I have been playing some poker online the last few months, and there seems to be quite a few good players around here, so maybe I can get a few pointers.

I have read some basic Hold'em books and feel I have a good grip on the basics now. I am just digging into Slansky's Hold'em Poker for advanced players (I admit I should start with the basic one, but whatever for now...).

I play tight and aggressive, though the discipline to do that is very tough for me and I slip sometimes. When I notice it, I try to sit out and take a breather. Is this a common problem? How do you overcome the temptation to go in on less than desirable hole cards?

Also, I seem to get creamed on 2/4 limit, but almost never have a bad session on 3/6. What gives? Obviously 2/4 has a lot more calling stations and I get rivered a lot, but over the longer run I should be better at 2/4 than 3/6, but it is just not working out that way.

I guess I am just looking for some other advice that got you from a competant player to something better. That is the hump I am trying to get over so to speak.

Also, I am going to Vegas in a few months and will be hitting the tables there. How different is it on a live table? Are the stakes/looseness of the table comparable? I don't have thousands of dollars to gamble away but could budget a few hundred at least for poker.

I play tight and aggressive,
as a general rule tight & aggressive is the best style.



though the discipline to do that is very tough for me and I slip sometimes. When I notice it, I try to sit out and take a breather.
smart

How do you overcome the temptation to go in on less than desirable hole cards?

play more then 1 table, stay tight, both hole cards matter

Also, I am going to Vegas in a few months and will be hitting the tables there. How different is it on a live table? Are the stakes/looseness of the table comparable? I don't have thousands of dollars to gamble away but could budget a few hundred at least for poker.
live games are even more loose then online, remember people are there to gamble. you can win alot playing good kickers (both cards matter), you'll see people playing a hand like K4, hitting a K on the flop and call anything and lose good pots to KQ or AK. you won't get near as many hands live so each hand means more, and dont be shy about taking drunk guys money.

understanding your bankroll is important. bring a set amount for cards and then find a game 3 or 4 times that amount. if your bring 500 for gambling ask for a 100 buy in game.

Also, I am going to Vegas in a few months and will be hitting the tables there. How different is it on a live table? Are the stakes/looseness of the table comparable? I don't have thousands of dollars to gamble away but could budget a few hundred at least for poker.

You don't have an adequate bankroll to play 15/30 live, but the skill level of that game is typically what you would see in your 3/6 online game.

I play tight and aggressive, though the discipline to do that is very tough for me and I slip sometimes. When I notice it, I try to sit out and take a breather. Is this a common problem? How do you overcome the temptation to go in on less than desirable hole cards?


Learn to play shorthanded. More hands, fewer players, more profit once you "get" it.

Just be warned the swings are brutal.

I would not jump right into Holdem Poker for Advanced Players. Many of the concepts will go over your head. It has nothing to do with your intelligence or the sort, but it’s not an advanced text for nothing. Stick with the basics. Pick up GSIH, SSHE, and maybe ITH. If you want to read a book that will make you think, pick up something like Weighing the Odds. However, it takes experience to get something out of HPFAP. It also is aimed at higher stakes with tougher players. It is basically a waste of your time.

The thing to remember about poker is that there are stuff that you can control and other things that you can not. I use to get very pissed off when hands did not go my way. But with time and experience you will learn that in poker, that one hand does not matter! That one hand represents a fraction of your bankroll. Keep playing solid poker and things will go your way. If you take yourself off your game, things are going to go bad.

The difference between 2/4 and 3/6 is nominal at most sites. You need to get the notion out of your head that you can beat 3/6 but not 2/4. If you are not beating a loose 2/4 over a lengthy period of time, there is something fundamentally wrong with your game. You need to find it because eventually it will exploited at 3/6.

Playing shorthanded is a terrible idea. If you are not crushing 2/4 then you have no business going into the short-handed arena.

Each person has different things that will get them over the top. When I was in college, I played for the rent money. I was happy just getting the bonuses. I was beating the games but not beating the rake. I have totally revamped game from a tight-neutral player to a semi loose-aggressive in your face type player. I am now beating the games and the rake for a profit as well as getting bonuses on top of that.

Internet poker is rigged.

Run.

Internet poker is rigged.

Run.

Concur. Shut it down.

Concur. Shut it down.

I did not know you had been elected to Congress.

I did not know you had been elected to Congress.

that might be my new improved platform to go along with my "protect the tubes" campaign.

Clearly, the best advice is to always, ALWAYS go all-in when you have an outside set-over-set flush wrap draw preflop.

ALWAYS. Even in limit.

Clearly, the best advice is to always, ALWAYS go all-in when you have an outside set-over-set flush wrap draw preflop.

ALWAYS. Even in limit.

But what do you do when you have 3 pairs?

But what do you do when you have 3 pairs?
Fold preflop.

value call your nuts

So tonight I placed 6th in a 20 dollar buy in tournament with 256 players. I went out on a pretty bad play I think which put a little damper on the finish.

I was on the button and it folded around to me. I had QJ suited and raised. BB called. Flop came J 7 2 rainbow. BB goes all in, I don't give it much thought and call. I lose to AA. I really should have thought about it more, we had pretty similar stack, half as much as the table leader. I should have seen a pocket pair, or even AJ coming. Was this a real donkey play or I am being too harsh on myself?

Take my advice with a grain of salt since I'm having trouble merely finishing in the money in $5 PokerStars MTs...

Actually, I dunno what I would have done. I wouldn't have put him on aces, though, since he didn't reraise. The more I think, the more I probably would have called. I just wouldn't think he was ahead of me since I would have dicounted aces and kings. I would think his most likely holding, if I was behind, would have been queens, but you held one of them. If he flopped a set, I would imagine he would slowplay it since you raised preflop. (But this is without knowing the size of your stack, what your M was, his stack and his M, etc.).

Flat calling with Aces against a single raiser, with no one left to act, seems to be a pretty standard play to me. People often do that and hope for the exact situation that happened here.

So tonight I placed 6th in a 20 dollar buy in tournament with 256 players. I went out on a pretty bad play I think which put a little damper on the finish.

I was on the button and it folded around to me. I had QJ suited and raised. BB called. Flop came J 7 2 rainbow. BB goes all in, I don't give it much thought and call. I lose to AA. I really should have thought about it more, we had pretty similar stack, half as much as the table leader. I should have seen a pocket pair, or even AJ coming. Was this a real donkey play or I am being too harsh on myself?

This isn't enough information to give you any meaningful advice. Late in a tournament like this the size of the blinds and antes and the size of both your stack and your opponents are the most important factors in determining your play. You said had similar stack sizes and were about half the chip leader, but that really doesn't mean anything without knowing what your stack size was in relation to the blinds.