Jon Poker
Legend
Silver Level
I see LOTS of posts on this forum regarding tournament poker based on freerolls and freeroll hands - most of which are honestly results oriented posts - and tho I take the time to respond to be helpful - if you have ever read one of my posts, you will know I have a tendency to give it to you straight and not to sugar coat anything simply to keep your feelings in check and not come across harsh. The reality is poker is tough, unforgiving and with all the resources available more people play better today than ever before - if you dont want to put in the time or effort to become better - you will remain a losing (or break even) player forever. Such is the reality of poker - if you want to become successful you will need thick skin I promise you.
That being said, amongst all the whining of the bad beats and the lost hands when we got our money in good -- there's still a fair number who turn out and claim the platform they're playing on is rigged for action... again, for me personally this is a piss poor excuse used as a crutch to prop up bad players unwilling to take a good look at themselves in the mirror - I know, I have been this player before. As I said, poker is hard and if you aren't willing to work for it, you will likely get left in the dust.
Lots of folks complaining about building rolls from freerolls, always looking for new ones to hop into, asking where the best player pools are so they don't have to deal with the sh*t show of most freerolls ,- in reality, all of them are full of these kinds of actions! You cannot escape them!! So either you are ok with the atmosphere or you are not - i cant make that choice for you.
Nonetheless, I have said this countless times, if you are playing for the fun of the game and you just enjoy what you do - then playing these is no big deal and you shouldn't worry about losing in them alot -- because in tournament poker you are going to lose much more than you are going to win! However, IF you're goal is to become good at poker, to build a roll that you can attempt to make some extra money with then I HIGHLY encourage you to pick a site of your choice - throw down a deposit for a micro stakes bankroll and have at it!! You need to have confidence in yourself when you play poker - you're time is also worth something at the end of the day. So why play 4+ hours to win $20 when you can spend $1‐$2 on a game and play for $60‐$100 up top? Some games will even have $250+ up top for less than a $2 buy in! Spend your time and energy chasing that dream instead of investing nothing -- playing your best and then getting bent out of shape because your deep run only got you paid 15c.
The freeroll complaint department is full! The site is rampant with it lol. Is that a bad thing? Not really, because people are playing the game of poker and some of them are trying to take it seriously - im just trying to offer some perspective on what seems to be a large focus of tournament poker here on CC. Should you quit freerolls altogether?? Of course not, you will still find me floating around in the occasional BOL or intertops freerolls once in a while -- all im saying is if you want to take this game seriously, don't allow yourself to get stuck in the freerolls. Spinning your wheels day in and day out for months will tax you mentally, and even when you do win the rewards are pretty lack luster and don't give us the satisfaction of winning nearly as much as a real money tournament. So my advice is have fun, play the game for the enjoyment - and if you decide to take it more seriously - then have some faith in yourself! Make a deposit to kick off a micro roll and grind on it for a while! Taking the leap is challenging - just remember the cardinal rule and don't deposit more than you are willing to lose.
For those of you who decide to take the leap and do want to take poker seriously -- remember to invest in yourself! First thing off the bat i recommended buying Poker Tracker 4. The HUD function you can learn and use later - the main benefit you will get from this is it will log all of your hands and stats so that you may review them later. This is such an invaluable tool - I don't think you can learn and grow in online poker without it. Its never been easier to mark weird hands, pinpoint leaks, run icm spots, and review entire tournaments. The second thing I suggest is to find a group of like minded people - and study the game once or twice a week! If you want to get good, you will HAVE to put in the time.
Instead of posting a long ramble let's simplify things with a list of what I think you should do if you want to take the game seriously...
-Buy PT4 - this tool is a must have and its only a one time cost. Invest in yourself and don't look back.
-Use the free tools.
-Study study study!!
-Put in proper volume -- variance is unwavering and to help fade variance you will need to play at LEAST 100 MTTs per month. I work a full time job 5 days a week and I smash this requirement every month - so it can be done if you are dedicated enough.
-Use good game selection - again tournaments are full of variance. Find the best bang for your buck, and play the hell out of it! Remember, its easier to beat smaller fields than it is to run the larger fielded marathons.
-Use good BRM - if you dont, you will surely go broke. And that's fine, it happens, but know when to drop down and know when to slow the bleeding.
-Invest in paid programs - things like ICMizer and Pairrd or possibly a PokerCoaching or Upswing membership for a year.
-Once you reach buy ins of $55 and up you should probably buy PIO solver. Its not that everyone is playing that good of a GTO strategy...but all the good regs at this level allllll use this tool. There are some more advanced solvers on the way as well so this is likely going to change in the future.
-When you've done everything you think you can do in your power to achieve your level of play, but still want to keep growing -- hire a coach. Best thing I ever did for my game.
For those of you finding it hard to get a study group together -- I have offered MANY times on this site to do a free hand history review on live stream for anyone who chose to submit me such and no one has ever taken me up on it - the offer is there. All you have to do is swallow your pride and shoot me a message and I will be happy to do the review and twitch stream it as promised.
