. Swings can last a good 5,000-10,000 hands

For SNG, it's probably something like 500-1000 STT SNG under your belt to determine where you are really at.

The thing is, it's likely you have not played enough to really know yet if you are a consistent winner or loser yet. I remember you making a thread a while back about depositing $10 or somesuch and losing it quickly, then redepositing another $10 and losing that quickly. 5-10 buyin swings at cash ring in any level of poker is fairly normal, and at 2nl that means $10-20 swings are to be expected... so even if you are the donkiest donk to ever donk off your stack you could still easily be +$20 from what you should be or if you are Phil Ivey sitting in at 2nl for a little while you could be -$20 making every right decision and owning the noobs (but getting sucked out on every which way).

So that said, winning or losing $20 at this point really doesn't tell you anything about your current skill level.

What you do need to do at this point in time with a tiny $30 roll is to figure out how good you really are, and to play as much as possible to figure out what you are doing wrong and what you are doing right.

I think the immediate goal should not be to win or lose money, but rather to say to yourself you will get 15,000 hands of experience out of your $30 bankroll at cash ring 2nl and ONLY 2nl. Don't worry about your bankroll, just focus on how you are playing each hand. After 15,000 hands, take a look at what you have learned and see where your bankroll is at. If your bankroll is around zero, then you know you have a lot to learn. If your bankroll is unchanged, then you know you can at least play break even, and a few tweaks may make you a winner. If your bankroll has grown, then you know you can probably beat 2nl and should keep doing what you are doing while making small tweaks to improve your winrate.

I would also recommend downloading a poker tracking program such as Poker Tracker 3 and begin using its 60-day trial. The HUD isn't necessarily the reason for using it as this point for you, rather I think it's more important you put in a lot of volume and track your progress and see your stats -- such as how many pots you are entering and how aggressively you are playing. PT3 makes it a lot easier to review your past hands and to fix things that you may be doing wrong.

Sorry for the wall of text...

In short: Don't worry about your bankroll right now, focus on getting experience and learning. Try to get at least 15,000 hands out of your $30 bankroll by sticking to ONLY cash ring 2nl, and playing NOTHING ELSE. Use a very tight preflop starting range hand chart, and pay particular attention to position. After 15,000 hands, look back at what you have done and evaluate your next step.
 
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jbeezy24

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where can i get this poker tracker at?

thanks for the help, and oh lord....just played 5 tables at once trying to get as many hands as possible

LOST WITH QQ to A 7

Lost with JQ when i flopped top pair to a runner runner straight

Lost with KK to A 5....

i dont understand how bad my luck is right now


Dropped $4 in bankroll, but your theory seems very reeasonable so i wanna give it a shot using that program.
 
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jbeezy24

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On 2NL i've only played about 2,491 hands so far in total as per the statistics posted on Pokertableratings.com
 
OzExorcist

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While I tend to agree with mrmonkey on volume and experience being important, I think it's important that you're not just getting in volume for volume's sake.

To that end I probably wouldn't be playing more than one or two tables at a time right now. Really focus on the game, what's happening and how your opponents are playing and try to make the best decisions you can.

When you've got a decision that you're not sure about or that gave you difficulty, copy the hand history and post it over in the hand analysis forums. We've got plenty of members willing to give you advice on how different hands can be played and over time hopefully you'll start to make better and better decisions. When you're confident in your decisions and you're winning some money then you can look at starting to play more tables and getting in serious volume.
 
PoKeRFoRNiA

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beezy, how many hands have you seen at cash 2nl? How many SNG?

You really need about 15,000+ hands at cash ring to get a sense of whether you are a consistent winner or loser, and not just the recipient of good or bad luck. Swings can last a good 5,000-10,000 hands

For SNG, it's probably something like 500-1000 STT SNG under your belt to determine where you are really at.

The thing is, it's likely you have not played enough to really know yet if you are a consistent winner or loser yet. I remember you making a thread a while back about depositing $10 or somesuch and losing it quickly, then redepositing another $10 and losing that quickly. 5-10 buyin swings at cash ring in any level of poker is fairly normal, and at 2nl that means $10-20 swings are to be expected... so even if you are the donkiest donk to ever donk off your stack you could still easily be +$20 from what you should be or if you are Phil Ivey sitting in at 2nl for a little while you could be -$20 making every right decision and owning the noobs (but getting sucked out on every which way).

