professor need a lil help

[HO55]

i got a little problem with the .02/.04 level i have a hard time winning, i seem to break even or lose a little bit, it seems like i get sucked out on a lot or i flop a lot of second best hands and then can't get away from them. i play exactly the way you asked i feel like i'm playing really good most of the time and still i can't get over the hump.but


if i play .05/.10 or .10/.20 i crush both of those games consistently the only logical reasoning i can come up with is before i started the corse i played a lot at these levels, but before i started the corse i was not a winning player, at best i was a break even player.


it get frustrating when i go play .02/.04 for 3 hours and lose 2 or 3 dollars then sit down at a .05/.10 and win 10$ in an hour. iono please help.

if you need hand history just reply in here and i'll get them for you...i want this system to work for me...

[Rolls]

Originally Posted by HO55

i got a little problem with the .02/.04 level i have a hard time winning, i seem to break even or lose a little bit, it seems like i get sucked out on a lot or i flop a lot of second best hands and then can't get away from them. i play exactly the way you asked i feel like i'm playing really good most of the time and still i can't get over the hump.but

Hi HO55, i think in this first paragraph you have already pointed out where you are having problems.

There is an old poker saying that goes along the lines of 'second place pays nothing'

If you bet and you get a call on the flop, you have to be very careful on the turn. Likelyhood is that they might be drawing to a straight or a flush if the board is co-ordinated. If it is not co-ordinated and you have second pair, chances are you are already beat. If you bet and they call you have to think you are behind. Remember, fish love to play hands like Q3, as they have a paint card in the hand and think this is great. If the board were to come 5JQ and you have TJs in late position or the blinds, and you get a call you only have 6 cards that can improve your hand. Better to get out of the hand now, than to keep betting when you are way behind. SECOND PLACE PAYS NOTHING. Tighten up after the flop as well as before the flop, and you should see your self improving in your bankroll.

This is speaking from expierience. If someone does go over the top of your bet, figure yourself beat. If someone calls to the river and they hit an inside str8, figure you are beat. It is only a small mistake to fold. This should be your mantra, as conversly, it is a big mistake to call while chasing down the flush or straight without correct pot odds. If this is the case, folding has only got to be a very very small mistake. Folding actually saves you money in the long run.

With the small limits, the money means nothing most of the time. How many people go onto your table and just shove the whle $1 buy in into the middle of the table to win $0.06? You can not make moves and plays at this level unless you can see that the people there are actually poker players and not fish.

I have only started to realise this, which is why i am passing it on. Last night was the breakthrough. I played about 5 hands over 2 hours which were not in the blinds, and ended up with $12. The less hands you play, the more you tend to win. Ironic huh!!!!??? :)

[The Professor]

Some very wise words from Rolls there - and He's pretty much made the point I was going to make.

At this stake level then 95% of people at the table are Fish (If not even higher!) - this means they will call bets when they haven't got the odds to do so - both because they don't understand pot odds and also because at that stake level it always seems so cheap to call bets.

So you will not force them out of the pot in the way that you would be able to at the higher stake levels. You have to play just solid hands - no moves and be prepared to laydown your hand at the slightest sign of worrying actions from your opponent.

It can be a bit of a minefield but the upside of it is when you do hit a solid hand then you should get paid and paid well.

Of course as long as you have the bankroll to support it and you have more success on the higher stakes then you don't have to stick to the smaller stakes - The course assumes that you only start with a total bankroll of $20 - which is why you start on the lower stakes.

[Rogue Coder]

Originally Posted by The Professor

It can be a bit of a minefield but the upside of it is when you do hit a solid hand then you should get paid and paid well.

I have to totally agree with you here. I finally figured out that after loosing close to half my bank roll, but since then I started to implement exactly what Rolls and the Prof are sayin. I found that I play very low amount of hands and just watch how most of the players play. Then when I do get a good hand or hit the nuts, I use all of that information against them.

So far I have recovered back up to 3/4's of my stack and have played only a couple of times.

I especially like the fish that like to drop thier whole stack on the river to try to shove people out of the pot. You hit the nuts and just wait for their "Signature" move and smack them back to the trailer park.

Follow the advice and I think you will find a more winning session at that level.

Good luck.

Rogue Coder

[HO55]

when i say second best i mean

example: this is the hand that sent me over the edge last night, i went on tilt and had my wife had to remove me from the computer.

Preflop no raise in front of me 2 callers(i'm on button)AKs i raise to 8cents(BB) calls, 1player calls in middle position 1player folds pot=26cents
(flop)KdJd5s they both check i bet 26cents bb calls other folds pot=78cents
(turn)7c he checks i bet 60 cents he calls quickley pot=1.98
(river)Ah he bets 1$ i think im beat but i make 2 pair and diamonds flush draws have missed i call, he shows Q10 for the str8 he wins 4.98 pot


this is why im frustrated,
thanks i'll try again, i'll tighten up and try to play solid. i also removed all of my money except for 20$ from my titan account mabey that will help me so i can't play anything except .02/.04.

[HO55]

bad news and good news

i got up to 10$ before this hand i was playing at .02/.04 level then i donked it up

preflop there was a raise from middle position i called from late position with JJ, it heads up to the flop
flop 9c6d2h he bets, i raise, he calls
turn 4d he checks, i bet enuff to put him all in he only had about 3.50 to start the hand so he was preety short, he calls
river 2s he turns over AA oops don't think i can get away from it overpair vs overpair

very next hand he and 4 other people limp in, i raise with 99 on the button, same guy calls everyone else folds
flop 9d7d2c he bets, i raise, he calls again
Turn 2d he bets, i raise, he moves in, i call 9's full
river 8s he shows AKd he turned a flush and starts cussing at me in some forign language.

i win all my money back and i win almost all of his money, hes left with 28 cents. he rebuys 4 more times at 5$ a pop and distributes it preety evenly around the table.

key to .02/.04 wait to flop big hand then value bet the shit out of it and hope some donk decides to get careless...

i just stopped playing left the table with 25.93 played for about 5 hours, this table was crazy and i made the most of it, gotta go to work early thanks for the help bank rolls aready at 41.56 whata night....

[The Professor]

Excellent stuff - really glad to hear that - and sounds like your getting the hang of that stake level now.

[kobayashi78]

at the moment i also play just solid hands - which is pretty successful. when does this strategy has to be changed? at what stake levels?

[kobayashi78]

and i also play two tables at a time now. i needed 1-2 hours to get used to it, but now it works fine and saves a lot of time - as i play not too much hands as mentioned before. from my point of view i can recommend this.

[LuckyNumberD]

HO55,

I had the exact same problem as you! I was playing 0.02/0.04, and playing tight, but eventually I'd lose my money on one big hand.
But I figured i'd just give this course a good shot, and try my best.

So now I'm playing on the 0.05/0.10 NL on PartyPoker, and there's A LOT more bad players here... Maybe it's because serious poker players start at the 0.02/0.04 because they know they can't move up too fast.

At least that's what I noticed on PartyPoker. ( I even got called after a Pre-flop raise of 3 BB. I had AK )

I thought I was playing tight, but with the Prof's starting hand chart it seems the only time I get in trouble is when Someone has an overpair, or hits Trips or some other nasty situations.

I dunno, but sticking to Prof's Starting hands just helps, I don't get outkicked as much, and more of those things..

Good Luck HO55

*And thanks Prof, amazing guide