How to make the best out of your poker practice?

Oskar006 · May 12, 2012

Hello, My question here might seem little unclear but what im trying to ask is how i can use my time that i spend on poker practice the best.

Some things im intrested in knowing is:
* About how much every day should i spend on poker to become good / better?
* What things should i focus at when im in my practice?
* Should i practice in "Fake Cash" games or in real cash tables?
* When i play freerolls how to survive the "All-in rush" in the beginning?

Thanks in advance for helping me!

seanDCFC · May 12, 2012

Oskar006 said:
Hello, My question here might seem little unclear but what im trying to ask is how i can use my time that i spend on poker practice the best.

Some things im intrested in knowing is:
* About how much every day should i spend on poker to become good / better?
I dont think there is any definitive answer to this, just play whenever you feel up to it. Also it's good to study before/after playing and see if you can apply some of what you have learnt on the tables.
* What things should i focus at when im in my practice?
Read poker theories and also I think its good to post hands that you that you are unsure about in the hand history section of this forum.
* Should i practice in "Fake Cash" games or in real cash tables?
This is really up to you. There are many differing opinions on whether it's best to practice in play money or real money. I personally think it's better to play real money games as the play in play money is different to real cash tables.
* When i play freerolls how to survive the "All-in rush" in the beginning?
Just play tight and wait for good cards, no need to get involved without good cards.

Thanks in advance for helping me!

I hope this helps

Oskar006 · May 12, 2012

Thanks for the advice!

BlueNowhere · May 12, 2012

Don't bother practicing in play money games unless you need to familiarise yourself with the rules. Other than that reason there is absolutely zero point in practicing with play money.

I wouldn't bother playing most of the pokerstars freerolls either. The prize pools are small with big fields which means they are as good as play money.

RamdeeBen · May 12, 2012

Oskar006 said:
Hello, My question here might seem little unclear but what im trying to ask is how i can use my time that i spend on poker practice the best.

Some things im intrested in knowing is:
* About how much every day should i spend on poker to become good / better?
* What things should i focus at when im in my practice?
* Should i practice in "Fake Cash" games or in real cash tables?
* When i play freerolls how to survive the "All-in rush" in the beginning?

Thanks in advance for helping me!

Spend as much time as possible, but make sure you don't lose interest. It depends from player to player as to how long it takes to become "good", you could pick up straight away and within a week just have a natual talent, or it could take years to get even remotely just good enough to win pennies consistently.

Practise on putting people on a hand for example is usually a good one. If you can read well, then you will succeed at any stakes.

I don't recommend play money...pointless and you won't learn anything only bad habits. Just deposit, even a small amount..like $10.00 just so you are actually playing people for something.

Surviving the all-in freerolls simply by just folding and waiting, get your chips in with good equity.

Oskar006 · May 13, 2012

Big thanks!

Now i have another question here, I have deposited 10$ what kind of cash games should i join (Im most intrested in Holdem) I also don't want to loose it all since i have decided i will maximum put in only 10$ per month into poker.

And i have been wondering about all the pro's that i see on pokerstars.tv did they also start out like me depositing cash and loosing pretty much in the beginning?

Arjonius · May 13, 2012

Different people learn in different ways, so it's a matter of finding a balance that works for you. And keep in mind that the balance may well change as your game does.

Stick to holdem for now, and preferably full ring NL. With $10, you're not rolled for anything above the lowest stakes.

Also, try to drop any feelings of not wanting to lose the entire $10. If you run bad, it can happen. What you don't want to do is play more conservatively than you should (as a newb, you should play pretty tight anyway) because you don't want to risk losing money.

What's the worst case anyway? You lose your $10, and you have to wait until the start of the next month to start fresh with another $10. No biggie.

Different pros started differently. Negreanu played live and was a limit grinder before poker boomed. Annette Obrestad started online when she was 15, so she had no way to deposit and had to begin in freerolls. I'd guess most name pros who started after the boom, which began around 2003, did deposit, and that quite a few lost money at first. Probably not for long though since poker was softer back then.