So that said, winning or losing $20 at this point really doesn't tell you anything about your current skill level.

What you do need to do at this point in time with a tiny $30 roll is to figure out how good you really are, and to play as much as possible to figure out what you are doing wrong and what you are doing right.

I think the immediate goal should not be to win or lose money, but rather to say to yourself you will get 15,000 hands of experience out of your $30 bankroll at cash ring 2nl and ONLY 2nl. Don't worry about your bankroll, just focus on how you are playing each hand. After 15,000 hands, take a look at what you have learned and see where your bankroll is at. If your bankroll is around zero, then you know you have a lot to learn. If your bankroll is unchanged, then you know you can at least play break even, and a few tweaks may make you a winner. If your bankroll has grown, then you know you can probably beat 2nl and should keep doing what you are doing while making small tweaks to improve your winrate.

I would also recommend downloading a poker tracking program such as Poker Tracker 3 and begin using its 60-day trial. The HUD isn't necessarily the reason for using it as this point for you, rather I think it's more important you put in a lot of volume and track your progress and see your stats -- such as how many pots you are entering and how aggressively you are playing. PT3 makes it a lot easier to review your past hands and to fix things that you may be doing wrong.

Sorry for the wall of text...

In short: Don't worry about your bankroll right now, focus on getting experience and learning. Try to get at least 15,000 hands out of your $30 bankroll by sticking to ONLY cash ring 2nl, and playing NOTHING ELSE. Use a very tight preflop starting range hand chart, and pay particular attention to position. After 15,000 hands, look back at what you have done and evaluate your next step.

Honestly dude, 10-15k hands isn't enough to determine whether you're a consistent winning player or not.

I played over 30k hands of Rush Poker(1k hand per day every single day) during July. Was up 20 buy-ins. Then on August, I lost 10 buy-ins within first 10 days of August. But of course, Rush is different from standard ring games.

But I have friends who had awesome winning sessions for first 10-15k and then everything went downhill and overall, lost instead of profiting.

I would say 50k hands. some say 100k.

For sngs, I agree. About 500-1000 sngs should be enough to see if you're a winning player at the stake u play.

To the OP, you're better off gambling and building your bankroll. You might wanna read this. After all, you can't be serious about building a roll steadily with brm on stars with $30, right? On full tilt, it's possible. On stars, no. only way u gotta build ur bankroll on stars is to deviate from brm and gamble it up. You really can't apply brm with $30 or consider taking poker seriously on stars with $33

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/learning-poker-57/building-baby-bankroll-181238/
Great thread by OZExorcist
 
wagon596

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GOOD LUCK,,, not much of a bank roll to start with that's for sure.
 
mrmonkey

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where can i get this poker tracker at?

thanks for the help, and oh lord....just played 5 tables at once trying to get as many hands as possible

LOST WITH QQ to A 7

Lost with JQ when i flopped top pair to a runner runner straight

Lost with KK to A 5....

i dont understand how bad my luck is right now


Dropped $4 in bankroll, but your theory seems very reeasonable so i wanna give it a shot using that program.

This is exactly the reason why it's very hard to get a sense of where you are at in the beginning, because things like this can happen which look terrible to your bankroll but you might actually have been playing perfectly.

You can get poker tracker 3 here:

http://www.pokertracker.com/

While I tend to agree with mrmonkey on volume and experience being important, I think it's important that you're not just getting in volume for volume's sake.

To that end I probably wouldn't be playing more than one or two tables at a time right now. Really focus on the game, what's happening and how your opponents are playing and try to make the best decisions you can.

I agree definitely with all OzExorcist has to say here and in his excellent bankroll building guide post that Pokerfornia linked to below. Read it and internalize it!

It is important to gain experience and volume, but do it at a pace that is comfortable. Don't push for more tables unless you feel like you can handle it while being observant of other players and taking notes on their playing.

