Poker dilemma: Should I quit playing now?

5 miles, as AG said, and what I eluded to earlier in the thread, you really need to study the game, post a lot of HH's as well. I'm not sure if you are posting HH's but if your not, you should really consider it, maybe you have leaks in your game that someone can sort out for you. Also if your playing SnG's, do you have a grasp of ICM, because if you don't then your dead money.

Don't give up to soon.

Jagsti said:

Don't give up to soon.

Click to expand...

I don't quite understand, why do you want me to hang on? Do you think I have something special to give to the community? Do you think I have potential to be even a mediocre player? Is it because of my posts or what?

Alright, I won't give up. But I've already withdrawn all the money from my poker accounts and won't deposit anytime soon. The money will be on my bank account in 3-5 business days and I'm gonna spend it elsewhere. I did a complete withdrawal today after placing 4th or 5th in five $2+$0.25 sit & go's in a row. I refuse to put more money into poker, I hate my gameplay so much right now. I've already moved to other hobbies and things.

I have posted hand histories, and those, in addition to my own analysis of the game, have made me convinced I suck. My friends and playmates disagree profoundly (they think I'm half-pro or something because I'm never on tilt and always teach them about starting hands, position, odds etc.).

Like probably 90% of new players I've never heard of ICM. Maybe I will take a look at that, but now I have to take a long, long time off and just forget everything about poker for some time. Maybe for good.

Gl in whatever you do 5miles, people here are great they want to help and give some good advice.

A week ago I thought I would never be a winning player, and now Im in danger of making a profit playing 1+20 45 man sit and go's at pokerstars.

Before finding these I was practically giving my money away, now i have found them I have just edged the $50 mark.

My point is find a lower stakes game where losing 3-4 or 5 in a row do not hurt as much. I have never won said sit and gos but have had loads of 2nd and 3rds.

Most of all I enjoy playing these games and that helps alot.

I don't quite understand your logic. You say in one statement that your a mediocre player, then you seem to hint your a good player. I think that your obviously not enjoying the game at the moment because your losing money.

If you feel that poker is not for you, then fine at least you gave it a shot. If on the other hand you enjoy the game, then you really need to come back with a plan. If you think by depositing a $100 next week and thinking that by the end of April you'll have $1000, then you are seriously deluding yourself. Sure it can happen, but for the majority of us we have to grind it out and build our bankrolls over a long period of time and over 1000's of SNG's or 100,000's of cash game hands.

Also to think of poker in terms of consistency ie, 'if I'm a good player then if I play 10 sng's I should be able to cash in 4 of them' well again thinking like this is wrong. You see, poker is not particularly consistent over a small period of time. There are pro SNG players who earn $100,000's of dollars a year and can have 1000 game streaks with break even stats. Regular cash game winners can go on 50k hands downswings.

You need to play with a bankroll that is more than sufficient for the stakes you play at. This must not be understated, it's so important to becoming a successful player. Read, read and read some more, you may think you know how to play, but seriously you don't. Never think you know it all, always be prepared to improve.

Anyways I've gone on too much, if you need some more info PM me. GL.

Thanks.

Well, in a way, I guess we all suck at poker. Some just handle it differently than others, and I think that's one criterium of a good player.

Really, I don't see how you can say "I quit" just because:
1. you think you play well but can't win
2. have taken a break
3. have done some mediocre "study" by posting a few hands and reading some articles

It takes real work, sometimes an entire modification in thought process. But you can win. I recently thought there was no way I could beat $10NL, struggled to make adjustments to my game, and now finally seem to be on the right path. That's just moving to the lowest level ring games from a fairly good understanding of tournament poker, so getting a handle on the game in general can't be that easy.

You have to accept that you are doing something wrong. That's the first step. And it's a hard one. You are probably very good at defending your actions/position in debates. And, therefore, are probably very good at justifying your current play as "good" to yourself and others. But, you need to do something different to win, that much is obvious.

Here are my starting book suggestions, btw.

aliengenius said:

Really, I don't see how you can say "I quit" just because:
1. you think you play well but can't win
2. have taken a break
3. have done some mediocre "study" by posting a few hands and reading some articles

Click to expand...

It's none of those. My reasons are way more simple; I don't have enough time, I don't feel comfortable sitting at a poker table, I don't feel like I can win any money in the long run. I see it as more like a bad habit.

I don't think there's anything wrong about quitting something, if you do it for a reason. From an outsider's view, continuing a habit that makes you constantly lose money in a game which is more depressing than fun just isn't right.

But yeah... it goes without saying I just can't quit it just like that. I have a healthy addiction to the game. Even if I do quit, I'll never look at a deck of cards the same way again, there'll always be something that brings me back to the tables.