Oskar006 · May 13, 2012

Big thanks! I think this was great help for me!

I will follow your advice. But how to avoid coming into a "Tilt" ?

Hardcorecake · May 13, 2012

Although I believe Arjonius is right and you prob should stick to cash with that low of a br, I'm still going to suggest to you trying out one large micro MTT. I cut my teeth on them and as a poor college student starting out online about 5 yrs ago I played super tight andhonestly if you play super tight in non turbo large MTT you will generally make the money(make sure to start out with normal blinds no rebuys or add ons promotes less donk play from others in micro stakes). Thats how I built my br was able to win a MTT that cost 3+.30 took first and won $1100. What I really liked about the MTTs as a new player I felt I could try things because once you have a bigger stack in the MTT you can bluff try a few steals get a better feel for the game. I found in cash games say I doubled up I would be so cautious with the winnings I would play horrible and beyond tight in fear of losing. It personally helped me mentally thinking no matter what stack size is infront of me its only worth 3.30.

MediaBLITZ · May 13, 2012

A good portion of your study should be devoted to hand review. If you are playing online that is easy - if live carry a small notebook.

If you are somewhat lost on how to do this then I recommend reading something by Dan Harrington.

Oskar006 · May 14, 2012

I yesterday did a 40 min practice i went in to a cash table with blinds 0.01/0.02$ i brought 0.80$ with me and left with 0.99$ and i will do the same thing today, Is this a good way of practice ? I mean just playing cash games trying to focus ur best.

MediaBLITZ · May 14, 2012

Oskar006 said:
I yesterday did a 40 min practice i went in to a cash table with blinds 0.01/0.02$ i brought 0.80$ with me and left with 0.99$ and i will do the same thing today, Is this a good way of practice ? I mean just playing cash games trying to focus ur best.

Okay explain for me how this is practicing and not playing? You mean like practicing medicine?

Oskar006 · May 14, 2012

Sorry maybe in not that clear, Im sitting and trying to note down some hands i won with and some strategies that im trying at the tables, Trying to figure out what works best for me and how the other people at the table is behaving.

If u have some more advice about how i can "Practice" please tell me. Or correct me if you wouldn't call this practice.

MediaBLITZ · May 14, 2012

Oskar006 said:
Sorry maybe in not that clear, Im sitting and trying to note down some hands i won with and some strategies that im trying at the tables, Trying to figure out what works best for me and how the other people at the table is behaving.

If u have some more advice about how i can "Practice" please tell me. Or correct me if you wouldn't call this practice.

Oh okay, I get it. But this is something you should figure on doing pretty consistently from here on out. I like it.

Note some losing hands also - some of the best stuff you'll be able to learn and grow from is "where did I go wrong?" It is amazing how many times I review a losing hand and am saying - "Why didn't I see that when I was playing the hand? - DOH!"

Oskar006 · May 14, 2012

Thanks for the advice i will note down the loosing hands and the cause of the loose too,

Oskar006 · May 17, 2012

I blew my bankroll today, Thinking of waiting a bit before recharging my account with 10$. Any idea how i can prevent this for next time?

Hardcorecake · May 17, 2012

Hard to avoid tilt to begin with exspecially with micro stakes because someone is bound to make a donk call and win some of your money. If you do lose a big hand quit if you feel yourself starting to get angry quit. Only away to avoid tilt is just to get up and walk away.

MediaBLITZ · May 17, 2012

Oskar006 said:
I blew my bankroll today, Thinking of waiting a bit before recharging my account with 10$. Any idea how i can prevent this for next time?

#1 - Don't make a big pot out a small or medium hand. One big leak is wanting to get it all in with what looks like TPTK.

#2 - Are you using a HUD? Go back and look at your hands. I usually start with the biggest losses and invariably it comes seeing number 1 above.