Building a bankroll from nothing while trying to stay within some sort of BRM framework with a low risk of ruin is usually slow and laborious work. When doing so, it's really not about the money -- it's about learning and enjoying the game of poker and improving along the way. When this begins to happen, the bankroll will naturally follow suit.

Honestly dude, 10-15k hands isn't enough to determine whether you're a consistent winning player or not.

I played over 30k hands of Rush Poker(1k hand per day every single day) during July. Was up 20 buy-ins. Then on August, I lost 10 buy-ins within first 10 days of August. But of course, Rush is different from standard ring games.

But I have friends who had awesome winning sessions for first 10-15k and then everything went downhill and overall, lost instead of profiting.

I would say 50k hands. some say 100k.

I'm mostly in agreement with you here, but I think at regular cash 15k hands is an ok starting point that can give some basic indicators of how you're playing. Yes, swings can last longer than 15k hands, but the probability of an extended heater or cooler over such a period is probably a lot less than a sampling of only 5-10k hands. I know most will say 50k-100k are a better indicator, but honestly putting in 100k hands at 2nl 1-4 tabling would take an eternity.

The key thing here is that OP understand that variance swings in poker can last over many many hands, so it is difficult to get a good feel for how good or bad you are playing independently of luck without putting in a fair number of hands.

To the OP, you're better off gambling and building your bankroll. You might wanna read this. After all, you can't be serious about building a roll steadily with brm on stars with $30, right? On full tilt, it's possible. On stars, no. only way u gotta build ur bankroll on stars is to deviate from brm and gamble it up. You really can't apply brm with $30 or consider taking poker seriously on stars with $33

I don't necessarily think this is true -- it's possible to do with the right mindset and finding ones "best fit" game. This is why I think it's important not to really think about the money at first, but just focus on the actual poker being played. When you get more confident after having played x amount of hands and starting to come into your own game, then you can get more serious about figuring out the fastest/most efficient ways to grow your bankroll.

It sounds to me like OP is not yet 100% confident about where he stands with his poker skillset -- so to get an idea requires just a lot of hands being played.

There's another member on CC that is grinding a tiny roll at Pstars, made his way up to $50 in about 2 months or so playing 2nl FR. I know this seems miniscule, but he has put in about 40,000+ hands and is posting a winrate of about 2.5bb/100 -- not setting the world on fire, but it's a good starting platform to go from and see where he can improve and get that winrate going higher.

Another good example of a 2nl grinder that practiced very tight bankroll discipline can be found here:

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/poker-goals-challenges-wins-46/
 
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jbeezy24

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Checking out the links right now and alsoo downloading the poker tracker....is poker tracker something I will need to continually use even after the 60 day trial however?


And well money's tight for me, im just a college student with a minimum wage job....so $33 on my bankroll is basically what I can afford to put into poker right now, so thats why i'm trying to do what i can with what i have.
 
Stu_Ungar

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Checking out the links right now and alsoo downloading the poker tracker....is poker tracker something I will need to continually use even after the 60 day trial however?

Yes you will need it
 
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jbeezy24

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One major question I have though is.....What hand's do you raise preflop and what hand's do you call/limp preflop?

So basically if someone can generally tell me in each position what hand's they'd generally call or raise preflop, that would be a great help because I think that's what my greatest weakness at this point is.
 
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One major question I have though is.....What hand's do you raise preflop and what hand's do you call/limp preflop?

So basically if someone can generally tell me in each position what hand's they'd generally call or raise preflop, that would be a great help because I think that's what my greatest weakness at this point is.

One thing I did that was super helpful and free was read the cardschat cashgames archives. Obviously you can't read every single article, but read the ones you think will help you. Articles by ChuckTs, Stu Ungar, FPaulsen, and a guy called c9somethingor other and many more members all had great stuff. The answers to your questions are in the archives. Just search for it. Good luck.
 
Salty Mouse

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Go old school, and see if you can find some of the great poker books at your local library.

Absent that, devour the great advice that can be found on this site. I'm already seeing little improvements in my game after only about a month here. Much of the technical stuff is still over my head, but I hope to "get it" over time.
 
