I have been playing poker for about 8 months now. Seems like alot longer. I have clocked alot of hours, I'm guessing 600+ hours. Since starting I am up about $1200 overall in live and online. I am painfully streaky. For instance last week I deposited $50 after a 2 weeks layoff and turned that into $300 in about 5 hours of play at 2/4. I promptly cashed out $100. Within 2 weeks I redeposited the whole $100 plus 50.
Anyway, I have to think I show signs of potential with my winning streaks. Its not like I simply get lucky all the time and hit a big multitourney or something. I usually just hit streaks where I feel I play very well and this seems to always be followed by big losing streaks. I know I am changing my game but I'm not sure what I'm doing different.
I love poker but it makes me so mad sometimes that I can't stand it. I am a pretty mild mannered person, but I get intensely mad sometimes after bad beat after bad beat from what I think are lesser skilled players. (any two will do players who dont respect raises and hang on til river time and time again. I am a victim of this seemingly more than my fair share...I also take an amazing amount of legit bad beats like nut flush losing to boats and stuff like that)
I could write all day. But what I'm looking for is to determine just how I can solidify my game. I think I have a good feel for the game, but if someone asks me for advice, I really don't have much to give them. I really can't objectify what I'm doing right at times, but it works. I am very patient and sometimes I think that is my only positive poker quality. I am a tight aggressive player overall. I try to vary it up at times.
I know that skill wins this game and skill is more than just hoping for good cards. I try to read a table, get a table image, and make some moves occasionally. Nothing pisses me off more than giving a table image of a rock and then when I play a hand aggressively but don't hit I will get called against my strong raises with someone with pr of threes Q high with 4 overcards on board.
What I really want to know is what someone would recommend to really get better. Is it play time only? I am hesitant to immerse myself in books. I have read a few and I think they made my game worse. Unless someone has one specific one to recommend. Also I just saw commercial for Helmuth's videos. Anyone have any recommendations for or against them.
What does it take. Am I kidding myself to think I could be good when I only am making like $1/hour or so playing poker? If I took that time and put it into my business I'd probably be a millionaire.
It seems to me like you might be running into bankroll problems. Variance is a fact of life in poker, especially in the loose games you see online. Fifty dollars is way too low a bankroll for 2/4. Most recommendations I've seen are for a bankroll of 200x-300x the BB. For 2/4 this would mean you would need $800-$1200 to overcome fluctuations and not risk busting out. I'd recommend you either play a lower limit or deposit more money and don't cash out so much that you're bankroll puts you in jeopardy again. One rule of thumb I've heard and like is to cash out half your winnings. For example, if you double your bankroll from $100 to $200, cash out $50.
As for poker books making your game worse, the problem with most books is that they are for advanced players. Most of the strategies for higher-limit games assume that the other players are knowledgable and will respond to your moves in a somewhat predictable manner. If all the other players are brain-dead then making moves to project a certain table image will just end up costing you money. I like Lee Jones' "Winning Low-Limit Hold'em" for beating the basic games online. It's geared towards the "no fold'em" game you'll find at the lower limits.
