Getting Started Online

[Andy_Aces]

Hello, this is my first post on twoplustwo.com but I'm hoping it's not my last.

Any way, I've been playing online poker now for about 1 year. Just recently I put my first real money onto my PS account. I had just finished reading Harrington on Hold'em 1-3, and started reading Hold'em (For Advanced Players). I felt I had a good grasp of how to play the game. Well I started off well, got up about $200 in 2 weeks. Then it all went down hill. I'd call an all in preflop with pocket Q's and my opponent would make trip 4's. I would flop trip 7's and my opponent would have trip A's. It wasn't as if I was donking away my chips *although I will admit a good $25 was spent through on tilt venting after the 7's lost to the A's*. So here I am 3 weeks after I put on $100 dollars and now I have nothing on my account. What am I doing wrong? Was I at to high of stakes; I started at $0.10/$0.25. It seemed to me every time I got in my money with the best hand I would be drawn out on the turn or river. Should I be playing on a different site? Or should I start at lower stakes? Maybe put on more money and start at higher stakes?
Any advice you could give me would be very much appreciated.
I know I have a long first post, but thanks for reading it and hopefully posting advice.

-Andy_Aces

[duecesful]

I think you have two options. You can deposit more and play at the same stakes you were at or lower your stakes. I don't see a problem w/depositing a few hundred(as long as you can afford it) and continue playing at the stakes you are.
If you do't want to have to deposit again(if you lose) you should be playing more within your bankroll. With $200 you only have 8 buy-ins for that game and that can be lost in a few days w/bad luck.
Good Luck

[Andy_Aces]

The most I could comfortably put in would be about $500-$600. But I'm afraid that at the low stakes of $0.10/$0.25 people are chasing every draw that they get, and in most cases they seem to be drawing out on me. I mean some of my more memorable hands I lost were just bad luck *Q's vs 4's, 7's vs A's*, but I'm wondering if in a high stakes game I wouldn't see so many people calling my 4x the big blind raise with 5,4 suited and hitting a flush/straight to beat my top pair or 2 pair.

-Andy_Aces

[64 Suited]

Learn some bankroll management, with $100 you should not be playing .10/.25. You should be looking at having at least 20 times the max buy-in. So for .10/.25 you should have $500 in your bankroll.

If you feel comfortable, and want to play cash games, I'd try playing .05/.10 with another $100 investment. You'd still have a small bankroll compared to the buy-in, but if you can hang with the higher stakes, you should find these levels easy to beat.

[Andy_Aces]

Well, it's not that they weren't easy to beat. It just seems that I'm always outdrawn. I mean, should I be loosing up my game? Should I not bluff at all *seemed all my bluffs got called by bottom/middle pair when I was in my mind representing top pair or more*. Is money online poker that much looser than live poker? My standards for starting hands are *roughly* the HoH starting hands, with a little variance mixed in as to not be to readable. I will most likely reload with most than $100, but is there something I should be doing? Should I play more K,x and A,x suited, should I worry about my position when I'm up against guys calling my all in's with A,x suited?

-Andy_Aces

[RedJoker]

You need a BR of at least 20 times your buy-in.

Don't bluff, you can't represent something if your opponents aren't paying attention, which they aren't.

No need to mix in variance at these stakes, they're not paying attention.

Play as much Kx and Ax suited from the CO and BTN as you like, not so much anywhere else. Position is extremely important.

[Jeff_B]

pocket pairs are important here as many people will stack off with draws / two pair etc for when you flop sets...

Im currently playing $25Nl regularly and its not uncommon for me to lose win 3 buy ins which is almost your entire roll.

Position is always key imo
Bet, bet, bet, bet, bet, bet, bet whenever you ahve the best hand. They will call with less equity then you and let the rest work out its self. (ie play lots of hands)

[Aceium]

What kind of games have you been playing? Have you been playing full ring or 6max? The strategies are very different. There is a lot of good information out there for both. HoH is better for ring games or sit-n-go's in my opinion. The kind of games where you play should make a big difference.

You can find a lot of good information on playing low limit 6max over at www.PokerDynasty.net. They have really improved my game. Read some of their articles and watch their videos. They advocate a loose aggressive style - which is a winning style at 6max.

[Andy_Aces]

I play both 6max and 9 handed. I play mostly ring games, but I feel I'm a better tournament player. My style is most like the style that Harrington suggests in HoH, with some variances here and there. I seem to make money slowly but surely at the 9 handed tables, but I seem to either win big or lose big at the 6max tables. How loose aggressive should I be at the 6max tables *starting hands/position*?
Thanks for all the advice so far, keep it coming.

-Andy_Aces

[Harv72b]

Bankroll requirements are meant for people who are first of all winning players (which you can't for certain say about yourself at this point; not a slam, just a statement of fact) and second of all meant for people who cannot or will not replenish their poker fund. While it's good that you learn proper bankroll management, don't feel like you must play 10NL or whatever simply for that reason. If you have more money to reload, you can start higher.

However, for most everybody it's worthwhile to start low and stay there for a good while. You need to gain confidence and experience, neither of which can come out of a book (though books help speed up the process). The poker world is littered with stories just like yours, of people who started with a few bucks, built it up, and then lost it all. In pretty much every case the player just caught a hot run of cards at first, moved up too quickly, and then caught the other side of variance.

Moving up to higher stakes probably will cut down on the number of times you get it all in with AA on a Q72r flop & then lose on the river to 97. It will also cut down on the number of times you get it all in with AA on a Q72r flop & hold against 97. It will cut down on the number of times you stack people after flopping a set against their overpair or top pair. It will cut down on the number of times you win a nice pot with AK vs. JJ after an AT3 flop. Basically, the higher you go, the fewer times your big hands are going to be paid off by worse hands, and that is where your wins come from. Stay at the low limits, and learn to accept the odd bad beat (which sometimes come in groups) as the cost of winning all those monster pots.