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jbeezy24

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So i downloaded poker tracker and used it while playing a session at poker stars.

Another losing session by a few dollars and lost with better hands, well hands i felt were better.

I left pokertracker on during that time, but I dont really know how this program works....I did turn on the Auto Import and the HUD was running, but i dont know how i can see what i'm doing wrong...or statistics or anything like that..

ANY HELP?
 
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Play only premium hands, pocket pairs and a tight/aggressive style utilizing position. Fold everything else no matter how initially enticing.

Premium hands:

AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK, AQ, AJ

Pocket Pairs:

1010, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22

-You always want to raise preflop with one of your premium hands with few exceptions in terms of position play. 8BB is the raise.

The only time you should not raise with hands like AQ or AJ is when you are out of position. The closer you are to the button the more acceptable it is for you to raise with those hands.

-You always want to raise with pocket pairs 10's and under. 6bb is the raise.

It's important to have some sort of pot built if you are in a hand. You should only be in a hand with good reason. If you are sitting at the big blind/small blind or under the gun (first position, the one immediately after the blinds) then you will want to fold hands like AK, AQ and AJ.

Strong hands like AA and KK are really all you should be raising with from the BB/SB. However, you will still want to play any pocket pair because of whats known as implied odds. If you hit your set, chances are you will be paid off something nice. Do not invest too much in QQ or JJ when in early position even though they are premium hands. Play them like the other pairs.

-Fold to a 3 bet if you have QQ-JJ

Yes, these are good hands, but it's not a good idea to call a 3 bet with them. Likewise, it'd be in poor taste for you to 3 bet while holding them.

Often times, after a 3bet, your opponents will have hands such as AK, AA or KK and you will be way behind or about 50/50% at best. If an A, K, Q hits the board you now have a decision. If you are out of position then that decision is even tougher. This is why it's important to grasp the concept of position play actually incorporate it into your game. Take this notion to heart and engrave it in your mind while it's young and in training for the game. It'll put you a step ahead of the pack and you won't regret it in the near future.

The only hands you should be 3 betting with are AA, KK and if you have position, maybe AK, but I'd leave it alone for now. If you are 3bet while holding AA or KK then go for either a 4bet or shove. You'll get paid off at 2NL.

-Be careful with AK AQ AJ and Top Pair Top kicker

Most of your money will be made off of suckers who refuse to fold their top pair while you have a set/flush and you put them all in. Do not be a sucker. The same applies with overpair's. AA and KK are monsters preflop, but up for speculation and often overvalued postflop.

Generally speaking I've found it to be a great idea to let TPTK or OP's go after you've bet the turn and still have a customer. Sure, they could be on a flush draw or you could have them out kicked, but why not wait for a better spot to get your money in? You will find that most of your losses will come from TPTK if you play long enough and analyze your hands with PokerTracker, especially if you play it out of position.

-Don't play KJ or QJ

Just don't do it. If you can't resist then at least play them suited and from the button. No other position. Worthless kicker's get you in trouble. You shouldn't be aggressive with junk. No excuse to be passive, ever. Not at 2NL. Maybe if you have a set, maybe.

- After you've raised PreFlop make sure you follow up with a continuation bet.

Aggression with a continuation bet if you are new to a table is a solid investment. Nothing like a good first impression. Ideally you will want to be heads up against one opponent when you follow with a CBet (new to the table or not) and it will also be while you're in position. If you happen to be head's up and out of position then a CBet is warranted if the board is dry (something liek 2 3 7 or 4 7 7). Even if it isn't too dry you still may want to try. Experience is the best teacher here. If your CBet is called then for the love of god let it go.

If you have 2 players in a pot with you and you miss a flop then feel free to check it down. At 2NL there isn't much value in exploiting the button most of the time, especially seeing as you're new to the game. These guys don't like to fold and now isn't the time to practice any sort of bluffing I can assure you. Not at 2NL.

