My situation - need advice from fellow 2p2'rs.....

[Kasane]

Try playing without your HUD occasionally, two or three tables. Really watch who is playing how, reviewing HHs while you go (hard to do on more than a couple tables.) Massively ups your ability to read hands if you're not relying on stats to do your reading for you.

Stats actually take some time to reflect a player's real style. Switch gears if you've been with the same people at the same table. Lag it up, tag it up -- but learn to play post flop so that both are winning strats for you.

[Johnny2Gunnz]

One thing that has really helped my game:

Try joining an active table but don't buy in. Instead, just make notes of what you think everyone has. Try to understand their betting patterns etc.

Also there is an old phrase referred to as "KISS," keep it simple stupid. At NL25 you need to just play solid poker. Realize that the villains rarely if every pay attention to your hands or bets, just their own. Don't try any fancy moves, they won't even notice. Just value bet your good hands.

[Xanta]

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You need a coach, PM me I can definitly help you out with alot of stuff

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There is no way this guy has exhausted the free resources this site has to offer. He doesn't need a coach yet.

[PaulG]

I'm in the same situation as you, but have succeeded, it just takes longer.

I have a full time job ( >45 hours/week) and other commitments.

I play 2 hours of poker per night of poker and 30 minutes of study. On the weekends I might get in 3 hours per day of play and 1 hour of study per day maybe more study if I'm on a downswing.

There are a few important things that I learnt (and am still learning):
1. Your job will tire you out. Playing poker after work when tired is a big mistake. Try to relax after work before playing and try to limit your play to a few hours after work. Get a good night sleep for work the next day, else you will be tired the next night.

2. Don't play more than 2 tables. Work makes you too tired to do this properly IMHO. You may not think it does, but it DOES!

3. Don't play poker on nights at the end of the week, like Friday night. You'll be too tired. Wait until the weekend. eg Play Mon, Tues, Wed, Sat, Sun.

4. Playing poker at night will make you tired for your job the next day and could effect your job. During a downswing this really sucks because you hate poker and you hate your job. Try to maintain a balance. If your job is becoming affected, give poker a break for a few days.

5. Don't expect results quickly. You cannot play 3000 hands/day like most people here. Your progression will be slow. Deal with it. The improvement will come.

6. Do not do huge bonuses that take >6000 hands to complete. I found this way too hard to do with the full time job. Instead, deposit less for a smaller bonus. Do lots of smaller bonuses at multiple sites and less larger bonuses. Play your normal game whilst trying to improve. It wasn't until I stopped bonus whoring that my game actually improved. Sure I made $2K in bonuses, but I was breaking even at 25NL. Constantly checking my points/bonus status, when I should have been spending my time checking my poker.

I found it took me 6-8 months and 100K Hands to really beat and understand 10NL/25NL. Mainly because you cannot have many marathon poker or study sessions.

A coach is a good idea when you start to beat 25NL as this will probably speed up the process. I never did this though. I suggest taking some holidays when you are comfortable, that way you can dedicate a good block of time with the study or coaching.

[PaulG]

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Read a little of 2p2, practice, [censored] up, see where/how u [censored] up, and practice again. Even if you have the br for the $25, I'd recommend the $10 at Stars for a while.

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He's from the UK, there are many other better sites to beat than 10NL at Stars.

In fact, if OP isn't playing at one of the big European sites then this could be one of his problems.

[Gullanian]

I 1 tabled for like freakin ages, you learn a lot more than you do 4 tabling because you can give your full attention to each player and how their stats relate to their actions and card ranges. It helps a lot.

[hennnerz]

From the few hands we played earlier you were a bit of a nit. Concentrate on playing awesome poker when playing 4 tables. Ensure every decision is correct and when its not right and you are unsure why, post the hand.

Also dont read everything at once then try and implement it all. If i were you I would read and re-read the fundamentals and ensure you are implementing them perfectly within your game.

[cowboy billy]

haven't read all the replies, so I might be posting stuff that's already mentioned, but I'll blame variance

1: concentrate on 1 or 2 tables MAX, don't do other stuff while you play, really focus on the players at your table, the flow of the game and the decisions you make

2: at first, PLAY SHORT SESSIONS, and RE-EVALUATE IMMEDIATELY AFTERWARDS, which decisions were tough, what could you have done differently/better, copy interesting hand histories into a document while you play, but only start thinking about these hands when you're done with the session, during the session only think about the play at hand

3: AFTER you've evaluated some of the tough decisions from the session you've just completed, POST HANDS on 2+2 where you're confused about the proper play, maybe we can come up with solutions you hadn't thought of yourself, it works for me!

4: instead of reading all sorts of articles and poker books on the way to work or in your lunch break or whenever, try thinking about some of the hands you've played in recent sessions instead and re-evaluate in your mind where you could improve your game, I've come up with some interesting stuff doing this myself

5: QUIT BONUSWHORING for now, it will distract you from your play, I've had the same problem, I was only paying attention to the number of raked hands I had accumulated and my game suffered from it, it would be much better to get a rake back deal instead

6: PLAY ON A SITE WHERE YOU FEEL COMFORTABLE, even if you can't get a rake back deal, move to another site if things aren't working out, atm I play at party bc I like the action, even though I don't get any rake back and could play any other site if I'd wish, if I start to run bad, I'll move to a different site just as easily

ok, I just wrote this in a flow and I probably left out a bunch, but this is important stuff, do this and I GUARANTEE you that you will improve your game (no refunds)

just stop reading about pkr (except this post obv, lol) and start playing the game, as soon as you start running into problems, re-evaluate, post and discuss hands on this forum, until you master every concept, yes?