so after about 2 months of ups and downs i have finally lost my 50 dollar deposit on pokerstars. i am wondering what do i do now. id like to redeposit but i also think i need to take some time and learn a little more about the game. so if someone could give a beginner some advice i would appreciate it
First let me say that this happens to (almost) everyone from what I hear. It happened to me. Try to figure out what you did wrong, I know for me it was getting drunk and playing the tables when I should have stuck to tournaments (which I was always up or even on). You should slow down and get some books, many people on the forum can recommend some.
In my first two weeks of poker I put in 50 at three different times, every time blowing it in long sessions (sometimes drinking as well) and not taking a break. Someone on here gave some great advice I was reading the other day. It went something like this:
"Put in $300 (you need a decent bankroll for the swings). Really concentrate and evaluate any mistakes and hands you lose on. If you are out 300, maybe you should stop playing for a while and reevaluate playing at all. In the scheme of life 300 isn't a lot so don't sweat it if you do lose it."
I think 2 months on your first $50 is excellent. I lost $50 twice in 2 days when I started playing 50 cent/dollar at Party.
Then I figured I better learn how to play, and switched to .25/.50 cent at Ultimate Bet, and stayed pretty much even for a couple of months and honestly was pretty content with that. But slowly things started to make sense and lo and behold I began to steadily make money. Eventually $700 at .25/.50 cent.
I then started to move up slowly to .50 cent/$1 , Now I pretty much stick at $2/4 and $10 sit n' gos. But I can honestly say after playing for 8 months I have managed to be up about $2500.
I am constantly picking up things up about my game or just the game in general, and truly enjoy it. So my advice to you is as long as you enjoy it, and don't lose more than you can afford by all means continue. And eventually if you put the time in you will assuredly be a winning player.
i just put in my 50 at pokerstars today also
thank you all very much for all the advice. i think that im going to take a week off and really start to study the game. i have the book ken warren teaches texas hold em, is this a good book? i think after a little time off and reading ill be ready to put in 50 and get back at it.
I think for low limit hold em, "Hold Em Poker" by Sklansky and "Winning Low Limit Hold Em" by Lee Jones work really well in conjunction with one another. Their both actually fairly short and easy to read.
take your next $50 and enter 4 $11 multi-table tournies. I only play tournies online, no ring games for me; They make me sick.
$50 is not much money to base your game on. fluctuations can account for this much money. i understand its low limit. but i really think you should deposit at least $100 if you play micro limits. i dont know. i play higher limits. and im a winning player overall. im up a significant amount. but if someone gave me $50 and said build a bankroll. heck i dont know if i could do it, even if i play tight as a virgin. thats tough. so my advice, get some more money, and then play and evaluate.
I start with how I got started with Online poker.
I had been playing at PokerStars for 6months and dropped about 800 dollars. I really didn't know what I was doing. Eventually I stopped putting money in and moved to another site (who knows why). I started playing Limit hold em' instead of no-limit. Mostly because the swings weren't as bad as some of the ones I had taken in no-limit. I moved to pacific poker. I put in 40 bucks. I started to play low limit games and losing the money. My last 20 dollars I joined a tournament. I ended up taking 1st and make around 240 dollars. So I played another tourney this time a 10 dollar one. I won that one as well building my roll to about, 370.
I started playing tables after that. 3/6 mostly. About a month after making 2 grand, I lost it. I had about a hundred dollars left in the account. I decided it was time to learn more about the game. I bought books (Super System, Poker Essays, Hold em' for advanced players, Hold em' Excellence etc..) I slowly started building my game (and my bankroll up). After the down drop, I'm up about 11,000 in three months.
I think mostly what helped me was studying the game and experience. I played a lot of play money tables while learning my game strategy. To make money at this game, you need to put a lot of time and effort. Ultimatly it pays off.
I wish you luck
Here's a list of the authors incase you are interested in the books above.
Super System (General poker book has views on hold' em' too): Doyle Brunson
Hold em' for advanced players: David Sklansky
Poker Essays (2 volumes) Mason Malmuth
Hold Em' Excellence: Lou Kregar(Spelling)
The intelligent guide to Texas Hold Em': Sam Braids
If you'd like a bigger list I can make one for you.
Good luck!
I thought online play would be easy too. I deposited $60 at Paradise Poker figuring it would be enough to kill .5/1 limit and play a few tournaments. Well I was up $30 in my first few hours of play, but gradually over the first month I was down to $8. I never won a tournament and .5/1 was killing me. Honestly Paradise .5/1 is tougher to beat than Foxwoods 2/4 or any of my home games.
What made the difference for me was two things: First, Paradise just recently started offering micro-limit games. They now have .02/.04, .05/.10 He .02/.04 7-stud, and my new favorite $2 max buy-in .01/.02 NLHE.
