need advice

i was wondering how to bet hands i wudnt exaclty say im new but i feel like one because i cant win online at all these past few days and it has really killed my self esteem for my ability to play cards

i just wanted some opinions on my betting

off the flop bet 2/3pot or pot to isolate and improper odds for draws

on the turn/river if i dotn think theyr drawing and im pretty sure im good i bet about half pot

when im UTG with tp i betpot then check/fold or small bet call it down
with an over pair betpot then play it like im pretty sure im good

what i know i need help with is what to do on the river with a scare card like a 3flush or open end filler do i still bet half pot or what im confused and how to pick up when my tp/tptk is beat when utg or in early position.

also i noticed that people like value betpot the river

anyways after getting busted im planning to start out again with 150$ and get poker tracker

could also use some help with bankroll mangament i play on UB and its max buyin 100 bb and min buyin 20bb any ideas of stakes to play and tips on not losing my entire bankroll in one session, and how to build my bankroll ive been using a rule thats double up then stand up

anyways im writing this on tilt and yah any help plz

Tip on not losing your entire roll in one session: Don't wager it. If you're playing NL, you should be buying in with significantly less than 1/10 of your roll - the closer to 1/30 the better. That's not to say you shouldn't buy-in with the max - many people highly value the chip power doing so creates. It just means that you need to play lower stakes if you can't buy-in at the current level with a reasonably small portion of your bankroll.

Also, a lot of what you posted as far as betting habits are good general guidelines. Nothing is an always situation though...you need to vary according to reads and such. Learn how to spot when TPTK isn't worth raising with.

Preflop raises should be a standard amount - 3 to 6 times the big blind. That will help to disguise your hand from your opponents.

From my previous post, with the $150 BR, you should be buying in with $5 to $10. To me, that means you can play .05/.10 comfortably.

If you're playing limit, you probably have enough to do .25/.50 (since that's the lowest thing above .02/.04 they offer).

- Jeffrey

You mentioned facing difficult decisions in early position and that causing you problems. That's common. It's often a good idea to slow down your betting if your large bets are being called and you're in EP.

That said, the fact that it's more difficult to play should factor in to your preflop decisions. Don't play as many marginal hands like KJ/QJ/AT from early position. This should help at least a bit.

thx for the advice but to be honest .05/.1 is horrible there are so many people with no clue what they are doing its really depressing for me to play at those stakes any suggestions? ive played at alot of different stakes and to be honest anything before .5/1 is hard for me to play because people do random shit and it gets frustrating because you gotta be so patient and all. i was thinking 5$ sng on UB until i can buy in with 15 or so at a .25/.5 ideas? sorry im a really unorganized person

Being able to beat the low stakes is absolutely key to becoming a winning player at higher ones. My suggestion at these stakes is to learn how to play tight. Learning to read their bets at this level is essential to your survival at the highers. Yes you are going to get the occasional allin with Axs and whatnot but these levels teach you the fundamentals of what hands are good to value and what aren't. I have seen lots of people on my lower level tables who thought they were great players and moved up too quickly and are getting hammered at the tables I play now.

My keys to a winning session (Take what ya like)

1- DONT DRINK
2- Play tighter early (this helps with reads)
3- Semi-bluffing with a piece anda draw is a great play against weakness
4- Think small pots
5- Play hands you are comfortable with
6- Throw the hammer down as often as possible

yah i know what ur saying and i do paly tight like skalnskys starting hands
but everytime i limp somebody is always betting pot just for shits and giggles so ur basically saying play only QJ+ 88+ ion its late and im tired and not getting alot

Sounds like you may be needing some time to rethink your game. Take a break...The other suggestion is to find someone who is willing to show you some techniques play at the same table and watch them while you play. There are plenty of people here who are willing to do this. I dont play UB or I would.

alright sounds good at this point im so self concious ill try anything not saying your idea is a bad one its just that im not a real open person but yeah anyways as soon as i get my bankroll id liek to find a poker buddy who will p lay the .05/.1 stakes which i guess are the proper stakes for me

