Coach?

TacT

Curiosity killed the cat and with that I have a question for you all. When you started out playing poker, did you have a coach to show you the ropes and who was it? How did you learn to play the game and develop it? Did you do a DIY job or was there someone there with you along the way?

so, let's have it, who has to give thanks to somebody else for helping them on their way to become a winning player? I have to extend a big special thanks to samba for putting up with me for a long time and sharing the highs and lows along the bumpy road.

Let's hear it for the coaches or let's give yourselves a big pat on the back for being brave enough to go it alone.

Marq

God guides me.

DapperGent

When I first started off it was mostly just reading anything I could get my hands on and playing as much as possible. Lots of chats with henbane and lafortezza were very valuable too though.

Norwich Fan Rob

no coach for me, i didnt have a clue what i was doing for first few months and lost loads, but liked the game, so decided if i want to keep playing, i better study it a bit.

Took me 6 months to be a breakeven player and another 3 months after that to win back what i lost the first 6 months.

Damn i wish i had of had a coach.

But since last June alls good.

djkeogh

self taught all the way. Reading and playing play cash games before going on and losing a good bit of cash on real games. Beginning to claw back my losses now and will hopefully break even in the near future and then start making some money

Marq

I think a more interesting question would be:
Did you start off as a losing player?
If so, how long was it before you became a winning player?
and, Why did you stick with it?

It's something I've always had difficulty understanding. When I started playing for money I was winning (I had played for matchsticks and with Play Money on the internet for a while), and it's because I was making money that I continued to play for money. I think that if I had been losing at the start I never would have bothered playing for money again.

JustMac

Marq wrote:

I think a more interesting question would be:
Did you start off as a losing player?
If so, how long was it before you became a winning player?
and, Why did you stick with it?

This is something that I certainly would be more interested in. Currently I'm a losing player but I am going to stick at it for another couple of months. I'm not loaded but I can afford the losses for the enjoyment/entertainment if nothing else but with that said like everyone I would like to become a consistent winner. I would be interested in seening how long on average it has taken winning players to become winning players. I would be a good gauge for me. Presumably at some stage, for whatever reason, some/lots of players will just have to concede that they just don't have what it takes to become a winning player.

Perhaps this deserves a seperate thread/poll?

califano

Marq wrote:

I think that if I had been losing at the start I never would have bothered playing for money again.

Enjoyment factor would have played no part.?

jacQues

Marq wrote:

I think a more interesting question would be:
Did you start off as a losing player?
If so, how long was it before you became a winning player?
and, Why did you stick with it?

I started playing at a very young age, with my family. For example, my (old-style) shuffle is still sideways because the cards didn't fit in my hands otherwise. I used to break even. After a few years I started winning, but that was against family members.

Then I didn't play poker for a long time. But I did play many many other games, with a very very high success rate.

When about 1½ year ago I started playing poker again, at first I lost. After a month or so I started breaking even. And another few months later I started winning. This was against friends, i.e. always the same people. That group since increased and now we have a very nice weekly home game. Internet play started about 1½-1 year ago too, but only in the last month or two I started winning on-line. In real-life I always win more than lose though.

The reason for continueing to play (on-line) even though I kept losing money is because I know I'm good at games in general and smart enough to learn and improve. The fact that real-life poker 'worked' for me kept me trying. With no coach it took a bit, but now I'm making money on-line.

jacQues

TacT

Norwich Fan Rob wrote:

no coach for me, i didnt have a clue what i was doing for first few months and lost loads, but liked the game, so decided if i want to keep playing, i better study it a bit.

Took me 6 months to be a breakeven player and another 3 months after that to win back what i lost the first 6 months.

Damn i wish i had of had a coach.

But since last June alls good.

Likewise

Iago

I'm still starting out/learning as far as I'm concerned. There are some posters here who have always been a very valuable source of information and who have helped me significantly along the way, they know who they are. Without them I'd be losing money consistently without even knowing where I was going wrong.

Most of my other learning has come from reading articles and posts in this forum and on 2+2. I was a lucky player when I started out, in that I always seemed to make money even when I was doing the wrong thing. Such as playing 3 cards to the flush post-flop and managing to hit the flush by the river, or believing that Ax was the holy grail and playing it in the same way.

To answer Marqs question, I've never lost a lot of money, but that's because I'm very risk adverse. I know I'm still on a learning curve so I play at a level where I believe I have a high chance of success, I think my biggest losing month to date was $1K. On the other side though it greatly reduces the amount I can win, my best month has only been $2.5K and that was only once, I'm averaging at around $5-600 a month at the moment.