I made an honest evaluation of my play at .5/1 and the fact that my bankroll was pretty poor. Sure I could afford to deposit $1000, but I really want to work my way up by building a bankroll good enough for higher stakes. So I decided to swallow my pride and step down to .05/.1 limit. The .02/.04 is a waste of time in my opinion because it's hard to be a winner when your opponents really don't take the game seriously. It's just suckout city and the betting is often capped. It's only slightly better than play money in that respect. The .05/.1 tables are a little better and very beatable. At this stage you have a lot of calling stations so good hands can be very profitable. The play here is more like Foxwoods 2/4. Lots of calling but not much raising, although you still get idiots who raise every hand pre-flop.
I really can't say enough good things about the $2 NL tables. They are great practice with a minimal possible loss. I also went out and bought Super System and even at the penny level, the concepts in that book kill the game. The opponents are so bad that I can run my $2 buy-in up to $6 on average, and I have gotten it as high as $20 on a single table. I usually play 2 or 3 of these tables at a time. Reading Super System was a big breakthrough in my NL game. The $2 tables give me hours of practice. I decided to take my newfound knowledge from the $2 tables and start entering the $5 +$1 SNG's. I'm happy to say that I am turning a nice profit there. I have only won two, but the majority of times I come in second or third. My records show that I finish in the money enough that they are profitable. As far as multis, I have mostly stepped down to the big buck +111 tourneys, and I'm happy to report that I took 27th in one and 10th in another (50 places payed) out of over 500 entrants. I also dabble in the $50 max buy-in NL tables, but since I don't have the bankroll I usually consider it a freeroll gamble. For instance, last Friday I won and placed second in two SNG's back to back, took the $40 from the tournaments and sat down at the .25/.5 NL table and turned it into $90 in about an hour.
My win rate is now beating what I could expect at .5/1 limit. I'm making on average, $4 an hour, or 4BB/hr equivalent at (.5/1). I also have found that playing multiple tables is good-you know your stock broker told you to diversify your portfolio. It's not uncommon for me to be playing a limit table, NL table, and 7-stud table simultaneously. I'm crushing the .02/.04 stud as well, often doubling my $2 buy-in. I'm the self proclaimed king of penny-ante poker at Paradise. My initial $60 deposit is up to $187.95 as of last night.
I think the overall key that I found is to play games that you are comfortable with in respect to your bankroll. $60 was nowhere near enough for .5/1, and even though we're only talking $20, the psychological impact of losing 1/3 of your bankroll in a session is huge. Like I said, I can afford to deposit thousands, but I think building a bankroll and working my way up builds character and discipline. My bankroll is now enormous compared to the limits I play at, and that gives me the edge of never playing with scared money, and the confidence from having seen my initial investment triple in under three months. Same thing with the $1 tourneys. Busting out of a $5 multi is more of a significant loss with a $60 bankroll.
Penny poker offers you great practice for a cheap price. A $30 bankroll will cover .05/.1. I'm beginning to learn that poker is very much about money management, how to get the most bang for your buck without playing with scared money. If it's a good, beatable game with an affordable buy-in, you are getting great +EV. Even look for freerolls with cash prizes, or very cheap satellite tournaments. You have to make your poker dollars go far.
My next goal $300. Then I will step back up to .5/1 because I have a sufficient bankroll. I will also consider moving up to $10 SNG's and $5 multis. I plan to keep growing like this, once my bankroll gets close to the next highest limit, I'm gonna try moving up.
if u just started and 50 bux lasted 2 months ur doing very good imo...
i would suggest depositing a bit more and working the 2-4 or 3-6 games till u feel comfortable to move up,,,although online ppl play just as loos in 5-10 and even 10-20 games is what i found
gl -- and i think that lee jones' book would be best for u to read now followed by sklansky
I just lost my first $20 deposit today. That $20 lasted me about 1.5 months. I think I'll hold off for a bit, and try to learn a bit more before I make another deposit.
$50 is great. I lost $1500 in about a month before I adjusted to online play and found the NL tables and sit-n-gos.
The most important thing is keep learning and don't blow money you can't afford to lose.
I believe that Super System by Doyle Brunson is a must read. The book is slightly outdated but it really gives you a strong poker foundation. The book is an easy read and covers: No Limit Hold em, Limit Hold em, 7 Card Stud, 7 Card Stud hi/lo, etc...
Hold em poker for Advanced Players by David Slanksy was a great read but when I first started, it had a few adavanced plays I did not fully understand. After some more experience playing Hold em, I was able to go back through the book and truly understand the concepts discussed.
That is just my two cents, and I am sure other members have more recommendations.