Now that my final advice for success is out of the way -- thanks to everyone who reads this in full, I appreciate your time. To all of you crying about freerolls and your KKs not holding up vs 5 all ins....stop it lol dont be results oriented and don't get stuck in the freerolls forever!!! Thanks again, take care and good luck at the tables.
That being said, amongst all the whining of the bad beats and the lost hands when we got our money in good -- there's still a fair number who turn out and claim the platform they're playing on is rigged for action... again, for me personally this is a piss poor excuse used as a crutch to prop up bad players unwilling to take a good look at themselves in the mirror - I know, I have been this player before. As I said, poker is hard and if you aren't willing to work for it, you will likely get left in the dust.
Lots of folks complaining about building rolls from freerolls, always looking for new ones to hop into, asking where the best player pools are so they don't have to deal with the sh*t show of most freerolls ,- in reality, all of them are full of these kinds of actions! You cannot escape them!! So either you are ok with the atmosphere or you are not - i cant make that choice for you.
Nonetheless, I have said this countless times, if you are playing for the fun of the game and you just enjoy what you do - then playing these is no big deal and you shouldn't worry about losing in them alot -- because in tournament poker you are going to lose much more than you are going to win! However, IF you're goal is to become good at poker, to build a roll that you can attempt to make some extra money with then I HIGHLY encourage you to pick a site of your choice - throw down a deposit for a micro stakes bankroll and have at it!! You need to have confidence in yourself when you play poker - you're time is also worth something at the end of the day. So why play 4+ hours to win $20 when you can spend $1‐$2 on a game and play for $60‐$100 up top? Some games will even have $250+ up top for less than a $2 buy in! Spend your time and energy chasing that dream instead of investing nothing -- playing your best and then getting bent out of shape because your deep run only got you paid 15c.
The freeroll complaint department is full! The site is rampant with it lol. Is that a bad thing? Not really, because people are playing the game of poker and some of them are trying to take it seriously - im just trying to offer some perspective on what seems to be a large focus of tournament poker here on CC. Should you quit freerolls altogether?? Of course not, you will still find me floating around in the occasional BOL or intertops freerolls once in a while -- all im saying is if you want to take this game seriously, don't allow yourself to get stuck in the freerolls. Spinning your wheels day in and day out for months will tax you mentally, and even when you do win the rewards are pretty lack luster and don't give us the satisfaction of winning nearly as much as a real money tournament. So my advice is have fun, play the game for the enjoyment - and if you decide to take it more seriously - then have some faith in yourself! Make a deposit to kick off a micro roll and grind on it for a while! Taking the leap is challenging - just remember the cardinal rule and don't deposit more than you are willing to lose.
For those of you who decide to take the leap and do want to take poker seriously -- remember to invest in yourself! First thing off the bat i recommended buying Poker Tracker 4. The HUD function you can learn and use later - the main benefit you will get from this is it will log all of your hands and stats so that you may review them later. This is such an invaluable tool - I don't think you can learn and grow in online poker without it. Its never been easier to mark weird hands, pinpoint leaks, run icm spots, and review entire tournaments. The second thing I suggest is to find a group of like minded people - and study the game once or twice a week! If you want to get good, you will HAVE to put in the time.
Instead of posting a long ramble let's simplify things with a list of what I think you should do if you want to take the game seriously...
-Buy PT4 - this tool is a must have and its only a one time cost. Invest in yourself and don't look back.
-Use the free tools.
-Study study study!!
-Put in proper volume -- variance is unwavering and to help fade variance you will need to play at LEAST 100 MTTs per month. I work a full time job 5 days a week and I smash this requirement every month - so it can be done if you are dedicated enough.
-Use good game selection - again tournaments are full of variance. Find the best bang for your buck, and play the hell out of it! Remember, its easier to beat smaller fields than it is to run the larger fielded marathons.
-Use good BRM - if you dont, you will surely go broke. And that's fine, it happens, but know when to drop down and know when to slow the bleeding.
-Invest in paid programs - things like ICMizer and Pairrd or possibly a PokerCoaching or Upswing membership for a year.
-Once you reach buy ins of $55 and up you should probably buy PIO solver. Its not that everyone is playing that good of a GTO strategy...but all the good regs at this level allllll use this tool. There are some more advanced solvers on the way as well so this is likely going to change in the future.
-When you've done everything you think you can do in your power to achieve your level of play, but still want to keep growing -- hire a coach. Best thing I ever did for my game.
For those of you finding it hard to get a study group together -- I have offered MANY times on this site to do a free hand history review on live stream for anyone who chose to submit me such and no one has ever taken me up on it - the offer is there. All you have to do is swallow your pride and shoot me a message and I will be happy to do the review and twitch stream it as promised.
Now that my final advice for success is out of the way -- thanks to everyone who reads this in full, I appreciate your time. To all of you crying about freerolls and your KKs not holding up vs 5 all ins....stop it lol dont be results oriented and don't get stuck in the freerolls forever!!! Thanks again, take care and good luck at the tables.