Hello everyone!

I'm calling out for some advice since my play has gone literally to hell this past year. I've been playing since 2006, and this past year has really dug a big ass hole for my remains to be burried in when I'm done and have lost it all.

I'm pretty much at the brink of bankruptcy and I have so many debts that I can almost feel 'em comin' out of my ****ing ears. But never mind that, that's just one of the reasons why I want to do this ****.

I have been playing pretty much this year but same **** every month; losing, losing, losing. I don't think I'm that bad, I guess I just play a little reckless sometimes and, well, I guess that's my main problem.

But at the same time it feels like I have been so mother ****ing unlucky this year that it sometimes feels like this game was not cut out for me. Better of playing CoD on PS3 or something instead. I could do that, but that will not bring me an income.

Maybe this won't either. But I will sure die trying. Just this once, this last ****ing time, it WILL WORK! It has to. So, what more can I tell you; been playing since '06. Started out on ultimatebet and played a bunch of freerolls. Won a couple, fell in love with the game, turned $5 into $1587 in two days by playing cash games, and it just went on and on and on.

So I have $1000 that I will put on PokerStars now, and try and run this money up to an OK-amount of money, but also work on my bad sides when it comes to the game. I usually play NL25, 12 tables, 6-max, but since I will be playing on my laptop now I can only do six tables, so question A) Is this OK BRM?

Question B) Should I get one of these fancy poker programs? I have never used any of 'em so I don't really know if I'll get all the numbers and ****. Worth mentioning is that if I **** this up I will never play one more poker hand ever again and put more focus on getting a 'normal job' - which I currently am - but I will try harder on that front if this doesn't goes well.

Worth mentioning is (just for the thrills), is that this is pretty much my last money. If I lose this money I will pretty much be eating food out of the garbage for the holidays. I will post some hands later on and also try and explain how I thought about my play and why I did what I did. But I would also love to hear your feedback and thoughts of my hand histories.

Merry Christmas and may this mother ****er work or I will jump off of a bridge or something.

Advice, Stop!
You may be/or not a good player. But the questions your asking indicate you may have some issues you may need to address. For instance, asking about fancy software.
Anyway, 1st get Holdem Manager 2 ( free 30 day trail ). Second, look at some free training video's relating to HUD stats and also if possible, download your past HH and see what real leaks are in your game. Leakbuster app is not bad, dont know if it has a free trail.
Spend the next weeks in December, finding as much free training as possible. Gripsep on YT is a decent start. Just make sure training vids. are not dated, as the game has changed dramatically since the UB days. This will also keep you from eating garbage during the holiday's.
Lastly, it is probably not realistic grinding 25NL and making enough to cover real life expenses, unless you are living with your parents.

I appreciate your post, but what should I grind if not NL25?

TBH it sounds as if you are putting the cart before the horse.
As you have already admitted in your first post, you have been losing, You have not been tracking your hands, win/loss rate, fixing issues that are causing you to lose and lose as mentioned.
Also, its not just you, many players have the same issues.

Take some time researching all the relavent information concerning every aspect of the game. BR management, Holdem Manager or similar software, game selection, everything.

I am suggesting that you dont play w/ the $1000, with even the thought of eating garbage if unsuccesfull. Spend the rest of the month learning, & meantime look for a job, work till you establish a serious strong win rate for several months. Then you will know what stakes you need to play to support yourself, but that is also BR dependent.

We all wish poker was as easy as it used to be. Unfortunately its not.

GL

C'mon man, let's forget that I ever mentioned the sentence 'eating garbage for the holiday's' and instead focus on the mission obejctive here, which is to find my weak spot. And in order for me to find my weak spot I need to play poker, and analyze my game with other people like you on a forum for an instance.

I know I can beat the games, I just need a little feedback, critisism if you will, to get that ****ing motivation going. Not to sound like a jerk or anything but I think my main reason for losing this year was because of my ex-girlfriend who hated me playing poker. She always told me to cash out my money and were never supportive, always bitching about something when I tried focusing on the game. Now when she's out of the deck, I think I can get my **** together and really ****ing do this.

So, will you help me out?

Buddy,
I swear I have been were you are! I seriously read your post and tried to offer real advice to assist you in avoiding many mistakes I & 1000's of other players have and will make. There is no, instant answer to win enough every week or month. Reading the post, you have maybe the desire & courage to beat the game. But those are not all the tools you need. I am advising this not as a downer troll, or to take the piss out of you. But as someone that sat in that same boat, many years ago and has struggled. Your initial post was brutally honest, I am trying to do the same.
Seriously, step back for what 2 weeks? Analyse your stats......step back and think,& study.
There is honestly not a simple answer, if there was, no one here would tell you.
Poker today is ****in hard work, with all the tools & finding the softest spots to make money.
Okay I can live with this answer without pulling my pants down.
I hope you take the time to step back, and hope you can reflect & learn and eventually crush the games. Again GL

First, I respect the fact that you took the time to explain your situation. That said, I think your chances of becoming a pro with your last $1000 are near 0.

In order for you to be able to make a reasonable living you will need to at MINIMUM be 6 tabling 50max, just to make more than minimum wage, and assuming that you are playing profitably. In order to do this, you would need at MINIMUM a bankroll of $2500, ON TOP OF and emergency fund. As games are tougher so is the variance. Even this is pretty extreme, and odds would be against you.

Also, the fact that you are already not using a HUD, something that almost all profitable poker players use, means that it is highly likely that you do not understand how the current games work. You also need software like HM2 to track your hands and improve your game.

Beyond this you are coming from a point of desperation. Desperation will likely wreak havoc with your head. What will happen if you win $100, then lose $300, and are left with $800?

I think a smarter decision is to focus your energy in responding to your immediate survival situation with a strategy that will guarantee results (a job). Then, when you have some money you can risk, put $100 towards buying Holdem Manager 2, $30 for a cardrunners sub (they often wave the sign up fee if you ask them), and $300 to play $10 NL.

It sounds like you're using poker as an avoidance strategy, and this is a very dangerous thing. Also make sure you can explain what your edge is in the games you play... If you don't know this you are the sucker.

Get a job, pay your debts, get your life in some sort of order.

You will play better poker that way..

Op I kept my Pokertracker1 code. You can have it if you would like. I have been in your situation before and trust me it will probably not wok for u either. My best advise is to get a job or finish school and worry about poker later on. I went to school and started d poaying poker again after graduating and starting a job. No i am not in any pressure to play poker for money although i was a losing player.
Sent from my Nexus 4 using 2+2 Forums

Join Date: Feb 2012
Posts: 3

^ get more involved in posting previous hands to improve where you have been going right/wrong,, maybe way before you got into this situation.
get involved in other ppl's threads.
deucescracked normally do a 7 day free trial yet you can download some training vids and cancel your membership if you cant afford the monthly costs.
describing the way you want to grind your BR up sounds like your most likely be playing scared money causing more tilt/mental problems.
best of luck for the future grind

I know I'm a year late, I'm not that active on 2+2, but do you still have that code? (dumb question when I think about it)

Also, I would like to thank everyone for your advices. I never went through with my 1K deposit on stars. In fact, I don't remember what I did after posting this thread. I've been really focused on studying mid-stakes players and how they think and act, and what tools they use. And I might start digging deeper through those things and might even set my own tool shop up.

Anyway, thank you all.