My 6max no limit strategy site. Reviews are welcome

Hello all,

First, big thanks to Xianti for supporting me in this endeavor and allowing me to talk about this site in the forums. I got my start at FTR and learned almost everything I know from this site. I am massively in debt to the FTR community.

I have finally gotten my web page put together. It is somewhat small but the content is top-notch (IMO). I haven't gotten any super-advanced articles put up yet but the strategy guide and articles I do have are very in-depth and I think it will add to a lot of peoples' game.

Yes, I do have a couple of banners and would like to make money with the site but I will never sacrifice good content for a quick gain. I am saying that because I see so many "strategy" sites out there that offer quick little 500 word keyword-rich articles that don't actually benefit poker players.

The only sites I have ever found that offer decent poker strategy are FTR, 2P2, and Cardrunners. Cardrunners costs money to join so I would like to hope that my site will be the first non-forum strategy site that actually helps people.

I am posting this because you all are the most qualified to judge my site and give me the best feedback possible. Most of you are experienced and have probably seen a lot of poker sites in your time. Those of you who are new can offer valuable feedback as well because I am aiming at making this site useful and accessible to everyone. All comments, questions, feedback, etc are very much appreciated. Thanks for your time and good luck.

www.beatnolimit.com

I'm going to read thru it. One suggestion i have right away, How about some videos ?

First of all, the site looks good, calm and well organized, so it's not hard reading it. I like that, because a lot of sites and b-logs are a pain for the eyes and lead your attention away from the text.

As crazycrazy said, video's could be a nice addition. In general I think it works to have a lot of examples / handhistories when you want to teach something, because people recognize things better then.

In your post above you say the content is "top-notch" and "very in-depth". I'm sorry to say this, but I don't think the content is that spectacular.
Before I started reading I really expected true fundamental stuff; stuff that let people think for themselves, instead of giving them guidelines. There are tons of sites out there that say one should do this or that in situation A or B. Poker isn't that static of a game.

For example:
You say one shouldn't call a raise with SC's until 3 people are in the hand. You just say it. The fundamental thing is knowing about implied odds. Knowing you're paying for a drawing hand and you have to win that back somewhere. Knowing why certain players offer you more implied odds then others, which players are these and why, why is position important with these hands, etc. Why, Why, Why...
Of course calling when at least 3 people are in the pot can be a general guideline, but that's not teaching the game. It's just giving a way to play, not understanding the play; you have to know WHY you do it, that's what you have to teach. If someone catches that, he can work the rest out for himself.

The SC thing was just an example. In general I missed quite a few key points in becoming a tough player, like to beat SSNL. What about handranges, pressure points, equite, EV, FE, etc...

Last thing, you started your guide by saying that TAG is fine to be a winner, but LAG is for the big winners. I totally agree with that (and I'm a true nit). After reading that, I was very anxious to read more about good LAG play, because in-depth information about it is very rare.
Unfortunately, I haven't found anything about true LAG play in the strategy article. Imo this is a subject you can really make a difference compared to other sites.

All this probably sounds very negative and critical. That really isn't my intention because I have a lot of respect for you to share your knowledge and experience with others. I think your site and content are pretty good and probably still better then a lot of strategy sites out there. And there’s no doubt you’re a much better player then I am.
But if you really want your site to stand out, you have to bring something new. Imo you can do this by WHAT you discuss (i.e. LAG-play) and/or HOW you dicuss it (in-depth content, fundamentals, not guidelines) and/or the presentation of it (examples, either in theory or handhistories or something else, anything that makes people think for themselves).

Hi,

Thank you for the feedback so far. Videos are a possibility sometime in the future. I need to get a better understanding of bandwidth and make sure my host can handle that. It wouldn't be a problem at first but I'm not sure once I get some good traffic going.

And minSim, don't worry you don't sound negative at all. I came here because I knew FTR would have high expectations and be honest with me. Anything you guys say I will take seriously and do my best to make it better. I really want my site to stand out.

I did not mean to imply that lag is better than tag anywhere. I think I know what part you are talking about and I'll make it more clear that tag is just as good. Although lag articles would be pretty interesting...

Do you think I should get into the Why's more in the strategy guide then? My plan was to leave the strategy guide a little more basic but get more in-depth on the articles. I'm not sure why I had that plan so its entirely possible for me to get more in-depth on the guide itself.

And last, I have read good things about using newsletters to get loyal repeat visitors. I was thinking something like a once every two week e-mail that could list new bonuses, an article, and site news. Just a little something that's not spammy or annoying. What do you think?