I want to step up and make more money, but from a bankroll and knowledge point of view I think I need to wait for a good bit longer before I do that. To answer the second part, if I was consistently losing money then I wouldn't play anymore. For me it's all about the money end of it now, if it was for entertainment then I'd be playing in the Fitz every week, it's over 6 months since I last stepped into a casino. Although a friend of mine who is very successful player has recently said that he thinks I'm a far better live player than online *shrugs* so maybe I should play the fitz more often

I think it depends on your aims, if you're playing for entertainment then you will keep playing win or lose within your limits. if you're playing for money then you'll stop/drop your levels when you realise that you're losing what you invest in it.

Marq

rounders123 wrote:

Enjoyment factor would have played no part.?

I was enjoying myself playing at the Play Money tables while risking nothing. If I don't have to play for money to enjoy myself, but can't win while playing for money, why should I play for money?

jacQues

Marq wrote:

I was enjoying myself playing at the Play Money tables while risking nothing. If I don't have to play for money to enjoy myself, but can't win while playing for money, why should I play for money?

I understand what you say, but it doesn't sound right.

The most stupid thing most poker sites do is using the term "play money" instead of "play for fun". :eek:

Bloody stupid and confusing as hell if you ask me. :mad:

jacQues

NeVeR

I started bad, didnt read a book just logged onto pokerroom.com and lodged $50.. lost it pretty quick. Had a mate that played poker and he said I have to start reading some books, so i started with David Sklansky's " The theory of poker" really good book, got a good bit better won a $2500 1st price on paddypower and been playing alot better, just bought 3 more books. "Zen the art of poker" Harrington on Hold'em 2" and Tourment poker for advanced players " by David Sklasky..

Just started to read them. But if you are started you have to study the game. If helps so much , like last night playing on puma inthe $17.500 came 38th out of 770 and i feel i could have done better,

anyways theres loads more time. I have to go now and finish reading my book

gerire

The worst thing that I did was start out as well as I did, I think. My 2nd time in the fitz I won a ticket to the 270 game and that was the first time Id ever met Joe O Neill and got on great with him, when he got knocked out he did a lot of coaching me on that night just encouraging me and telling me to sit and wait for premium hands and I got to finish 5th that night. Its all been downhill since then! Well no not really all downhill just my game couldn't keep up with my expectations. As most know I dont play as much as everyone else, but that early performance and being part of the first boards team in the business league (which we won) part of Suited Aces have all being major building blocks for my game.
Its a long way since I logged onto yahoo games to learn the basic rules of hold 'em tho

califano

Marq wrote:

I was enjoying myself playing at the Play Money tables while risking nothing. If I don't have to play for money to enjoy myself, but can't win while playing for money, why should I play for money?

Marq what you say makes perfect sense as usual. If this is the case there is no reason you should.
I would still play and lose even micro limits because there would be at least something at stake giving me more enjoyment than play money.

Daithio

Marq wrote:

I think a more interesting question would be:
Did you start off as a losing player?
If so, how long was it before you became a winning player?
and, Why did you stick with it?

I started off as a losing player but for very small stakes. Then I jammed my way to winning the $20 six seater on ladbrokes for about $700 which had me hooked. By the time I'd lost this, and probably a good bit more, I began winning consistently. It took about six months in all though of playing fairly regularly and was expensive enough. I never enjoyed playing unless there was money to win or lose.

AmarilloFats

I deluded myself for the first 3 months, i told myself I was winning.. I was playing LIMIT .25/50 on Ladbrokes..
I did write to Bob "the coach" Ciaffone...Jesus this is embarassing,scarlet..


Dear Bob,

.25/.50 No Limit Hold 'em on a european site, Ladbrokes. I occasionally play tournaments in my local casino. Coaching will obviously improve my standard of play. But, will it increase my hourly rate on the internet??? The players I play against are errvery loose..as you said, "
.........nobody ever made a preflop raise. If I raised, no one reraised, not even with pocket queens. In some games, lots of people stay for the flop; other games are comparatively tight.".But I dont feel I am capitalising on their poor play.
YEAH, very logical!!!!!

And he wrote back!!
I do not understand your question. If you improve your play, how can you not expect better results?
Lesson info attached.

Legend_DIT

I learned how to play this summer on holiday, lost a total of €7!

Then in October, I entered the first DIT tournament of the year, and got to the last two tables out of a field of over 100... Net loss €5

I would say I've become a regular at the last two tables at least of the DIT scene, having won it twice... My first win was a few days before I started looking at the Poker forum here - I went on to buy HOH I and II...

I was self-taught to begin with but now I'm actively searching to improve my game by reading articles and this forum etc.