#3 - PATIENCE

#4 - No guarantees - it's poker.

sam1chips · May 17, 2012

One of my biggest things is going back and reviewing your hands, especially your big gain/loss hands. Learn why everything happened, and how you can improve on it for next time.

Arjonius · May 17, 2012

It's tempting and easy to focus on the hands where you win or lose large pots, but don't forget that there are quite a few from which you stand to learn little or nothing. For instance, AA vs KK will get it all in almost all the time, no matter which you hold. Or when opponents suck out on you, it's usually the case that you could only have lost less by playing the hand in an inferior way.

It's more important for your growth as a player to look at your thinking processes. And this includes a lot of small situations. As just one example tht's easy to overlook, look at hands where you folded pre- without voluntarily putting a chip into the pot. I can pretty much guarantee that there will be at least a few where it would have been better to contest those pots. The thought process part involves understanding why you folded and also why it would have been better to play certain holdings in those situations.

Note that I'm not saying studying big pots is unimportant. Rather, the point I'm trying to make is that there's a lot more to study beyond them, and because they come up a lot more frequently and because your decisions are more likely to affect the result, how you play small and mid-sized pots may actually have more impact on your overall profitability.

Oskar006 · May 17, 2012

I really need to follow the advice to not be getting those tilts. I think today that i played the Zoom on Pokerstars with a little bit higher blinds than im used to and i went little too aggressive and then i got into that tilt and just played all the cash away. Lucky it was 10$ not 100$ But i will try to play more relaxed and avoid the tilt.

Thanks for the tips.

MediaBLITZ · May 17, 2012

Good point. I mentioned the big ones just as a direct line for a "first timer" to maybe identify some leaks really quick in hopes he realizes he probably needs to tighten up. This is how I first discovered, "You mean AT is not a premium hand?" because I was bleeding so much there - lol.

And your right about the big losses sometimes being somewhat pointless from a learning stand point. I was looking at mine the other day and saw HUGE losses with AKs. My initial reaction was, "OMG, I am totally misplaying AKs!!! WTF is going on?" I got in there and saw it was 90% one hand late in a huge tourney (in other words had a helluva lot of chips) and was calling a loose player's AI who sucked out on me with A3.

As usual, you and I are on the same page.

Arjonius said:
It's tempting and easy to focus on the hands where you win or lose large pots, but don't forget that there are quite a few from which you stand to learn little or nothing. For instance, AA vs KK will get it all in almost all the time, no matter which you hold. Or when opponents suck out on you, it's usually the case that you could only have lost less by playing the hand in an inferior way.

It's more important for your growth as a player to look at your thinking processes. And this includes a lot of small situations. As just one example tht's easy to overlook, look at hands where you folded pre- without voluntarily putting a chip into the pot. I can pretty much guarantee that there will be at least a few where it would have been better to contest those pots. The thought process part involves understanding why you folded and also why it would have been better to play certain holdings in those situations.

Note that I'm not saying studying big pots is unimportant. Rather, the point I'm trying to make is that there's a lot more to study beyond them, and because they come up a lot more frequently and because your decisions are more likely to affect the result, how you play small and mid-sized pots may actually have more impact on your overall profitability.

MediaBLITZ · May 17, 2012

Oskar006 said:
I really need to follow the advice to not be getting those tilts. I think today that i played the Zoom on Pokerstars with a little bit higher blinds than im used to and i went little too aggressive and then i got into that tilt and just played all the cash away. Lucky it was 10$ not 100$ But i will try to play more relaxed and avoid the tilt.

Thanks for the tips.

Oh, ZOOM? TIGHTEN UP YOUR STARTING HANDS

Diya05 · May 17, 2012

I read poker books, and I take notes.

Oskar006 · May 17, 2012

I started with loosing at Zoom then i got into that Tillt and ended up on a no limit holdem cash game and just lost it all. So its not all Zoom's fault.
I will get a book soon, Just checking wich one to buy.

How to make the best out of your poker practice?

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