A difficult decision regarding online poker

[Woolygimp]

I started playing online around 2 years ago, and started off fairly small. Back then I was living mostly off my parents, who are fairly well off. As such online poker was really a secondary income of a few hundred here and there to support my bad habits [never really did drugs], even won a few smaller $10-$30 star's RB&A tournaments.

Fast forward 2 years later and i'm living with 2 other roommates in a very upscale apartment that w/ utilities & what-not costs a good $2000/mo. Most of my money [to afford] this came from a local bar-game, which has since degenerated. So now i'm at a crossroads.

For the past 3 weeks i've been "skating" around the various types of online poker to find a type of game that suits me. I've played every single type of HE avaiable except HU, trying to game that suits me. The characteristics of a game I wish to play are that it's good money, somewhat lower variance, and option to move up to higher levels and still be able to compete. So here's how it went...

10 tabled 5/10 full limit ring. I ran very very well pulling off @ 3.5BB/100 over about 15,000 hands. I just didn't notice my opponents making enough mistakes that I could safely exploit 10 tabling so I'm assuming my real winrate is about .5/100 [10 tabling]. I asked around and 5/10 at party is considered a rock garden, and at most people 4 table it. I've also heard the higher limit full rings just get worse and worse and that nobody but the very best beat the rake. So i'd have to cut down to 4 tables just to pull off a slight profit, and then theres the chance that I don't find juicy games higher up.

5/10 shorthanded. Played this, and sent several hundred hands to a coach who said I'm a "solid" player and that I should be able to crush it. I broke even over about 10,000 hands though and have heard monster variance stories [800 BB downswings]. Definately can't play more than 4 tables of this, and I'm unnsure of the profitability of higher limit games, although I've heard they are exponentially more difficult at higher limits than at 5/10. Variance is definately another big turnoff here.

$200 NL full ring.
Set farming here definately will show a profit, but is it enough to pay the bills?

$400 NL 6-max.
Played this for a while and did fairly well. Problem is I tend to only want to 1-2 table these because playing LAG requires alot more though than in games such as limit. Would have to get up to 5/10 6-max NL as soon as possible to be able to make the money I need w/ school and whatnot.

Overall i'm a significant winner in NL [6.5ptbb/100 over 40,000 hands]

Multies
Variance Hell moving on...

Single-Table Tournaments.
Ahh been playing a ton of these. The 22's have some of the worst players around, so 10-tabling these I can probaly pull off about $2.7 per tourney and do about 12 an hour. Good money but I want to make more...
The opponents at the 55's-215's are significantly better, and people don't realize the swings involved with STTs. Being down after over 800 tourneys at the lower limits?
Imagine at the 215's when the average player walks away with less than 4-5% ROI? Gigantic swings, and couldn't play more than 2 or so at the higher limits.

So I'm thinking 6-max is probaly my best option at this point,but i'm just not that sure. I can't jump arouund like this indefinately as I neeed to find something and specialize in it and start grinding...

So based on these observations can someone grant me the general direction I'm looking for?

[MicroBob]

"So based on these observations can someone grant me the general direction I'm looking for? "


Play whatever you like best.

[StaticShock]

[ QUOTE ]

10 tabled 5/10 full limit ring. I ran very very well pulling off @ 3.5BB/100 over about 15,000 hands. I just didn't notice my opponents making enough mistakes that I could safely exploit 10 tabling so I'm assuming my real winrate is about .5/100 [10 tabling]. I asked around and 5/10 at party is considered a rock garden, and at most people 4 table it

[/ QUOTE ]

If you can beat it for 3.5, play that. As for them not making mistakes... Uhhhhhhhh... I've seen everything but them pulling out a book of matches and lighting Jacksons on fire.

If you have the roll, I suggest you datamine the 10/20 and 13/15 games as well. Plenty of good games to be had with a little table selection.

