When do i raise my game ?

[Rumlesen]

I been playing Poker for 1 month now, startet for fun, to learn the game from the bottom. But i soon found out that i could not learn anything when money is not involved, as people go all in on every hand. I decided to learn it the hard way, by loosing some cash. Since then i have been playing 5$ buy in tournaments at Interpoker. I make it to final 7 out 10 times i think, witch is ok. But i still feel that people dont give a shit loosing the 5$ they got on stake, and therefore bet on poor hands. Any advice? is it time to step up and go for a bigger tournament, or should i stay low for a while? Thanks in advance

[Run Dmc Vs Pat Nevin]

Re: When do i raise my game ? Rumlesen, I'm in a similar position. I've only been playing for two weeks. I seem to be doing ok, getting into the money on very low stake single table tournaments. Not sure whether it's my good play or that everyone else is poor. To counter people with rubbish hands going all-in I usually wait for a really good hand and then hammer them with it.

[Rumlesen]

Re: When do i raise my game ? I use the same strategy Run, fold after fold after fold, waiting for a good hand, and when it commes, i lumb on. I tryed a 10$ tournament last night, and it was a bit different. People where folding alot more. I was beaten just before the final on a lucky straight, i had 3 of a kind :\

[BillyHills]

Re: When do i raise my game ? Hi lads, glad to see your learning how to master this great game. I think your problem is very common, we all start off playing for fun money and then progress to the small stakes tables. Its true that on a table of 10 players you will always find one or two that either play every hand or go all-in almost from the off. With experience of playing a lot more, and i mean a lot more, you will be able to read the other players very early on in a tournament and be able to distinguish the chancers from the players. I would not get involved with these players over the first few hands unless i had something to play with, and when you do make sure you make them pay all the way to the river. If your paitent these guys will soon be on low chips and then you can take advantage, no-one wins by playing every hand. I think its all relative, $5 to someone may be nothing and will just try and double up early on with anything, even in the higher stakes tables you will still get these players but not so many. Its the same with betting, in my time as a manager i had punters that bet £20 a race and thought nothing of it, other would bet 50p E/W every race and get well pissed off if they lost. Its the same with poker, the difference is though that sometimes believe it or not its better to play against better players, i suppose some would say thats because the game is played 'properly' by better players and therefore its easier to read. If you have a look at some of the other threads im sure a better explanation is around here somewhere. Why dont you sign up to our league and play our next tournament, its fun and relaxed and you can learn a lot. Best of luck guys.

[Rumlesen]

Re: When do i raise my game ? Good stuff Billy, thanks alot. Poker comp? i am in. just have to find it first:D

[Norfolk Enchance]

Re: When do i raise my game ? Probably best to put aside a poker bank and as your bank increases, increase the stakes you play at. You could bet, say 2% of your bank for each tournament you play in and take it from there. I definitely would not go more than 5%. For example, a bank of $500 you would start on $10 STTs and when you've got your bank up to $1000 move on to $20 STTs. Good luck

[Rumlesen]

Re: When do i raise my game ? Good idea Norfolk. I will stick to the small tournament for a while, see if i can build a bank, and then take it from there. Played for 2 hours today, came out 10$ on top :lol But hey, a win is a win right?

[laidbackbloke]

Re: When do i raise my game ? Hi Rumlesen, I'd pretty much give you the same advice as Norfolk : When you start consistently making a profit at one level, then move yourself up to the next level. Building a bank and giving yourself a target to aim for before moving up a level is probably a good plan. It will also help absorb any losses you may make as you take the step up. Although you will encounter some muppets playing on the $5 tables, you will gain a lot of experience without it costing you a lot of money. (and as your game improves you will be happy to take all the chips away from the muppets :D ) Playing a lot of hands is the only way to really improve your game and when you start playing, you will make quite a few mistakes. The trick is to make sure that you don't make the same mistakes again ................................... but instead come up with a whole series of brand new ones :lol. If you take into account the bad beats, cold decks, and games where you just aren't getting any decent cards you can actually lose quite a few games when you havn't done anything silly. if you add in the mistakes you make as you are gaining experience it can actually be a costly learning process. Personally i think its better to make the mistakes when it costs you less, but as Billy said, whether you play $5 or $10 tables (or higher) kind of depends on your own financial circumstances- its up to you to decide what you can afford.

[Rumlesen]

Re: When do i raise my game ? Thanks Laid. My biggest problem right now is to trust my hand. I`ve tryed a few times sitting with a winner hand, betting carefully, and afterwards, i could see that there was no way i could have been beaten. As a newbie i feel the time pressure sometimes, looking at the possibilities what the others can have. But i guess that just about experince.

[Jezza]

Re: When do i raise my game ? Hi Rumlesen, You are right about what you say - its impossible to learn how to play properly on "play for fun" tables - everyone is just all in every hand! I would say however you are probably getting a good enough to game to learn nicely at the 5 dollar sit n go's - the crazy calling with weak hands you will see sometimes is just synonymous with net poker as a whole and although maybe a little more prevaelant at the lower tables you are still in a good place to learn no limit texas hold em. I think what you were talking about is working out if you hold "the nuts" or not whilst you were playing? The nuts is the best possible hand that anyone can have and if you hold it you obv cannot be beaten and want to get as much money into the pot as possible (it is a great feeling holding the nuts (no funny jokes now!) and having someone bet 1200 dollars before you!!). Learning to work out what the nuts is is a crucial aspect of hold em so take some time whilst you are playing to see if you can suss it out. An example would be on a board of 7s 10h Jd 2d Ac the "nuts" would be KQ for the top straight. Or on a board of 2s 5d 6h Ac Ad Kd it would be AA for four aces. Anyway let us know how you have been doing Rum, Jez

[dave]

Re: When do i raise my game ?

Or on a board of 2s 5d 6h Ac Ad Kd it would be AA for four aces.

Strange board Jez ;)

[Jezza]

Re: When do i raise my game ? Oops I copy pasted and fcuked up:o

[dave]

Re: When do i raise my game ?

Or on a board of 2s 5d 6h Ac Ad it would be AA for four aces.

It would also be A6, since if you have this, no-one else could possibly have AAAA.