So to cold call Axs or Scs preflop, you have to be on the button to an UTG raise with UTG+1 and CO both having called. (3 players in the pot)

This seems really tight and ISF doesnt do this in his video, and names the cold call of one on the button with SCs as "standard."

Could you explain that advice more clearly please?

Ok, it took me a while to find that part. You guys are right, the guide contradicts in that area. I'm going to change the SC and Axs discussion a little.

Originally Posted by gingerwizard

So to cold call Axs or Scs preflop, you have to be on the button to an UTG raise with UTG+1 and CO both having called. (3 players in the pot)

This seems really tight and ISF doesnt do this in his video, and names the cold call of one on the button with SCs as "standard."

Could you explain that advice more clearly please?

I think the tguideline for Axs is correct but for sc's it's probably not but certainly it makes them easier to play.

Just starting to check it out, small suggestion... throughout the "About SmackinYaUp" section, you refer to yourself in the 3rd person. That really a) annoys me and b) depersonalizes the site. You should at least write that section in the 1st person. Also, you should consider using a pseudonym other than SmackinYaUp (assuming you don't want to use your real name). It doesn't roll off the tongue, or inspire a lot of trust in the reader, imo.

Originally Posted by zook

Just starting to check it out, small suggestion... throughout the "About SmackinYaUp" section, you refer to yourself in the 3rd person. That really a) annoys me and b) depersonalizes the site. You should at least write that section in the 1st person. Also, you should consider using a pseudonym other than SmackinYaUp (assuming you don't want to use your real name). It doesn't roll off the tongue, or inspire a lot of trust in the reader, imo.

Agreed

Originally Posted by zook

Just starting to check it out, small suggestion... throughout the "About SmackinYaUp" section, you refer to yourself in the 3rd person. That really a) annoys me and b) depersonalizes the site. You should at least write that section in the 1st person. Also, you should consider using a pseudonym other than SmackinYaUp (assuming you don't want to use your real name). It doesn't roll off the tongue, or inspire a lot of trust in the reader, imo.

Good catch. Early on I switched most of the site over to 1st person but totally forgot about this page.

I really like SmackinYaUp though...It's keeping true to who I've always been and hides nothing. I mean yea it's probably not the first pseudonym I'd pick if I was trying to get people to loan me money, but for the average poker player young male I didn't think it would be too bad. Do you really think it takes away from the site by using that name?

Ok, preflop sections and about sections updated.

Originally Posted by SmackinYaUp

Do you really think it takes away from the site by using that name?

I'm 31, so I might not be your target demographic I don't think it's a big deal, but it makes the site seem like it's designed by a brash, young internet poker hotshot. If you were selling something directly, I think it would be a worse idea, but for just ad revenue I don't think it matters. If you're eventually going to try to sell stuff from the site (lessons, videos, whatever) I would consider making it your real name or a variant.

Originally Posted by IowaSkinsFan

Originally Posted by gingerwizard

So to cold call Axs or Scs preflop, you have to be on the button to an UTG raise with UTG+1 and CO both having called. (3 players in the pot)

This seems really tight and ISF doesnt do this in his video, and names the cold call of one on the button with SCs as "standard."

Could you explain that advice more clearly please?

I think the tguideline for Axs is correct but for sc's it's probably not but certainly it makes them easier to play.

It just seems that UTG raise and 2 callers before you on the button is so unlikely anyway, that you'd almost never have the situation to play!

Have I read it wrong?

Originally Posted by zook

Originally Posted by SmackinYaUp

Do you really think it takes away from the site by using that name?

I'm 31, so I might not be your target demographic I don't think it's a big deal, but it makes the site seem like it's designed by a brash, young internet poker hotshot. If you were selling something directly, I think it would be a worse idea, but for just ad revenue I don't think it matters. If you're eventually going to try to sell stuff from the site (lessons, videos, whatever) I would consider making it your real name or a variant.

Well since you put it that way, I think the young brash internet hotshot sounds like someone who is actually doing it rather than some guy named Joey talking about it. Hell I even blatantly brag about myself on the first page...not to look cool but to give some quick credibility and build some excitement. That is the intent anyways.

I figured it would be better than say using the name Steve Badger like on playwinningpoker.com. That site is an SEO beauty but some guy's name doesn't do much for me

But if everyone feels differently, I'm not dearly attached to anything on the site. I'll drop sentimentality for effectiveness in a second.

