can anyone be a winning poker player?

[GSykes]

Yes

[glockjs]

Whenever I felt the same way you do it seemed I lost money fast [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img] Truth is unless your head is in the right place you're not going to be playing good poker and making good decisions.

Learning how to lose I think is the biggest part of poker. When I lose to a bad beat or it seems the cards go cold and there is absolutely nothing I can do to win I take a step back. Usually I just read poker books and don't put any money on the tables til I feel my head is straight. Could be hours could be days :shrug:

And when I sit down at a table and put money out I no longer consider that money mine. It's a out there as a tool to make me money. If I have to risk it all to win money so be it...it's no longer my money.

Good luck though bro [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[Arjonius]

I believe anyone with a reasonable amount of intelligence can be a winning player. The question is really a matter of level. To put it simply, if you always play against opponents who are worse than you are, you'll be a consistent winner. Of course, if you want to move up, you need to test yourself via trials at higher levels when you're winning consistently at your current one.

[pendragon]

[ QUOTE ]
Dakevs,

Perhaps you just need a lot more practice. How about getting a couple of poker simulator games for your PC and get some practice in without losing your cash. The bots are probably better than most internet players anyway!

TM

[/ QUOTE ]
Well now that sounds interesting. Where does one get a good holdem simulator?

[ QUOTE ]
Play within your budget. If that means playing $.01/.02, do that. Work at getting better, but expect to lose. If you can't enjoy the game under those conditions, then don't play.

[/ QUOTE ]
Sounds like good advice.

If you enjoy it, I don't think one should quit...you can always move to lower and lower stakes. Now, if losing at poker is causing you stress and problems in your life rather than serving as a hobby, then quitting or taking a break is probably a good idea.

[dakevs]

thank you all for the advice. it is quite a shot to your pride when you have to go down a limit. the thing that i can't stand playing micro is that some of those people are so bad that i'm on the receiving end of a lot of crazy suckouts.

[leatangclan]

[ QUOTE ]
thank you all for the advice. it is quite a shot to your pride when you have to go down a limit. the thing that i can't stand playing micro is that some of those people are so bad that i'm on the receiving end of a lot of crazy suckouts.

[/ QUOTE ]

Actually, dakevs, I was sort of in your boat awhile back. I love the game but would lose my hard earned bank roll in a flash. But since I discovered this forum, I think things have changed.

I since purchased pokertracker and am beginning to notice some of my leaks. I still have plenty to plug unfortunately. And I swallowed my pride and moved down to $0.1/$0.25 eventhough I have the bankroll to play higher. And you will be surprised how good some of the players are at that level.

And posting hand histories and posting your answers to other's hand histories helped me tremendously. It forces you to analyze the way the hand was played so you can gain insights to how and why the hand went the way it did.

So if you love the game it wouldn't hurt to move down a leve or two eventhough you can afford the BR and build up your skills there. Good luck!

[Javanewt]

No, not anyone can be a winning player. As with all things in life, some are better than others. Some are not smart enough, some are not disciplined enough, etc.

[Splossy]

Anyone can become a winner at the lowest stakes online.

[Gonso]

[ QUOTE ]
No, not anyone can be a winning player. As with all things in life, some are better than others. Some are not smart enough, some are not disciplined enough, etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

My answer is a strong no also. Intelligence and discipline are huge factors - there really are people too dumb to win at any level, even at .01/.02. That probably seems astounding but it's true.

Then you have people Barry Greenstein refers to in his book (and we all have some of those tendencies considered undesirable for poker players).

I think you could say that anyone with a reasonable emotional, intellectual, and financial disposition can become a winning player at some level with some amount of effort. But, if you tilt crazy, get trashed while you play, oconsistently play over your BR (etc), never study or refuse to change up to fix leaks, you could be pretty much doomed to donating for life.

[Poker Clif]

[ QUOTE ]
I know that somethings at poker you can learn. Hand rankings, pot odds, implied odds, blah blah blah. But how about the things within your self? The discipline to quit when you are playing bad, the courage to make the right call with a marginal hand, etc.

I'm asking this because i've made numerous $50 deposits at websites, play good and bring my roll ~180, then lose it all in a couple of hours.

I know in Barry Greenstein's book, "Ace on the River" he lists some characteristics that poker players need. I haven't read the book myself, so i couldn't list them myself, but is it possible to instill those characteristics withing myself?

I love, love, love poker. I love doing numbers, and reading people. I just hate losing money.

Should i just uninstall these poker websites and never play again?

(I know my post is pretty bad, but i'm just so out of it right now. My poker bankroll is gone... AGAIN)

[/ QUOTE ]

Some people can jump right into big games, and others need to start slowly. Since I couldn't risk a lot of money, I started VERY slowly and methodically.

I started with play money on AOL World Series or Poker. When I could beat that at every level (including a final table in a 3K player tournament), then I switched to Party Poker.

When Party Poker stopped taking US money, I switched to PokerStars, since I wanted to be comfortable with the interface when I switched to real money.

As I move up the play money levels on Stars, I did a complete trial run, including keeping all my results on a spreadsheet. I didn't want to think I could do it, I wanted the facts at hand.

When I started real money at PokerStars, I started at the bottom, .01/02 and $1 sit-n-goes. When I could handle that I would occasionally take shots at multitabling until I could do four tables.

Next, still at micros, I inched my way up, taking shots at .02/05 and $3 turbo SNG, and gradually working more and more of those into my routine.

While I was doing all this I was learning, and building my bankroll. I just got my Frequent Player Points deposit bonus today, but I have really been working on this seriously for a year, going back to AOL. And during this time I have been reading (I seldom go anwhwere where I might be idle without a poker book), as well as posting and reading on here.

I know that it would drive most people crazy to do this as methodically as I have, but I didn't want to screw it up. Once I bump my bankroll up a little more, my next goals will be to hit a certain hourly rate or weekly profit.