-If you can be swayed into calling on the river then bet the turn instead

Remember, your style is Tight Aggressive. This will prevent your opponents from potentially sucking out on you on the river should they choose to fold to your turn bet. This is another reason as to why position and premium hands are so important at 2NL. You don't want to be aggressive in a hand without a hand for the soul sake of aggression. You want to be in control. When you're out of position then they are in control and you aren't playing poker, but a guessing game. Make them guess. These guys don't like to fold, so make them pay to gamble. Don't bluff.

-Don't bluff or play suited connectors

When you move up the ladder and are more attuned to the game then these fascists of it will be applicable, but not right now. Baby steps. Most of your money will be won at showdown while playing at 2NL. There will be lots of shoving and hardly any folding. This is why strong hands coupled with aggressive play is a must and bluffing/suited connectors have no place at this limit. You have no business calling unless you're slow playing a monster. Chances are you're beat if you need to think too hard. Suited connectors require too much calling and in the end you rarely have the odds you need to justify the call anyway. Calling is weak and you're style is strong aggressive. Let these people know they are in a pot with somebody.

-Play Full Ring Games and avoid 6-Max

Once you've become accustomed to the game you can pick your poison, but for now stick to the basics. Full ring is ABC while 6 Max can throw you for a loop if you are just starting out. There will be plenty of time to get your feet wet. Patience.

-Forget about the Money and the bad beats

These things will come and go throughout your poker career and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. Suck it up, take the pain on the chin and bury it, right now. Accept that Poker is a game of variance and long term results, not short term. So when you have a bad session don't think twice about it. You constantly want to be working to improve and look for holes in your game, but don't dwell on what you have no control over. The only way to make money at poker is to have a complete disregard for it. Get your mind right.


That's all that comes to mind right now dude. You will be doing a lot of folding and I can promise you'll come out a winner in the long run if you hone this nitty style. If you don't have the discipline and dedication to tough this out, then good luck with your poker career.

Good luck with your goals. See you at the top.
 
Last edited:
Poof

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Also at the very top of this page, under the CardsChat name, there is a tab "Strategy Articles"- There is some great reading in there.
Good luck!
 
Salty Mouse

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Play only premium hands, pocket pairs and a tight/aggressive style utilizing position. Fold everything else no matter how initially enticing.

Premium hands:

AA, KK, QQ, JJ, AK, AQ, AJ

Pocket Pairs:

1010, 99, 88, 77, 66, 55, 44, 33, 22

-You always want to raise preflop with one of your premium hands with few exceptions in terms of position play. 8BB is the raise.

The only time you should not raise with hands like AQ or AJ is when you are out of position. The closer you are to the button the more acceptable it is for you to raise with those hands.

-You always want to raise with pocket pairs 10's and under. 6bb is the raise.

It's important to have some sort of pot built if you are in a hand. You should only be in a hand with good reason. If you are sitting at the big blind/small blind or under the gun (first position, the one immediately after the blinds) then you will want to fold hands like AK, AQ and AJ.

Strong hands like AA and KK are really all you should be raising with from the BB/SB. However, you will still want to play any pocket pair because of whats known as implied odds. If you hit your set, chances are you will be paid off something nice. Do not invest too much in QQ or JJ when in early position even though they are premium hands. Play them like the other pairs.

-Fold to a 3 bet if you have QQ-JJ

Yes, these are good hands, but it's not a good idea to call a 3 bet with them. Likewise, it'd be in poor taste for you to 3 bet while holding them.

Often times, after a 3bet, your opponents will have hands such as AK, AA or KK and you will be way behind or about 50/50% at best. If an A, K, Q hits the board you now have a decision. If you are out of position then that decision is even tougher. This is why it's important to grasp the concept of position play actually incorporate it into your game. Take this notion to heart and engrave it in your mind while it's young and in training for the game. It'll put you a step ahead of the pack and you won't regret it in the near future.

The only hands you should be 3 betting with are AA, KK and if you have position, maybe AK, but I'd leave it alone for now. If you are 3bet while holding AA or KK then go for either a 4bet or shove. You'll get paid off at 2NL.