What worked best for me so far, playing .25/.5$ NL 50$ buy in, most of it advice from this forum:
1) Stay around 20-25% in flops played, do not cross the 30% line
2) Buy in at max to take down a big pot if you get the nuts
3) Start by playing very tight and look around the table
4) Do not hesitate with high pairs or slow play alot, take those small to medium pots and get out if it really looks like your beaten. It's most often the case.
5) Notice if you after a few big showdowns have the reputation as a solid tight player at your table. When this happens you'll get some free blinds by standard raise in the right position, but do not destroy your image.
6) Play max two tables to stay focused. One if you think it's enough. Two if one table gets to boring. Bored players play too many hands.
7) If you do not get a hand, then you do not get a hand. wait and it will come, but sometimes changing table can be a good idea.
8) Keep simple notes on big chasers, phones and good players. The rest doesn't matter.
9) Post some hands at this forum and ask how people would have played it.
10) If your tired play a computer game instead or go to bed


Good luck aka_red
Take it easy step by step
and you will improve and win again

Borax made some very good points there. I agree with all of them.

One thing I'll speak to is starting hand selection. You mentioned (or asked about?) playing only QJ+ and 88+. From early position, even QJ and KJ are very questionable hands. From late position, you can play things that are significantly weaker even (assuming no raises) - especially if they are suited.

As to pocket pairs, this is one area that no Sklansky book I've read properly addresses (as they are all about limit). In NL, you can and should play a much larger variety of pocket pairs. This is because of the implied odds. Any pocket pair is about 12% to make a set on the flop. Thus you should limp in with any of them from any position. Even if the pot is raised, you may well want to play. The decision then comes from the odds. If someone raised, they likely have a good hand. They'll probably try to take control of the pot if it comes down all low cards (even more so if it doesn't). Most of the time when this happens, if you hit your set you can double up. Since that'll happen 12% or so of the time, you need to be calling raises that are no bigger than 12% of the amount you stand to win. I scale that down just a bit and say that if the raise is less than 10% of your stack AND less than 10% of your opponent's stack, call it. When you do this, however, be ready to let it go if you don't hit.

You mentioned again in your last post, having problems trying to limp and then having someone behind you raise. I'll repeat: limp less. If it becomes as much of a problem as it's sounding like, treat early position as a raise or fold situation. And if you question the hand at all, FOLD. Don't even bother with questionable hands here like QJ/KJ/JTs. Just wait for a better hand or better position.

- Jeffrey

P.S. I agree that a lot of times you'll see weaker players at the microlimit tables. You still need to be able to beat them consistently before moving to higher stakes. I personally don't employ the max buy-in strategy. It doesn't work as well for me as building a low stack up to the max buy-in through solid play. Even so, I acknowledged that I needed to build my BR way beyond what I thought in order to play. My first major loss came from moving from .10/.25 to .25/.50 before my bankroll and I were ready. Lost $200 in about 2 days, after spending almost a month building it up to where I thought I could play there. Read 'rilla's bankroll management thread and pay attention to it, even if you don't plan to buy-in with the max.

$5 SnGs are definitely an option for learning and BR building as well. If you play tight, you'll do well enough, and you'll probably see more hands for the same price to build your experience more cheaply. The thing I'd caution you about is moving from SnG play to ring play. Once you're comfortable with one, it takes some adjusting to be able to play well in the other. There are strategies that you will learn in SnG play that simply don't transfer to ring play because people don't have the same fear of being kicked out before placing in the money.

If you're going to play SnGs, start off playing them exclusively. If you're going to play ring games, start off playing them exclusively. Don't mix until you're destroying your competition at your chosen area.

Finally, a word of note: playing at UB is a mixed blessing. I think it's one of the best sites to learn on. It's where I learned to really play. The reason I think this is that the players at UB, as a whole, are tremendously BETTER than the players at many other sites. Sure, that will mean you win less. But while you're learning, it's awesome to have stiffer competition to play against, especially given that UB offers lower stakes than many of the other sites. Get the experience for cheap at UB, then once you've built your skills, move to another site and destroy the competition.

hi guys thought id let you guys know what i been up to on the 13th i deposited 150 into ub and got 75 bonus bux and now my bankroll is around 600 thanks for all your help erryone

btw anyone know how i can get poker tracker i dont have a credit card

Good job, man! Glad to hear things are going well. Don't let it go to your head and cause you to play above yourself though - it's always easier to lose a big chunk than win it.

eheh that depends how many times you can hit your shitty pp set to their kings :P