Joined: Aug '08
Location: Canada
Age: 43 (M)
Posts: 658
Number 1 thing about Poker is it always depends. Depends on what you want to accomplish and depends on what you are comfortable with for starters.
MOST IMPORTANT IS BANKROLL MANAGEMENT!!!!!!
Learn it, live it and love it. W/out it you have no hope of coming out on top and will ultimately go broke.
If you ever have the time give my blog a quick skim because i think i asked some questions in there you may be interested to know the answers to. Its overloaded with stuff though so only skim it for what interests you.
Aside from that i said it depends because you are likely better at some games or formats then others. Cash/sng/mtt? nlhe/plo/mixed? You really need to find a game you are comfortable in and do well in to work off of. I use mtt's to fund my sng's and cash endeavors personally because i find i do better in mtts which i appreciate makes little sense with SNG's much less time and less players.
Maybe you will grind sng's to parlay some winnings into "taking a shot" at higher stakes sngs or an odd mtt looking for a deep run?
Joined: Mar '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 1277
Yeah i forgot to mention bankroll management - i think its only hit me how important it is recently despite the fact i've deposited and gone broke several times over the years.
The fact is poker suffers when you are playing scared of going broke - thats something I was always contending with by depositing small amounts, like $50 max and then playing $0.10/0.25
Just awful looking back on it - i think any poker player has gone through this.
I managed to deposit $30 and build it to $650 like 4 years ago - my greatest acheivement apart from a 1st and 2nd in a couple $10k tourneys.
But i blew it in a day by playing over my head too quickly and tilting.
I'll check your blog - right now I'm trying to shake off the rust and get back into relearning strategies that I'd kinda forgotten.
I'd say my forte is SnG's/ Tourney's and like you say I'd like to make money in them to supplement cash games - that's a good idea and a safer way to build a bank roll in some respects.
Joined: May '09
Location: India
Age: 37 (M)
Posts: 4873
i think if u want to take poker seriously u need to know/do these things-
- first of all realise its not a get rich overnight scheme. poker requires hard work and dedication, i know many people who quit poker cos they got 'bored' when they had a breakeven/downswing.
- time- u need plenty free time to study on your game and put up the necessary hours to make that profit
- coaching - lots of training sites there, find one acc to your budget/needs
- softwares - you already mentioned them
- good deal - if u dont have a good rakeback/vip deal, you are missing on a big boost to your bankroll
-bankrollmanagement/ roll - i'm one of those who think bankroll management is a bit overrated. it's important if you have a decent roll and u are a winning player at those stakes/lower stakes. jess made a fine post about it long time ago(cant find it though), many people make mistake in defining their roll acc to their need/finances.
Joined: Aug '08
Location: Canada
Age: 43 (M)
Posts: 658
Posted by SuperNoob:
-bankrollmanagement/ roll - i'm one of those who think bankroll management is a bit overrated. it's important if you have a decent roll and u are a winning player at those stakes/lower stakes. jess made a fine post about it long time ago(cant find it though), many people make mistake in defining their roll acc to their need/finances.
Great post SN. Ill only add that while you may be a bit more advanced in bankroll management and have found a comfortable way for yourself to play, as a beginner i feel bankroll management is all that keeps you going at first. I like to make all things lowest common denominator so start conservative and small and work up slowly. Make adjustments or add games where you feel you can. Im coming from the land of no deposits after a few initial ones ideally. Ofc you can;t prevent bad things from happening but if you start small and work upward with a brm plan that allows wide variance any decent player should be okay.
I played on two accounts at stars. legally obviously but my first account was Inhumane. I always was gifted money by my buddy and never worried about going broke because he always gave me more. I nevr became independent though. My second account MicroMachina was more for fun playing. I didnt take it serious at all and as a result would bleed off my winnings in cash games or sng's. I basically was looking to hit a big payday and nothing more. My third attempt at poker i stripped down all the get rich quick notions and delusions i had about my own ability and thought ill just play freerolls until i can win a roll from that. If i can;t do that then i shoudnt be playing i thought. I made the blog to be able to chronicle my development and keep me in line. So i think you are asking the right questions of yourself to be able to improve and thats awesome.
Im not explaining why i changed accounts at stars but it was their suggestion and all above board.
Joined: Mar '12
Location: Romania
Age: 35 (M)
Posts: 96
For me the most important things when playing poker are: 1st - Managing your Bankroll, 2nd - self control(which I need as well )
Best poker players relying on these too simple things(which i find pretty difficult to accomplish ) So, following these basic things everyone can become a good poker player in time( and with some extra help if you want: trackers, strategies, etc)
Joined: Mar '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 1277
Thanks for the advice guys!
I'm currently sharpening up my skills again on freerolls, but going to deposit at some point.
I'm not worried about rakeback etc at this stage, I'm not going to be going up the stakes quick enough probably.
How crucial is a poker tracker/management software? I just wonder because I see a lot of people use it - again I'm thinking it's probably not worth investing in yet.
My main goal is to develop my game and iron out weaknesses while the cost/benefit ratio is low.
I'm finding the Mob freerolls a great spot to discipline myself and work on my game even though it is generally against weak fields - the donkey minefield is quite something to navigate.
Eventually i want to be able to make enough to supplement my income or even live off it.
Joined: Aug '08
Location: Canada
Age: 43 (M)
Posts: 658
Posted by noonlion:
I'm not worried about rakeback etc at this stage, I'm not going to be going up the stakes quick enough probably.
Not sure about the particulars but Yachting poker (here on brm NDB) has a rakeback bonus built in so by receiving the offer you get money+RB. Maybe accept that offer if you can and use that to improve on your cash game?
Joined: Aug '10
Location: Germany
Age: 52 (M)
Posts: 2219
Yep brm is the most important thing for a poker player. And you mustn´t going up in the limits to get some rakeback. There are enough rooms with rakebackdeals and you don´t need the big rooms with their vip systems.
Joined: Mar '12
Location: United Kingdom
Age: 40 (M)
Posts: 1277
Posted by MicroMachina:
Posted by noonlion:
I'm not worried about rakeback etc at this stage, I'm not going to be going up the stakes quick enough probably.
Not sure about the particulars but Yachting poker (here on brm NDB) has a rakeback bonus built in so by receiving the offer you get money+RB. Maybe accept that offer if you can and use that to improve on your cash game?
I'm always a touch skeptical about sites I haven't heard of - is it reputable?
Joined: May '09
Location: Spain
Age: 49 (M)
Posts: 1331
Hi guys!!
Not only software, a good use of it!!! I know lots of players a with HUD working less than the soft can do. Anyone can read PFR/VPIP/Agr%/3bet and things like this but we can do much more things, and build much more useful HUDs.
I agree with the bankroll management theory, is the most important.
Joined: Apr '09
Location: Portugal
Age: 44 (M)
Posts: 4827
I consider few things as absolutely essential: knowing to play the game and defining objectrives. After this, there is only one thing one needs to have atention to: a big prize tourney is not an objective, its a dream that we can try to reach if we have money. For what you want, that i assumed that was to build a constant bankroll, which means being able to tkae something like $100 or $500 montlhy from it, the objective you need to define is something like playing always the same game. If you are good at 6-max SnG, then you only play those, or if you are master at LH $0.5/$1, stick to that!
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