-Be careful with AK AQ AJ and Top Pair Top kicker

Most of your money will be made off of suckers who refuse to fold their top pair while you have a set/flush and you put them all in. Do not be a sucker. The same applies with overpair's. AA and KK are monsters preflop, but up for speculation and often overvalued postflop.

Generally speaking I've found it to be a great idea to let TPTK or OP's go after you've bet the turn and still have a customer. Sure, they could be on a flush draw or you could have them out kicked, but why not wait for a better spot to get your money in? You will find that most of your losses will come from TPTK if you play long enough and analyze your hands with PokerTracker, especially if you play it out of position.

-Don't play KJ or QJ

Just don't do it. If you can't resist then at least play them suited and from the button. No other position. Worthless kicker's get you in trouble. You shouldn't be aggressive with junk. No excuse to be passive, ever. Not at 2NL. Maybe if you have a set, maybe.

- After you've raised PreFlop make sure you follow up with a continuation bet.

Aggression with a continuation bet if you are new to a table is a solid investment. Nothing like a good first impression. Ideally you will want to be heads up against one opponent when you follow with a CBet (new to the table or not) and it will also be while you're in position. If you happen to be head's up and out of position then a CBet is warranted if the board is dry (something liek 2 3 7 or 4 7 7). Even if it isn't too dry you still may want to try. Experience is the best teacher here. If your CBet is called then for the love of god let it go.

If you have 2 players in a pot with you and you miss a flop then feel free to check it down. At 2NL there isn't much value in exploiting the button most of the time, especially seeing as you're new to the game. These guys don't like to fold and now isn't the time to practice any sort of bluffing I can assure you. Not at 2NL.

-If you can be swayed into calling on the river then bet the turn instead

Remember, your style is Tight Aggressive. This will prevent your opponents from potentially sucking out on you on the river should they choose to fold to your turn bet. This is another reason as to why position and premium hands are so important at 2NL. You don't want to be aggressive in a hand without a hand for the soul sake of aggression. You want to be in control. When you're out of position then they are in control and you aren't playing poker, but a guessing game. Make them guess. These guys don't like to fold, so make them pay to gamble. Don't bluff.

-Don't bluff or play suited connectors

When you move up the ladder and are more attuned to the game then these fascists of it will be applicable, but not right now. Baby steps. Most of your money will be won at showdown while playing at 2NL. There will be lots of shoving and hardly any folding. This is why strong hands coupled with aggressive play is a must and bluffing/suited connectors have no place at this limit. You have no business calling unless you're slow playing a monster. Chances are you're beat if you need to think too hard. Suited connectors require too much calling and in the end you rarely have the odds you need to justify the call anyway. Calling is weak and you're style is strong aggressive. Let these people know they are in a pot with somebody.

-Play Full Ring Games and avoid 6-Max

Once you've become accustomed to the game you can pick your poison, but for now stick to the basics. Full ring is ABC while 6 Max can throw you for a loop if you are just starting out. There will be plenty of time to get your feet wet. Patience.

-Forget about the Money and the bad beats

These things will come and go throughout your poker career and there's not a damn thing you can do about it. Suck it up, take the pain on the chin and bury it, right now. Accept that Poker is a game of variance and long term results, not short term. So when you have a bad session don't think twice about it. You constantly want to be working to improve and look for holes in your game, but don't dwell on what you have no control over. The only way to make money at poker is to have a complete disregard for it. Get your mind right.


That's all that comes to mind right now dude. You will be doing a lot of folding and I can promise you'll come out a winner in the long run if you hone this nitty style. If you don't have the discipline and dedication to tough this out, then good luck with your poker career.

Good luck with your goals. See you at the top.


Dude, I copied and pasted that as a reference/reminder document. Great advice -- and without all the technical stuff that I don't yet understand very well.

Thanks.
 
Leo 50

Leo 50

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So i downloaded poker tracker and used it while playing a session at poker stars.

Another losing session by a few dollars and lost with better hands, well hands i felt were better.

I left pokertracker on during that time, but I dont really know how this program works....I did turn on the Auto Import and the HUD was running, but i dont know how i can see what i'm doing wrong...or statistics or anything like that..

ANY HELP?

