Beginner Limit Hold'em Poker Forums

Well....

I realize first off, this sample is probably not big enough to draw any rock solid conclusions, however, feeling deflated and I'm certainly not looking for sympathy, but a point on where to turn would be helpful.

I watched Danza's excellent series on Limit Hold'em called, "The Price is Right", I took notes on each video and during the live play, I would pause the video and say out loud what I would do and most of the time, I was on Danza's page which gave me some confidence. (Great teaching style he has)

I then watched Pygmy Hero's and BBB's awesome series "Elephant Tamer" and again during the live play portion, I tediously paused and said my move, now again most of the time, even in tight spots I was bang on with BBB and Pygmy, I was full of confidence.

I fired up my tables and played 2,800 hands, now right off the bat I dropped 72 bbs, but I felt like I was in control of my game and I actually by hand 2,000 got it back to actually being up 14bbs, but then between hand 2,100ish and 2,800 I dropped 65bbs bbs again, thats a 72 and 65 bb bomber in a small sample?

I felt like I was thinking through my hands, but anyhow...

VPIP%: 25.2
PFR%: 21.3%
3bet%: 11.2
WTSD%: 37.1%
W$SD%: 60.5 <--- Should be running hot? I must be blowing up somewhere
SB Fold to Steal: 84.2%
BB Fold to Steal: 62.4%

I know my sample sucks, but there has to be something there that indicates why I suck so bad,
I took careful notes on villains and table selected which makes this start more depressing....

I realize I'll be getting a lot of "small sample size comments", just remeber though, just starting out and would rather stop this sinking ship now, but something seems off I guess, I know these swings are standard for "good" players, but when you haven't established that confidence or proven that you are "good", it's tough to weep in the wind I guess....

Do I hang in, or do I just suck donkey nuts at limit?

And if so, whats my next step to improving.... this isn't bbv, just need some help for long-term improvement

Thanks ahead of time for any helpful responses, should mention this is all six max poker

More info would be helpful...
what limit(s) are you playing?
how many tables are you playing at a time?
was this all in one day(s)/session(s)?

sans said info...

Off the bat, a couple of things stick out to me.
1. "tiny sample size" (you asked for it).
2. you play pretty tight for six max (learn to lag it up a bit).
3. you way under defend your blinds (particularly your BB).
4. you are not getting to showdown enough(your W$SD% will drop but you'll make more overall).

Method for super quick improvement?
Drop down a limit or two and play a bunch of HU.
Practice game creation method.

All the best.

Thanks for the reply (sincerely)

Sorry this is over about 2 weeks of 1-2 tabling .5/$1

To point 2. Just following Danza's pf "guide" mainly in "The Price is Right"
To point 3. Would really like some help understanding this or maybe expand a bit if you find some time
To point 4. Up to about hand 2,000 my WTSD had been hovering at 38-40% so I started to fold more in tighter spots as I felt I was spewing off in my session where I had that last 65bb downer to make me post this.... obviously wrong adjustment, but maybe if it's not too much to ask or broad a question, what types of hands am I likely not showing down that I should be?

Thanks again

it'd be useful to shift your expectations/perspective. assuming a winning player, it's not a noteworthy downswing until 250 or 300 BB. worrying about numbers less than a hundred should be unthinkable. in general you sound too results oriented. if you have a reasonable bankroll for these stakes (hopefully 300 or 500+ BB) then just play for a while and stop looking at wtsd, daily results, etc.

your sample size is also so small as to be meaningless. lhe is sick that way. 10k to get a snapshot, and 50k or 100k to draw any kind of reasonable conclusions -- are the benchmarks i think of.

a good way to improve is to post hands you have questions about, as well as to respond to other people's. doing that on both sides will help improve and refine your thought process.

BBB summed it up quite nicely, but I'll still respond.

I could have mentioned that I have 65BB+ swings on a regular basis, but I generally play 3-4 tables and it's not too difficult to run bad for a stretch. But getting back to your post. Absorb what BBB said, but know that the fact that you are looking for answers is something that a lot of beginning players never ever get to.

I want to point out that you at .5/1. you are paying a premium for rake and could very well be winning already. I'll share some stats from the last time I played .5/1.
Hands 8207
Winnings $200.80
Rake $517.67
bb/100 4.89
VPIP 48.7
PFR 33.7
3Bet 20.6
WTSD 43.8
W$SD 47.9
Of course, this sample size is not much better than your own, but if you notice the rake, It's quite insane. Just pointing that out.

Chucks guide is a starting point...and a very good one. Diverging from it will happen in time, but most of it is situational and it's a pain to cover. I'd recommend Winning in Tough holdem Games to give you a different perspective. I wouldn't immediately try and try and replicate what you learn, but it will give you more ideas than I can in a short period of time. As far as your adjustment, it's nearly impossible to answer that. I'd just follow BBB's advice to the letter and perhaps pick up that book.