Originally Posted by gingerwizard

Originally Posted by IowaSkinsFan

Originally Posted by gingerwizard

So to cold call Axs or Scs preflop, you have to be on the button to an UTG raise with UTG+1 and CO both having called. (3 players in the pot)

This seems really tight and ISF doesnt do this in his video, and names the cold call of one on the button with SCs as "standard."

Could you explain that advice more clearly please?

I think the tguideline for Axs is correct but for sc's it's probably not but certainly it makes them easier to play.

It just seems that UTG raise and 2 callers before you on the button is so unlikely anyway, that you'd almost never have the situation to play!

Have I read it wrong?

I did not intend for the situation to be so specific. Either I wrote it poorly or you misread something somewhere. I'll check up on it when I get back tonight.

Just on a side note. We have almost identical stats!! Can I make that much money if I continue to move up the levels

I promise to read through and leave my comments in this thread.

Looks pretty sweet so far. My roommate wants to get started on poker and your site looks like a great place to start that would answer a lot of his questions and give him some guidance.


Some suggestions:
As for the site itself, it looks nice so far. Take some of the suggestions above and build on them and you could have a pretty sweet site. It could use some more content and as others have said, video is always very attractive to visitors. It may cost a lot of bandwidth, but longterm if you can grow it to the size of a major site, it may be well worth it. Maybe you could even look at alternatives like embedded youtube, rapidshare, and other free hosting sites.

i just took a peek as i didnt have much time but first impression:

1-i really do like the look of the site
2-i liked the way you have to go through pages on your guide instead of just scrolling down through one massive page
3-i did notice your ''smackinyaup'' name at the top and thought 'huh he used his FTR name, meh but i dont really like that touch'' tbh

honestly havent had a chance to do much else

Oh, i misread too. I meant that I'll call with Axs if someone has raised and there is also a cold caller.

Ok, so Axs and SCs are fixed and "about me" is in first person.

I'm not getting the sense that anyone likes me using my name up there. Do you think its hurting the purpose of the site?

Last, what do you think about a newsletter opt-in option? I hear they are great ways to attract repeat visitors.

Also on that note, do you think my front page is dynamic enough or should I add something other than a long strip of text? I don't want people to stumble across it again and think it hasn't been updated for a year.

Videos..well I will work on putting some small stakes videos up. That will have to come later as I get more time on my hands to do all these things. My summer internship will be finished soon and that will help out a lot. Rapidshare is a good idea. It's cheap to host there but would it look cheap sending people to an offsite hosting company? Also the download limit sucks for people w/o accounts.

And silu73...Yes you can make that much money. Just show my site to 1,000 people and you will be magically rewarded. Really though the way I made a lot of money at poker was long, boring, relentless grinding. 100k hand months were normal.

Originally Posted by SmackinYaUp

...100k hand months were normal.

That's sick man, how many tables did you play?

I'm playing at Prima atm for a bonus and 4-5 tables really is the max for me. Even without really following a lot of hands I'm not playing in, it gets hard to stay up with preflop play on all tables sometimes, especially when I open more.
The Prima software is pretty fast though, I could get 8 tables on Everest Poker...but I guess slower software means less hands an hour as well, so that 100k is still sick.

I guess you don't play THAT much anymore now?

At the time I was playing 6-8 tables at a time. This started right after I quit my job while sitting on a 200NL bankroll so I was quite motivated. My bb/100 was like 2 but I didn't care because I was a machine. I learned the most when I temporarily cut down tables when moving to 3/6 and 5/10. Before that I didn't care about learning, bb/100 or anything except grinding.

I went on a huge downswing in the beginning of the year, had to pay an assload of taxes from last year and this summer I have been working on an internship for a mineral company in SC. So I only play for lesiure at small stakes. After the internship is over I'll get back to poker hardcore. The one thing that sucks is all my monitors and computer got stolen so I'm playing way fewer tables now.

Maybe 2,000 hands in the last two months.

found a typo man on the legality page:
"As far as we know, the asnwer is yes."

Ah thank you martin. I hate typos especially when I'm telling people to trust me in my advice about how to use their money.

In that case:

In the changing gears article, just under the heading Other Things, Remember that all payers can change

Also, in the taking notes article, under: 2. Do they constantly checkraise the turn with made hands? A lot of them are very obvious about it, the y will call one bet on the flop

Good site though, like it.

Thank you taxi. Sometimes I end up just typing my articles in dreamweaver and I neglect to run them through word for a spellcheck. Good catch!