Hi there, I'm new to the forums and i just wanted to ask you vets a question. I am just wondering if I am a good player of am just running really lucky. I have $4000 in profit of sharkscope from tournaments in 600 games. I won about 10 small tourneys, the biggest being a 1st place cash for $1400. I just wanted to know in your opinion if im a good player or if this is all purely luck. The thing is I don't really know the math of the game and play purely on instinct. Has there ever been any really good players at the top like this or is knowing the math important. I tried studying it but it all just seems mind blogging. I don't know what to think. Please get back with you opinions.

fact that u give so little info and that u play on instinct, id say its a lot of luck

I'm jusy looking at my stats and I cashed in mid stakes 7 tourneys for over $5000 in less then 100 games. Surely this can't just be luck right?

It can and it often will be.. Your sample is ridiculously small.. Post hands and your thought process behind it on this forum or look at your results when you've played 10K+ tournaments if you want to answer this question more accurately.

Variance in MTTs is huge, don't let a good run fool you.

Does anyone know of the best resource to learn the odds as a beginner. That would really help me out alot. Thank You

If you are making a profit,it shows that you doing it right, the sample size is small, keep doing what you are doing and good luck.

eh no

It's really easy to run good in donkaments and considering he's playing without math and on intuition, unless he's a wizard that happens to make every right decision without solid foundation there is no way in a million years you are "good". By good I mean you know why you click a button and can actually back it up with proof/math.

For all I know he's limpcalling 56s with 10BB, OP has given nothing that I can use to tell if he's actually a good player besides results over a tiny sample. We need hand histories with thought processes, even 1 hand that plays to the river will give me a better insight than the result over 3000 tournaments.

Well the way I can explain my play is basically, I'm always thinking about the way they will react to my bets, by always making myself seem strong (except when im holding a monster) and putting them on rough ranges and bluffing when I think they will fold with second pair or less. From my experience people always assume you holding the top pair and if u bet at them strong enough they will let go anything but top pair. I find in this sense I don't really need the odds as I base my bet sizing on whether I want them to call or fold. I find the only time I could really use the odds is when im considering calling to try and hit and raising isn't an option as they have a strong holding. In that case I just guess, like for example im not going to call off half my stack with a flush draw and little in the pot. Please let me know if my thinking sense and what I need to improve on. Thanks a million guys. :-)

Depends on how the instincts are developed. If your instinct on the turn when facing a pot sized AI with a FD is to fold, then you have made the right decision. You don't need to know that your odds are roughly 4:1 to hit and you're being offered only 2:1.

If I was forced to chose between knowing what a villain considered strong and when he had it vs. know all the odds of each play, I'd chose being an instinct player. Fortunately, it is possible to do both. Those are the long term winners in poker.

I really would like to learn them but all the instructional videos seem abit complex to start. DO you have any recommendations for starting to learn them from the basics? Thank You

Google- "Pot Odds", "Implied Odds", and "Poker Equity".

Then once you've got how to calculate, learn how to use them. When feeling confident about this, look up "combinatorics of poker".

Read for comprehension, and application as you'll need to use these with your intuition. There are several easy tips for beginners like "Phil Gordon's 4 and 2 rule".

the way you talk about your game makes sense and you may well have a good intuitive understanding of the game - but don't assume that you are always going to win - I won a similar amount in the first year I started playing but then went on a downswing and lost money for nearly a year.

If you start losing go down in stake for a while and keep thinking about your game.

The thing you mustn't do is learn it by rote try to tie in what you learn to the way you've learned ny yourself.

You could invest some of your winnings in poker books - Ed Miller is always good and i like "kill everyone" or you could try the "winning poker tournaments series

This sounds like a pathetic brag.

Come on, you made profits of 4000 and with the thread title of 'Am I a good poker player?' what a ****ing joke.

'' I just wanted to know in your opinion if im a good player or if this is all purely luck''

No one wins 4000 dollars in profit in 600 games and tourneys based on 'luck' and I know that you know this too, stop showing off.

OP: Gee guys am I a good player?? I made 4000 dollars, gee... I don't watch the math videos, gee instructional videos are just too complex for me, I just play game I win, me good??.... gee gee baby baby.

I wasn't bragging, I was just wondering if I will keep winning like this or is this all luck. It just seems to good to be true for a guy who has never done in depth studies.

Seriously, cut the crap. It is so obvious you are trying to brag.

I'm sure you played many games and had your share of losses, this $4000 profit did not happen overnight.

So don't try to bull**** and say
'I was just wondering if I will keep winning like this or is this all luck'

you obviously know how to manage your bankroll to +4000, so don't try and act stupid.

''I tried studying it but it all just seems mind blogging.''
Let me guess you did not attend high school right? Because basic math is hard.
Oh wait, you are in uni, but you have always been bad at math. **** OFF mann


Even your username, successful101


COME ONNNNNN

For your sake, I really hope you're trolling.

You are meh.

Over 600 games it's mostly luck.

Obviously op was trying to brag, but that's a failed attempt.

Why do you guys think I'm trolling, I was just asking for honest advice so I know if i'm setting myself up to fail or not. I mainly just wanted to know if its possible to be good at the game without know the odds well.

Unanswerable. Probably luck.

You need to have a rough idea of the odds to be successful, but that's not enough. The theory of poker goes way deeper than that.

Here's a great serie if you really want to learn the basic maths that you need:
http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/32...poker-1175186/

This guy is so obviously fishing for compliments/ bragging and yet he keeps denying it.

How the **** can you win 4k (partly from winning 10 tourneys) and say ''hurr durr am I lucky or am I good at poker.''

Great job not replying any of the things I pointed out in my previous posts.

saying things like 'Mind boggling theory'

Really man?? I'm not saying poker theory is necessarily easy or entertaining, but COME ON.... because I honestly do not know anyone who studies for exams at a tertiary or higher level.

Or maybe he realizes that to not give all that money back, he needs to understand a little more than intuition. He came and asked. He brought up recent wins, and you take that as bragging. You on a downswing? Did he beat you heads up?

I thought this particular forum was for beginners and those willing to give knowledge could converse.

Lol. If one needs to ask if it's luck, then it's luck. Here's a brag for you since you are bent on some. I won $3260 last night and it was luck that it wasn't closer to $5K. This I know.

There's this thing in poker everyone talks about, I think it's called variance.