Out of Ideas

[cstephe4]

So for the past 4 months I have played and done most of the bonuses and ran pretty well. Lately things havent been so fortunate and I ended up playing 25nl to try to rebuild a bankroll. That has since been sour by beats on the river. I am down to 200$ and in need of ideas for ways to build a better bankroll.

[nivaman]

fold pre-flop or start casino whoring...

[scorer]

deposit 100 in starluck get a 100 bonus and play basic blackjack strategy. then go to planetluck and do the same. casinodave.com and other sites read the forums.

[nuts]

drop down and play until you win at the low levels, then build your bankroll & move up.

[cstephe4]

I was playing 2-4 and 3-6 religiously with a 1500$ BR but then needed money so I withdrew down to 700 and dropped to 1/2 and took horrendous beats and same with .5/1 limit. This is why im so confused as to where to go now. The limits only go down so far.

[BobJoeJim]

At the lower limits, especially if you get down to .5/1, you'll take a lot of "bad beats" because players are MUCH worse, and will chase way too many weak draws way too far. You have to learn to love it, even when they suck out, because that's where your money comes from.

Re-read small stakes hold'em. Or if you've never read it, then go buy it. Now.

[Jibba]

[ QUOTE ]
Re-read small stakes hold'em. Or if you've never read it, then go buy it. Now.

[/ QUOTE ]

[udbrky]

The key is to play tighter when you are short. Drop down to where you can comfortably play and play there. You can work your way back up. Play more like you're a short stack in a tourney if you're on a limited bankroll. Play tight, and take what people give you when you hit a hand. Then, you'll have more room to work and play more speculative hands.

Easter weekend, I had $30 online. Party gave me $30 free. I entered a $1 MTT, came in 3rd. Took some of the $ out, got a bonus at Full Tilt. Took $100 out, went to Bodog thru Poker Listings for a 100% bonus. After a month, I cleared that at break-even play, I took the $200 out, spent $50 on HOH 3 and NLTP, put the other $145 into Titan, along with PSO's IB $50. I ran that up to $500 and cashed decently in another Party $1 MTT. I ran the $30 up to
over$700. I had to cash out most of it in early July.

I was left with $30 again. Party gave me another $30. I ran hot in 25NL and came in 3rd in another MTT. Withdrew my last $50 at Titan, went to Grand Bay, got $60 bonus, came in 4th in a $1 MTT, followed by a +$35 night at the 50NL to clear the bonuses. Then, I came in 3rd in a $2 MTT. I got a kickback at Stars, and have been playing the micros (5NL) and $1 45's. After about 3 days of playing, I've turned that $20 into $50. So, I'm back at a $450 bankroll after a month and a half.

I've been lucky in the right spots. That helps a lot. But also, I think I have utilized some ideas that can help you. I just wanted to share how I did to encourage you that you can too. I haven't played great poker all the time, and have made my mistakes, and had some down days.

1) Play small. Drop down, play micros. The players are mostly bad. You'll suffer some bad beats, but you'll also win a lot. Play your good hands strong, and you'll get paid off by draws that don't come in, middle pair when you hit a set, etc.

2) Play small buy-in MTT's. If you're a decent tourney player, these are great opportunities for a really good ROI. Most of my bankroll has come from my top 5 finishes.

3) Work on parts of your game where you might be lacking. Post hands, talk to friends, read up on areas you are weak on. Analyze your play in key hands. Use the time at small buy-ins to work on your fundamentals.

4) Don't tilt. When you get ticked, take a break. If you're not feeling your best, don't play. When I'm tired, I don't play aggressively, I get really passive. So, I try not to play when I'm getting really tired.

5) Take breaks. Get away from playing more.

6) Don't think about the money. Treat your bankroll as inventory to create income. It's an investment. When I had to withdraw money in July, I tried to run it up fast, but I was worrying about the money. I had to pay tuition, and needed it. I shouldn't have gambled with it, since it wasn't my bankroll, it was my education. I dropped about $100 in that week, and finally just took out what I could. When I got the free $30 from party, it was back to not being cash. It didn't seem like money. I have more in my online accounts than my bank account, but I still don't think of it as cash. It's a short-term investment, which I can liquidate if I need to. Treat your bankroll as such, and you'll find you'll play more freely, because you're not worried about losing the money.

[Frogic]

[ QUOTE ]

The key is to play tighter when you are short. Drop down to where you can comfortably play and play there. You can work your way back up. Play more like you're a short stack in a tourney if you're on a limited bankroll. Play tight, and take what people give you when you hit a hand. Then, you'll have more room to work and play more speculative hands.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this is terrible advice. Assuming you're good at poker giving up +ev situations will just mean your downswings will be worse. Since everything is going to be within a certain number of standard deviation from your actual winrate, and you're basically telling people to give up some of their winrate. Just play good poker and make sure you play on good tables. If you're a winning player and rolled within reason(which 200bb+bonuses is probably reasonable) you'll win. If you're not a winning player study more and get there.

Frogic

[udbrky]

I didn't mean to pass up +EV situations. I agree you should never pass them up. Playing tight doesn't mean you pass up +EV situations.

[hogua]

[ QUOTE ]
That has since been sour by beats on the river.

[/ QUOTE ]

It sounds like you need to find a place that speads 6 card hold'em.