New to the board

[pokerpansie]

Hi everyone, I just created an account here but have lurked as a guest for the past few months. I have been and am a bit in awe of how you all think about poker not only hands but overall. I have played poker my whole life, taught by my father and grandmother (a regular at the Golden Nugget in the 60's and 70's I am told). But I have never had a discussion with them like I see take place here and it has helped me immensely. In November I put 50 bucks into full tilt and battled around in the llhe rings did alright and started playing the sngs. Anyway, to make a long story short, i won a few "tokens" and made the money a couple of times then went on a huge downswing and was down to my last 12 bucks yesterday. I said "f" it and entered a 4 dollar token tourney, won it and played in the 5k guarantee today and finished third for 800 bucks. My question is what now? I have a good job (golf pro) so 800 is not going to change my life, but I really don't feel like pissing it away either. I have way more fun playing MTT's and MTSNGS than ring games. Sure i have the dream of playing in the WSOP (don't we all, and some of you have). I plan on spending a lot more time reading your posts and maybe even posting a few of my own if I ever get brave enough. While playing $5.00 - $20.00 45's and 90's? Is this a decent plan? Any help or crticism will be appreciated. I have read and re-read, Harringtons books, cloutier & mcevoys, poker for dummies, supersystem 1 & 2, and a couple of sklansky's books. Let the berating begin.

[mlagoo]

Be smart with your bankroll, first of all. With an $800 roll, if you like playing MTTs, play the 10/180s, and any other freezeouts you see $10 or under. Don't play the rebuys yet or any of the freezeouts $20 or over. And read a lot in MTTF (read the archives too) and get better.

Also, yeah the 5-table Turbo SNGs on Stars are very soft, so if you are good at pushbotting (have a solid base in STTs), you can make a good bit of money there. As for STTs I would stick with the $16s, and again, read the 1TT forum a lot, read the archives/anthology, and just get better. Both MTTs and SNGs are SUPER beatable at the lower limits, so just get the fundamentals down and don't get too fancy or impatient and you'll do fine.

[pokerpansie]

Thanks, glad to know that I am not off base with "plan". Your post does bring up another question for me, it seems that a majority of you play at Stars, is it that much "softer" than full tilt, or just a preference for other reasons? To be honest I really don't want to play against you guys quite yet [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img].

[mlagoo]

IMO they just have a better tournament selection than FTP, but I think that's debateable. I think the majority of the high volume guys play at both sites, but I just deposited money on Stars first and am lazy, basically.

[RichC.]

Most of us play at Stars, Tilt, and UB.

[Worldclass]

Both Stars and Full Tilt have plenty of options for SNG's and MTT's. I play on both sites but prefer Stars because of the Turbo SNG's.

[CybrPunk]

I'll just echo that both sites have good options for the stakes and games you want to play. Stars runs the $10 180 player SNGs round the clock and FTP has a variety of 45 and 90 player SNGs as well.

I personally prefer Stars but play at both Stars and FTP regularly.

[RonFezBuddy]

Welcome.

I'm slightly less new than you but I can validate that a couple of months of participating in these forums will boost your results. You are making a smart move by becoming vocal.

I know it's intimidating at first but it's vital that you start to post hands. These guys are brilliant and they force you to get smarter.

What happens is that you start to see the rationale behind "standard" actions. At times I'll play a hand without really thinking about it. When I post it later, I sit down analyze what i did and why it might have been wrong or right. These exercises train your brain and I think become the foundation for the sixth sense that top players have. But you cannot do that if you don't post. Just reading other posts is not enough. Put up your own hands, and respond to other's hands.

The anthologies are also vital. Print them out, read and reread them. Look for spots to practice some of the concepts like resteals. Practice makes perfect.

Mlagoo already mentioned it but bankroll mgmt is of the utmost importance. His recommendations are right on. Play the tourneys he referred to and they are indeed good ways to build your roll. A player who spends time on 2+2 and can grasp the concepts should be able to beat the stars 10/180s and FTP 10/45s. I play both frequently. If you see me say hi.

I started lurking in september, and starting posting in October. I know the sample sizes are small but I've gone from a midly profitable bubble boy to an increasingly profitable player and I attribute it to 2+2. I really don't know how I was even staying afloat before the time here changed my perspective (luck?). I had read HOH 1-3 (as well as others, but HOH is the gold standard) prior to joining forums but the live workshop that this place is helps you apply the concepts you learned from the books.

Good luck.

[Sayfur]

First, Welcome as a poster!
I'd point that you might want to play those 4$/180 before the 10$/180 because you want to get use to that still first. Damn I'd love to have place 3rd in one of those to actually win 800.. I wish my br was over 130ish.
goodluck

[LearnedfromTV]

With $800, play $16 STTs and $5-$10 multis. If you move to Stars go with the 10/180s as a main mtt game.

I play mainly at Stars because I like the software better and I am a bit more comfortable having my money with them. I don't think there is a significant difference in game quality, especially at low stakes.