Online Poker Protege

thrasher789 · #1 07-15-2007, 12:31 AM

Hello guys, I don't know how far fetched or run of the mill this idea is but I am very interested in picking up a highly successful and legit online poker mentor. I am 18 and want nothing more these days than to play successfully online. Over the past few months I've slowly pissed away about 300 dollars playing small/med stakes on Full Tilt. Whether I really do just keep getting bad beats put down on me or I'm just playing relativly wrong is a big question to me but the one thing I do know is that I don't play anywhere near perfect but learn quickly and want an experienced helper. I try to read poker literature and learn as much as I can but I really want someone who is successful to help shape my game up.

I know its sort of a rediculous idea and there isn't much in it for my 'mentor' but I learn quick and am dedicated now to the game, with some help I think I will be very successful and hopefully make it worth your time in some way.

Feel free to drop me a PM or instant message me (midlandhtownrep) if you think it's an alright idea.

MaddHatter · #2 07-15-2007, 12:47 AM

Read every thread and every post on this forum and then if you still feel like you need a mentor, come back and ask.

ReverandRon · #3 07-15-2007, 01:25 AM

I don't play online myself. I stick to brick and mortar casinos. The reason is I just like the social aspect of live game play as opposed to sitting in front of a screen all the time. But a good place to start would be to buy Harrington's books on Hold'em 1,2, and 3 and read them. Also get the wilson software and practice tournament hold'em with it. That won't cost you anything. After that just practice a lot in the smallest stakes games you can find until you feel comfortable with the mechanics of the game and then move up in stakes gradually. Your ultimate goal should be to specialize in no-limit hold'em tournaments, because that's where the money is. You should specialize in tournaments vs. ring games unless you don't have a life and just like to spend all of your time playing poker because tournaments are usually over in a reasonable amount of time. You can play in ring games for a week straight taking only bathroom breaks if that's what you want to do. Good Luck to you.

RedJoker · #4 07-15-2007, 11:32 AM

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Your ultimate goal should be to specialize in no-limit hold'em tournaments, because that's where the money is.

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ugh, no. Not that there's anything wrong with doing coinflips for 5 hours but there is lots more money in cash games, lower variance, less boring. Even the best tournament pros have losing years and cash players have far higher winrates.

OP, do you have PokerTracker?

Dogballs88 · #5 07-15-2007, 12:02 PM

Not to mention the fact that there are far fewer good cash players than tournament players. The problem is, as blinds and antes get large later in tournaments, even the biggest donk can play mistake-free for the most part, since it's a one or at most two betting round game. Frustrating when hours of good, solid play get wipred out in a single showdown because I've had to go all in due to the fact that my stack is 5-10x the size of the BB.

Cash allows you to use your skills on all four rounds, and is much better for punishing the weak/unskilled.

ReverandRon · #6 07-15-2007, 02:57 PM

RedJoker and Dogballs88 I appreciate your input on my analysis of tournament poker vs. ring game play. I think you are right in that ring game poker would give you a steady income with much less variance. The main reason I prefer tournament poker is because I'm 61 years old and I don't like playing long hours anymore. Plus ring game poker is more like a job and I had a job with Trans World Airlines and American Airlines for 40+ years as a mechanic and I don't really need another job at this stage of my life. But for those starting out your point is well taken. Ring game poker might be a better way to go.

thrasher789 · #7 07-15-2007, 04:14 PM

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OP, do you have PokerTracker?

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No, I don't. I looked into it last night and it looks very useful and interesting but unfortunately I use a mac and it says its windows only from what I understand? I may be mistaken but that's what it seems.

RedJoker · #8 07-15-2007, 05:25 PM

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

OP, do you have PokerTracker?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, I don't. I looked into it last night and it looks very useful and interesting but unfortunately I use a mac and it says its windows only from what I understand? I may be mistaken but that's what it seems.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure tbh. If you can get it to work it would be a huge advantage to you.

What stakes are you playing? You said you lost 300 playing small/med stakes, what sort of bankroll are you playing off? $300 would be a daily fluctuation for most small/med stakes players.

The usual advice for bankroll management is 20 times the size of your buy-in. You should be buying in for the max amount so for .10c/.25c that's $25 and a bankroll of at least $500, for .25c/.50c you need a bankroll of $1000, etc.

phydaux · #9 07-15-2007, 05:48 PM

Thrasher,

You don't need a mentor. These forums, half a dozen good books and a subscription to Cardrunners is all you need.

How much money can you get your hands on? The forums are free, a few good books will run you ~$100.00 and 6 months of Cardrunners will run you another $200.00. Another $200.00 for a starting roll and you're off and running.

thrasher789 · #10 07-16-2007, 05:45 PM

What exactly is cardrunners and how helpful is it? I went to the site and it looked real tight but it was 25 a month or so so I didn't do much about it.

I'm very suprised at the post that said 300 is a daily fluctuation for small stakes players, the whole time I played I would put 50 or so in and take it straight to the .10/.25 or .25/.50 (HAHA) and play all week and almost always end up at about the same I started with a week later until a gnarly bad beat would leave me crippled, hence me not thinking I play right.