Advice required!

[DaNutz]

Sorry if you've heard a thousand stories like this but I need advice so i'll try to keep it as brief as possible.

I've been playing poker for just under 2 years.  I keep comprehensive records of every game I play.  My problem is those records look like crap and have far too many minus figures in them.

Now, I personally think i'm ok at poker.  Nothing great but I know how to play the game to a reasonable standard.  When I first started playing I learned the starting hands and started off as a really tight player (as most probably do).  After studying the game theory a little more in depth, I realised the reason I wasn't winning much money was because I was playing TOO tight so I loosened my play up a bit and I started to play much better poker.  Now I have a loose-aggressive style but i'm still losing money.  I play at really low limits so it's not having a negative effect on my life or anything but i'd obviously rather make money than lose it.  I'm now having a real crisis in my ability to play the game and i'm considering stopping playing completely because i'm fed up of being a donor to other people's bankroll.  I play mostly online and I play a mixture of sit n go's, multi-table tournaments and lo-limit cash games.

I've taken this week off playing completely to re-evaluate how I play and I plan to return to the tables next Monday a completely different player.
A winning one!

Does anyone have any advice as to how I can take my game forward and stop being a losing player??  Should I tighten up my starting hands again for a while to get my confidence back?

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

[mex]

well you made a great start by admitting you need to sort this out.
Self improvment is something i really think about alot myself.

heres what i would

1 Take your records and split them into stt/mtt/cash
2 Then split these into buyins/ and limits.
3 Work out ROI and earnings per hour for each group
4 now if any roi is posative, and its roi not hourly that is important at this stage, then these are the games you are winning at.
any big negatives then this is where you are throwing your profit and anything else away!

5 now you 'll see what sort of game suits you.
This will also tell youu what your weak on.


Concentrate on what your good at.
lets take stt for example, if you ve got at ROI of say 18% at $buyins between $10-$50 then you need to concentate on them.
now take your bankroll and divide it buy 30 if your roi is below 20% over 20 % then divide by 20,
This will be your maximum buy in with out rake.
Now play stt only and build up your roll, when it increases then move up stakes, never break your rules on 1/20 or 1/30 buy in, give yourself a little treat in the form of win 2 in a row then you can play 1 game at 2x your usual buy in(only do this if your roi is say 35%) this helps boost roll if your running hot.

Set a target to hit for example $2000.00, WHEN you hit this cash out say 1/2 of everything you win and allow yourself half to play say mtt or feeder events to big mtt. This way you can expand your game, dip below target then don't play the mtt or cash out until your over it again.

This will build your roll and focus on your strengths, it will also make your feel like a winner and that your getting something out of poker.

[jezza777]

Play tight poker again,  like you used to before you got good . This will lock up some wins and do your confidence the world of good.

[Acidmouse]

A really interesting post and a story that is very similar to mine.

I believed I was a semi-decent player who should not be losing money at poker, but I was.

Take mex's advice! I did and I actually found I was ONLY making money in 5 man SnG's. Now atleast I dont lose money at poker (or make tbh) becasue I stick to the games I have identified as my best.

I have found watching alot of players who use these forums online has improved both my game and my ability to take a bad beat like a man.

[DaNutz]

Thanks for all the positive responses!

As I said, i'm taking this week of to re-think my poker strategies so we'll see how things pan out when I start playing again.

Thanks again for the responses everyone 

[WellChief]

If you're not making any money then pick the form of poker that you enjoy best and concentrate on it for a while.  (for me, this is multi tables).  I was the same as you until a year ago, when I got a break and won a multi-table.  Then I only played multi-tables and a few STT's for the next few months and learnt so much from them, as well as winning a few more along the way.  I then started playing cash as well and again it took me a few months playing a lot of cash games before I could win on them consistenly.   

If you pick the form of poker you most enjoy, and concentrate on it, you should find you pick up more than you would if you were playing all three different games at once.  Cash and multi-tables are totally different games.  If you're going to go for multis, buy a few decent books like Harrington on Holdem. 

[mex]

little tip on harrington, It is now so widley read now, you might find alot of players can spot someone who sticks to trying to play exactly like the book says.take harrington as a base and apply player knowledge and you will become pos ROI

[matt674]

http://www.cardplayer.com/poker_magazine/archives/?a_id=427&m_id=15&PHPSESSID=4c420b2003c77c30f5bea2149896418a

is a copy of a link that was posted on a thread from a while back that you may be interested in reading. I echo most of the sentiments already mentioned in this post of finding the part of your game that is most profitable and sticking with that.