my background: played poker online for 2 years. have played on several sites (stars, party, paradise, bodog, pacific), mainly NLHE SNGs at $10. ROI of 17%. i am NOT looking at it (poker) as a career. i've read HOH (all), sklansky's earlier ones, SS 1/2, and some other assorted books. i've also watched a bunch of live at the bike (no longer new shows), knowing that some of those players are quite loose. my questions: -> do you find that the games are getting tougher? if so, is that the expected future path? as noted, i'm doing fine, but based on what i had read a while ago (about how loose things were online), expected to crush the games more than i'm doing. -> at what level does the SNG games get very tough? i'd guess 30+, but that's why i'm asking you all. -> what level cash games (NL or omaha ) will be juicy, yet be the best for me, who has sparingly played cash? tks for any thoughts.
its always been a grind...i dont think games are getting tougher ( maybe tourney's because of the sheer size of the competetion) but cash games i dont know.... $25/$50 NL short handed is my forte...when i go higher the sharks have a way of changing my game up...so if i feel good..i multi table..if i feel not so good i just play the one table grind...the way i see it people are becoming better , but the amount of new players coming in is also getting bigger..obviously because of the explosion we have seen over the last couple of years....newbies tend to play in the $10/$25/$50 p.s disclaimer i have only read 1 chapter of a poker book Sklansky...so i may be way off in what im saying..i am just talking from my personal experience over the last 5 years
The key to playing poker well is game selection and frame of mind. Avoid playing when in a bad frame of mind or if players, run of cards affect you (it will 99% of the players) so I guess it is not for the frail of heart...... Disclosure.... I do not think much of online poker and since it is illegal and getting money in and out is harder by the day is a moot point of discussion.
this is crucial...considering you really have no way of avoiding bad play from other players and bad cards hitting for your opponent...you have to look at it this way a bad call from another players is what you ultimately want, so if that bad call happens to hit there is no way you can let it affect your game...which of course is easier said then done..
17% is a huge ROI for SNGs. Given that is only the $11 level, but if your 17% is over a legit sample size (1000+ games) then you should move up as soon as possible because you ARE crushing the game. 20% is probably max sustainable winrate at your level, with a few geniuses coming in at 25%. Also if you haven't already discovered twoplustwo.com's sng forums, go there now.
Few years ago everyone played 10-handed NL holdem, then one or two years back 6 handed NL became popular. Now I see more and more guys playing heads up NL. This is probably the easiest way to make money since you can really isolate the fucking fish.
Sure, it's def a tradeoff though because noone can handle as many heads up games at a time as they can six handed or full ring. If I tried more than 2 HU games my head would explode, but I can do easily 8 6-handed games.
Agreed heads-up is probably the easiest way to make money. But, also if you wanna make quick cash, play the tourneys. Although the pay-out might not be the same as catching some hands in a cash game, at least if you lose you aren't tempted to buy back in and risk everything you've got. Always works for me.
If when you buy back in you are risking everything you've got, you seriously need to learn about proper bankroll management! Are you telling me you keep two buyins in your account?
I've got a friend who plays in our twice a month cash game. He's retired, has a lot of free time. He goes up to Vegas every other month for about three weeks, and prowls the casinos - all on the Strip - looking for fish. He says the best action is at the lower NL tables, i.e. 2/4. He's patient, bides his time, and when the opportunity presents itself, he hits hard. Once he's up a grand, he leaves the table, even if he's on a hot streak. Why? It's NL, so he doesn't want to risk losing it on a bad beat by staying in. So he finds another table. He goes from casino to casino doing this. He's never come home with a loss. I swear, the guy is padding his retirement big time with his trips up there.