[Spaggy]

Dude - Awesome. Made everything up to this response worth it (even though maybe some of it should be obvious). Can't thank you enough - some of these things I knew and maybe just don't incorporate enough (I know the BR management guidelines and such), but others I don't usually follow like I should.

It's the rare posts like this that make 2p2 worth being a part of.

I know tufat will kill me - however, i'd consider it if he explained step by step (hand by hand, street by street) how he kills me in exchange for an almost guaranteed donation of $400. I figure I couldn't find a better way to be coached than to have a top player crush me and go over my (huge) leaks one on one. Like I said, it's not about the money - I want to get as good as I am mentally capable of being at this game. The thrill of outplaying something is far better than the money (at least at the stakes I'm playing).

I'm definiately a losing (MAYBE break even between all sites and cash/sngs combined) player online, despite me being up in .5 and 1/2 a decent amount recently. The sample size like you said is pretty damn small, but I actually feel like I KNOW why I'm winning in these games, and when/why to make certain moves vs. crapshooting in the penny games (where there's no reason to ever bluff). I do feel like players at .5/1+ levels are easier to understand (and I know many of you disagree), but when they do certain things like c-bet, try to chase you off draws with pot odd control (or represent certain hands by betting a certain way), I can usually assume it's more likely than not they're aware of what they're doing and they're doing it on purpose.

I'll quit short stacking and half ass hit and running. I know the big bucks are in post flop play, so once the bankroll gets up to par for this I'll play big stacks more often.

I can't believe I put this much time into this thread, but I'll finish off with this:

My problem with some posters is not that they flame you for making a bad play (or tell you that your hand history sucked/what were you thinking/etc), it's that usually when either I or another rookie/mid level player asks "what did i do wrong" or something along those lines, the majority of responses are just insults and condescending remarks without any advice included. My one (and only) strategy post was criticized first for having two paragraphs giving a quick summary of the tourney structure, my table image, and my attitude/observations before the hand took place. I then learned that the way I played it was "retarded", found out I suck (imaagine a rookie player not being too good) and was "undeniably bad" (thank you Mr. Wookie and Micro Bob for your "tough love" and encouragement). If I remember right, the only actual nuggets of wisdom given to me with any element of seriousness were "fold preflop" and "read books like HOH 1/2/3 and post hands on 2p2" which I have of course read multiple times (among many others). The pros us middle level players look up to here sometimes seem to forget that this forum is where we come to move past the books. Or, maybe I'm just an annoying douche and nobody wants to answer my questions seriously for that reason alone (or maybe both).

I promise the following from here on out:

I will reread all stickies.
I will not turn in to a douche when I get hazed by the majority of posters here.
I will make sure to not post the same crap that everyone has seen a million times (AA laydown vs. flush? or AK vs preflop reraise etc etc)
I will never write a post this long again.
I will never intentionally take flamers too seriously.
I will let you guys watch tufat kick my ass in a 400NL game this weekend if he accepts my offer below.
I will make sure never to include as many typos and other grammatical errors as there are in this post (red bull is a hell of a drug)

tufat - here is my offer - one full buy in for $400 heads up NL match, no $100 bonus unless I win. If (when) you bust me, you sell me a hand by hand coaches log for $50 explaining each step of each hand, why you did what you did and what I could have done better. Actually, if I win, one more thing - a thread acknowledging that I'm not "undeniably bad" at poker in BBV. PM me if you want to steal my money.