My goals for the restart of my poker career

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ynot United States. Dec 22 2011 23:26. Posts 209

It has been about a year since I last sat down at the tables with the drive and determination that I have now. I went to my book shelf and dusted off my Harrington on holdem books, my little black, green and blue books, and began to skim over all the highlights i previously made in the super system 1 & 2. (Although they seemed pretty much the same) A lot of my books were for tournament play since I found the most success playing in tournaments last years winning honestly about 1 of everything 3 tournaments cashing in about 1,400- 1,700 a tournament. (usually 200$ freeze outs)

Since I have made it my goal to become a strong cash game player I have been running into some troubles. My books cover lightly on cash games and the games they do cover are for limits much higher than I am going to being playing. My casino's in town run 1/2 and 2/4 with the occasional 5-10 if enough people want to do it. Usually a full poker room with 1/2 tables.

I have been skimming online, reading forums, asking my friends questions and trying to put my self through a super course of cash games. I like to think the reason i was never too successful at 1/2 was that I over thought the game too much. I would do my best to make reads, judge hand ranges, always play from position and try to take money from players who "seemed weak". I never really saw "fish". I have seen some bad players before but even a bad player can take your money in a 1/2 game before you get the chance to build your stack. From what I have been gathering are just a few things.

1.) Play tight. Players skill at 1/2 isn't high enough to understand when to fold. They value their hand much more than they should.

2.) Value bet your pots. When you have it, get it in. No slow playing your hands.

3.) Be patient. Depending of the style of your table, playing tight and value betting will cause you to be watching a lot from the sidelines. Just make sure to use that time to study your opponents and try to catch tendencies.

4.) Don't over play. Don't try to trap or bluff your opponent since he will think his top pair is a royal flush.

5.) Never be the first player to limp in. You can limp in after others. Just never be the first.

Of course, all of these ideas are subject to change due to the type of player and way the table is going.Of course, all of these ideas are subject to change due to the type of player and way the table is going.

From my first post on here I got some real nice responses. More specifically from Carthac and another individual who posted a really informative link about the value of your play and what it means to make the right decision even if you lose the hand. Others, posted.. well, nothing important enough to type.

Prior to coming back into poker I played online on both Full Tilt and Poker Stars before it was illegal and spent my days playing casino cash games and tournaments. I don't like to think of myself and a new beginner with the experiences that I have but maybe I am since a year is a long time to stay away.

As I have been looking around for books, threads, and pm people about good tactics to crush 1/2 i still find myself looking around. Some things I have decided and questions I have are:

- My bank roll will be 2k. Even though the buy-in is 200.00$ I will have a lot to play with since I don't expect to have all my knowledge suddenly return as the hands are dealt.

- I will "generally" go into my first few tables playing tight. Keeping a relatively strong range of hands to play with and always from position. I will do my best to identify the lose and tight players and try to punish them when I hit a hand. No bluffing. (unless he's a tool)

- From your experiences, what were the best ways you crushed 1/2 tables?

- What are some good books you have read that helped you in your success to pass 1/2?

- Anyone interested in coaching me? (gotta try ;-p)

- I will be updating my blog on here talking about tough hands, my win/loss, and any questions I had at the poker table. I am bring pen and paper along with me so I can write it down as it happens so I don't forget.

I always wondered how all of you think 1/2 is such a low skill level. It fascinates me a little bit. But if you took the time to read this entire thing, thank you. For anyone who responds with intentions of helping me, thank you. I'll do my best to keep updating as I play.

Thanks for reading!!

0 votes

Carthac United States. Dec 23 2011 00:23. Posts 1343

It is always better to be over-prepared than under-prepared, but what you need most of all is experience. Like you said, be patient, don't try to be tricky, value bet, and don't get tilted. If you wan't to get better at the game, you gotta play a lot, and sadly you're at a disadvantage since you can't play online.

2k should be okay to start with as you are playing live, online is generally 30+ buyins for any limit.

Feel free to send me PMs if you have any questions BTW.

P.S. Make sure you have fun. While you are trying to make money, this is not going to be your profession(or very unlikely). Don't get too serious, and keep it entertaining to avoid burnout.

Last edit: 23/12/2011 00:25

PplusAD Germany. Dec 23 2011 01:21. Posts 7180

This is solely about live cashgame from what i have read ?
What u write sounds like a Nl 5 online player who just makes his first stepps.

Well i am not sure if it helps but -Small Stakes no Limit Holdem- bei Ed Miller and Matt Flyn covers most of the topics that are important for lower skill level poker.
Its about 25$ at Amazon i think,

Might be true what he says that this book also helps a lot for live cashgames since " a Nl200 online reg would kill Nl200 live the way an NFL Pro would kill a football game of kindergarden kids"
is what he mentions somwhere into the book.

U see what i did there with A8 ? He 4 bets and there we go insta jam A8 : ---booooom -- . hahahaha ( Krantz)

K40Cheddar United States. Dec 23 2011 04:24. Posts 2202

honestly if you never tilted you'd probably be a winner at live 1/2

mnj United States. Dec 23 2011 12:50. Posts 3848

if u follow your points 1-5 you should crush your 1/2 tables.

also not sure what it means that you only play bad players and not fish. they are the same. everyone is a bad player at 1/2

Fujikura United States. Dec 24 2011 14:54. Posts 1795

From my experience at live poker, the games are incredibly, incredibly low-skilled. I am not a cash player by any means, and I've run over just about every game of live cash I've ever played. The thing about the 1/2 games is... anybody who can beat the games is already long gone. Most of the people frequenting the games will be the breakeven/losing regs, and the casual players.

aka SouL)Z(Isadie and SouL)P(Fujikura

ynot United States. Dec 25 2011 14:47. Posts 209

It is a disadvantage that I can't play online and get in all the hands I need. I wouldn't say it's a reason not to get into poker all together. With the right tools and knowledge you don't have to grind so many hands and as long as I keep asking the better players ( you guys ) everytime i come up with a situation that makes me wonder, I may be ok with 1/2. I am going to try hard to become a solid poker player. In Starcraft 2 I am a low grandmasters and the only thing that separates my skill from top players would be decision making. Poker is the same thing (kind of). Just do your best to make the right decisions and always try to give yourself an advantage in the hand to help your decision making.