Obviously, this is a question for Mers and the other good players in here.I've been playing limit b&m holdem for years, and started playing heads-up sngs the beginning of last year. I haven't had to make new deposits, fortunately, but the up and down swings I have had have been kind of crazy. I am ahead playing $6 and $11 turbos, but every time I think I am starting to get things figured out and move up to the $22s I end up getting smacked around. I put together some decent winning streaks that get ultimately get wiped out and then some, forcing me back down to lower stakes again. I have had some coaching, read books, watched videos, and played thousands of games, but just can't get past being mediocre (at best).My basic strategy is to start out with aggression from the button, and playing tight from the big blind. If my opponent lets me, I will continue to whittle him down with aggression. If he plays back at about the right frequency, I will jab and jockey for position and try to find a hand (as the blinds increase) to get a big advantage. If he is hyper aggressive or seems to be treating my cards as if they are face up, I will really up the aggression in order to keep from going down without a fight.I understand (at some level at least) pot odds, outs, the importance of aggression, and the different types of player categories (LAG, TAG, LAP, TAP) and the types of adjustments that have to be made against each of them.I admit that this is becoming rather frustrating, treading water and bobbing up and down and up and down again month after month. My burning question is - how did the really good players get really good?Thanks in advance for any words of wisdom!
idk if i can be considered really good, (probably not) but i make somewhat ok money at poker, and personally i must say, watching videos, doesnt get through to me, posting HH's also not that much, the only thing that has really allowed me to go from 10$ HUSNGs to 300$ in less then 6 months, is mainly just talking about situations and hands with GOOD players, and playing a shitton, ive played 1K games in march already, and i feel like im 2x the player now then i was at feb 28 for me, getting better is all about A) playing a shitton B) talking with good players // getting live- on hand coaching videos, or books, dont do nothing for me... i think experience is really the way too go, why else would there be greaaattttt players who cant explain the math (pot odds, amount of FE needed etc etc) in a certain hand, but still play it the most +EV way possible when someone who is more math based looks at it. just my 2 cents tho
Thank you Jack, I appreciate you taking the time to reply to me. Wow, $10 to $300 in 6 months - that's pretty incredible. Congrats on moving up that quick! Do you usually play regular speed or turbos? I read one opinion piece recently which said that most of the HU money made by winning players is made by seeking out losing players to play against and avoiding winning players. (Now that I am typing it out, that looks pretty obvious and self evident.) Would you agree with that, or do you think it is bettter to play against all comers to gain experience playing good players?
Well, my "rise in stakes" is pretty impressive probably, but i deffo dont want to give you the impression im some sort of SUPERPWNR my game is very flawed, and mers or others here, are infinitly better then me (just sayin) i think it depends alot, i think the first thing that is important, is the format you play.i have started out at 10$ turbos in august last year, i got some coaching from rypac (hh review) and quickly moved up to 20s then i stumbled upon a forum for deepstack husngs, and i stuck aroundthere for a while, now at this point i had a 3K bankroll, which is redic much to play 10s lol, also i started to develo pan interest in deepstacks, and before i knew it, by end october i was playing the 100$ deepstacks, in deeps, action is pretty low, so sometimes i would sit regulars, BUT only if a) i think i could play my absolute best game at the time, AND pay close attention (so i would actually learn something, even if i lost) i do think its very true tho, that most of the money is made in waiting for bad players, especially in deeps, i just register lobbys, and wait mainly, i dont actively search out for bad players, but since at the200-300$ deeps, not many people seem to be all that interested in regwarring (when i first started, some good players did sit me tho, but as we played a few games, i just stayed polite and tried my best not to make any big mistakes.) afaik, raised by jews, jblaich, and trader0811 wont sit me again. whichj is a great thing. next to that there arent really any players i worry about at the deeps. and because in deeps, it takes SO LONG to play 1 game, esp versus a competent opponent, its not quite as often people regwar there. so i would definately say that waiting for bad players is a big part of making money. since mid february ish, i have been focussing more on turbos/superturbos because at the 200/300 deeps, i can sit registered for 12 hours straight, and be happy if i get 1-3 games in that time period, so obviously, thats not a good hourly, even if i would win every single game. therefor im now sitting turbos and Superturbos and reg speeds. but mainly trying to become much much better at turbos/ST :P so what i do now is, i register into 200/300$ deep, then i reg into 2x 110$ turbo, and 2 100$ STand then just play all the time really, if i get action at something, i just re-register, i figure this is pretty much constant action for me when im behind the computer, and therefor, maximizes my hourly possibly. hope it makes sense ;)