CASH TABLE
If you using it as it comes then you are seeing the players Name first, then a generic icon for the player, this can change as you see more hand on any given player, and the number of hands they have played (this is only the number you see not what have been playing before you get to a table)
Then you will see 3 stats on the second line

VPIP - how ofter they voluntarily put money in the pot (how loose or tight they are) The larger the number the looser they are.
Remember when they first joining a table they may look loose but wait till you see at least 20-30 hands before you decide.

PFR - Preflop Raise Again this is something that tells you how aggressive they are. Again wait for while before you decide they are bluffing

AF - Aggression Factor - How aggressive they in playing their hands

TOURNAMENT STATS
Basically the same minus the player icon

These stats will give you a BASIC understanding of your opponents BUT it is NOT always a true source of information so be careful.

For example if you are playing a ring game and after 100 hands you see one player who has played over 50% of the hands - He is Loose,
wait for that big hand and re-raise him, he will either fold or he will pay you off most of the time.
On the other side, if he has played 10% of the hands and makes a preflop raise unless you have a premium hand, then let it go.

After you finish a session go into PT3 and look at the hands, were you playing too many, not enough,
did you fold too many times to a continuation bet,
did you not bet enough when you had it and allowed them to see another card cheaply?

There is a tab marked Positions, it will tell you a lot about your game.
Are you playing too loose in mid position, not strong enough in late position?
Are you defending too many blinds?

The hardest part for any good poker player is to acknowledge their weaknesses.
PT3 puts them right there in front of you.

Good luck

:cool:
 
mrmonkey

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Checking out the links right now and alsoo downloading the poker tracker....is poker tracker something I will need to continually use even after the 60 day trial however?


And well money's tight for me, im just a college student with a minimum wage job....so $33 on my bankroll is basically what I can afford to put into poker right now, so thats why i'm trying to do what i can with what i have.

Yeah, as Stu says you will probably want to keep PT3 around after you have tried it.

However, I think it's better not to get too tied down with the HUD stats yet, and rather use PT3 more for the "post-game" analysis. IMO, you can learn better by carefully observing your opponents and making copious notes rather than relying on stats at first.

After 60 days, if your bankroll is not large enough to justify a purchase of the micro-version of PT3, it should have at least given you a good basis to become a winning player at 2nl. This is also why I think it's best not to rely on the HUD stats while playing, because you want to develop your skills to a point where you can beat your opponents using observation. It will make you a better player in the long run.

From there on, you should be able to grind 2nl/5nl/10nl until you have enough of a bankroll to justify a purchase (micro version is $45 I believe).
 
L

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Saulty Mouse: No Problem dude. I hope it helps you out.

Oh, mistake in my post guys. Too bad I can't edit it.

For the premium hands the raise is 4BB, not 8, which is $0.08 .

For Pocket Pairs the raise is 3 BB, not 6, which is $0.06.

I was thinking of the actual dollar amount you end up putting in the put at 2NL instead of in terms of BB's lol. Pretty important type there. Make sure you make the adjustment.
 
eberetta1

eberetta1

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If your bankroll is on pokerstars, you can always click on the Pokerschool tab. Click on register. And then you have another poker training session at your fingertips, in addition to freerolls every day for completing the 2 core courses.

I would not enter any MTT tourneys over $3 as you will find your bankroll gone very quickly. I would also not enter any 1c/2c tables with more than $2 until you push your bankroll over the $100 mark.
 
Tom Goldberg

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Gl Bro, I am sure you will succeed if you are determined enough and put enough time in to improve your game! personally I think it can be done I have managed to build a $30 br on FT to $290 now but seems to have taken forever to be honest. I think the key is patience and bankroll management especially if you are starting with such a low bankroll like yourself.
 
J

jbeezy24

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Gl Bro, I am sure you will succeed if you are determined enough and put enough time in to improve your game! personally I think it can be done I have managed to build a $30 br on FT to $290 now but seems to have taken forever to be honest. I think the key is patience and bankroll management especially if you are starting with such a low bankroll like yourself.



Yeah i'm trying to be patient and keep a positive attitude, but sometimes it's a lot harder said then done haha.
 
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