[Woolygimp]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]

10 tabled 5/10 full limit ring. I ran very very well pulling off @ 3.5BB/100 over about 15,000 hands. I just didn't notice my opponents making enough mistakes that I could safely exploit 10 tabling so I'm assuming my real winrate is about .5/100 [10 tabling]. I asked around and 5/10 at party is considered a rock garden, and at most people 4 table it

[/ QUOTE ]

If you can beat it for 3.5, play that. As for them not making mistakes... Uhhhhhhhh... I've seen everything but them pulling out a book of matches and lighting Jacksons on fire.

If you have the roll, I suggest you datamine the 10/20 and 13/15 games as well. Plenty of good games to be had with a little table selection.

[/ QUOTE ]

Table selection is definately my "weakest" point as a player. I just don't see how you guys do it or what all there is to it?

I think im going with 6-max NL, i'm extremely confident I can beat the $400 NL tables for a pretty good amount, and I'll eventually be able to move up.

4-tabling 6max NL should be good for now, but someone needs to help me out with table selection. Does that include sorting by highest avg pot and getting on the waiting list? If so, by the time everyone on the waiting list is on the table the fish will have busted out...

I keep bad players on my buddy list but that can't be all there is to table selection. Also since I've jumped around so much I haven't been able to easily identify the regulars as of yet, so I need to start datamining more.

[StaticShock]

The most basic way to select a table is to have PokerAce HUD up and running and just start opening prospecetive tables. Look for GREEN. You want high VPIPs, low PFR rates, and low aggression factors. (This assumes you have been datamining and have at least some stats on some players at the table.) In full ring limit games I look mainly at their VPIPs. Anything over 30 is good. You can often find >40 up to 15/30.

I don't play NL seriously so I have no idea what the stats should be for 6-max or full.

The bootom line is when you play low/mid stakes online there really is no excuse to be playing at a table with all TAG rocks. If a table sucks, find a new one.

[umdpoker]

[ QUOTE ]
$200 NL full ring.
Set farming here definately will show a profit, but is it enough to pay the bills?


[/ QUOTE ]

you sure about this? i have heard that set farming stops being profitable at the 100nl level. i have never played above 50nl, so i wouldn't know for sure. however, i could notice a difference between 25 and 50 in terms of how often i get paid off.

[Woolygimp]

Well by set farming I mean general TAG. I have two very different playstyles for full ring and 6-max. I think limits alot better to grind for hours on end, NL is fun and very profitable but it requires a lot more thought.

Limit you can sit back in your recliner, sipping mocha de grande enjoying the slight afternoon breeze whilst reminiscing about your childhood.

[Fryguy]

Are you expecting limits to NOT get harder as you move up? Poker isn't about free money man. Play the highest limit that you can comfortably beat and covers your living expenses.

[Foghatlive]

[ QUOTE ]


4-tabling 6max NL should be good for now, but someone needs to help me out with table selection. Does that include sorting by highest avg pot and getting on the waiting list? If so, by the time everyone on the waiting list is on the table the fish will have busted out...



[/ QUOTE ]

Here's how I see table selection in 6max: It needs to be an on-going process throughout the session. The reason being that w/ only 6max players, the games can easily break up.

In addition, because your attention will be often directed away from the games and toward table selection, I believe the number of tables you play needs to be limited: to how many is matter of the individual. IMO one less table than you could play if didn't have to concern yourself w/ table selection vis a vis table selection is like playing one game in itself.

You definitely need two monitors. I have one 21" 1600x1200 that I use as my primary playing grid, and one 15" that I use as a "workbench." I keep the Party Lobby open at all times, as well as PT & HUD.

The reality is that you're very unlikely to be playing in 4 juicy games at once. 1 or 2 is more realistic.

Just continually re-evaluate the games you're in and if they seem like a waste, move on.

I'm not a big waiting list guy for the reason you just mentioned, and you can't always count on your "buddies" being around to make donations.

That said, 6max is definitely where the money is as you get to play more hands. As Doyle Brunson says, you don't make money sitting out.

[boc4life]

There's always going to be variance in any form of poker you play...

Getting a job has pretty low variance