Learning/Improving Your Game

[Rusty]

I've always thought (for the last few months anyways) that i was a fairly good and profitable poker player, building up a $2k bankroll from $25 i won in a freeroll but I've recently been realising that most of my money is coming from casino bonus scalping which i use the same bankroll for and not from winning at poker. I've never kept track of my poker playing $wins/losses so I'm going to start now but I think I am actually a losing poker player.

So basically how did u all become winning poker players? How did you all learn to play well?

[AdamM]

personally, table time table time table time, and I have a long way still to go

[TightEnd]

I have a huge way to go, but have been a winning player since last May, having started the October previously

Firstly there is nothing wrong with bonus scalping to build up a bankroll...in fact its a great way to do so

I read loads of books, played a lot live and online, listened to peers and sought advice from a couple of guys ahead of me, studied some more

Blonde has helped too..posting hand histories, reading the advice and views of some good players...just take it all in, filter out the stuff you don't need and absorb the rest...Easy 

Always keep detailed records, it will help you analyse which games/sites are good for you, keep player notes etc

[AndrewT]

Also, an aspect of being a successful poker player that I think doesn't get enough attention - table selection.

If you are a cash game player, you have a luxury that tourney players don't have in that you can choose which players to play with, and can move to another table if the profile of the table changes to be unfavourable (I'm talking about internet play here).

Keeps notes on the other players, so you can tell at a glance which tables to avoid and can also tell immediately if your table is about to become tough.

Correctly selecting the best opponents to play against will have a bigger positive effect on your win rate than any amount of analysis of the minutiae of certain hands/situations.

[Pommy]

Keeping acurate (and honest) notes on your own play, your winnings and losses, and your opponents (this seems hard work to start with, but it becomes second nature after a while) really helps.  Analysing your play also helps (hence the note taking).

One thing that improved my game a hell of a lot was reading advice on forums such as this one, and asking questions on forums such as this one.  The advice gained from these forums are, more often than not, top notch.

[Rusty]

One thing that improved my game a hell of a lot was reading advice on forums such as this one, and asking questions on forums such as this one.  The advice gained from these forums are, more often than not, top notch.

Thanks for all the advice, talking to others definately seems to be the best way to improve your game, especially everybody on here. Hopefully i can put all this info to good practice, on that note I'm coming first in a $5 45 person Sng on stars with 14 remaining, heres hoping I can take it down.

[Rusty]

a 4th place finish, not what i was hoping for, at least it gave a return

[Red Razor]

I started trying to build my bankroll at the beginning of last year.  I still have a lot to learn and a long way to go, but will be happy to share with you what I have learned.  Initially, I was most comfortable playing STTs but I wanted to make the transition to ring games.  You should begin where you are comfortable (game type and buy-in level).  Two or three winning/losing sessions should not have a big impact on your bankroll.  Particularly in a ring game, you want to feel comfortable enough risking the necessary amount to get the returns you want.  I made a spreadsheet to track buy-in, blind level, hours and cash out for ring games.  I have a similar sheet for STTs.  After a period of time, I had enough data to see where I had the most success and I concetrated more on those games to build my bankroll.  You can set small goals for yourself that must be met before you move to higher buy-in games.  For example, if you start at .25/.50 NLH you can buy-in for $50 when you start.  If you increase your bankroll (from this type of game only) to $250 or $300, you may want to move up.  If you lose $150 or $200, you will want to back off to a lower level to ensure you are in your comfort zone and build your bankroll again. 

Most importantly I agree with AdamM, you have to put a lot of time in and find your comfort zone.  Be patient, it will take time.  I hope my little bit of experience will help you.  Good luck!

[moritzey]

Just out of curiosity, how much money did you all 'invest' in poker before becoming a winning player / have you 'invested' so far, trying to become a winning player? I was just wondering, as it took me quite a fair bit of money (around 1.5k) to become a 'break even' player, is that
normal, or am I just a slow learner/hopeless?

[raab11]

moritzey

ive been playing online since about last july and though i am now(generally) a winning player im just about now breaking even as a whole.
my fortunes changed around the turn of the year when i started taking the game more seriously, as far as making profit was concerned.

so i probably lost for about 6mths and have been winning for about 3, i do play at higher levels now tho.

[moritzey]

cool, that sound about right then. I started playing in October, but only bothered reading poker theory / taking the game seriously after being 1k down sometime in mid-January, and I think it's been improving ever since, so will hopefully crack it sometime soon.
What did/do you play? STTs or Cashgames or both? I've had a stab at cash games, but went back to STTs now, seem to be more consistent there.

[raab11]

i had the idea of beating the cash games and winning big, this did NOT work!!!

i now play almost exclusively stt's and occasional mtt's. i even still play occasional freerolls, esp ones with big fields to work on my patience.

being a gambler by nature my biggest problem is resisting the urge to play ring games, which happily i have been doing recently.

fitting my laptop with a breathalizer would help.....lol

wait a minute thats not such a bad idea.......any techies out there......