Is this typical or do I just stink?

[madjek]

Maybe that's a rhetorical question, but it seems when I get some money on a site, I like to play Sit n Go's, my BR seems to stay at that spot for a while. Say I win $20 in a freeroll. I'll maybe get to 30, then back down to 20, then down to 10, back to 20, you get the pt. Then all of a sudden either I can't win and I lose it all or I'll jump up to another level, like 50 bucks. Then I'll stick around that amount for a few weeks. Is this normal or should a good poker player's BR steadily rise? Just curious as to whether this is typical or maybe I'm just not playing well enough to increase consistently.

[kingmotan]

a. you probably don't play long enough. In every type of game (especially sng's and mtts) u have to put in A LOT of volume, so you can beat variance and get to a stable ROI.
b. you're probably mixing it up. Pick something you want to play: cash or sngs, and a certain limit your bankroll allows. And stick to that for awhile.
c. most of the poker players have illusory superiority.. I don't know if I have to say more, but just by sitting at a poker table and knowing the rules you can't expect your bankroll to grow.
Like I said before, every aspiring poker player needs to study a lot. Even more than they actually play! all the information you need are just a click away...
fwiw I had to travel by train today so I spent 4 hours going through my database, reviewing hands and putting detailed notes on more than 10 regs at my stakes; and then I watched a 50min poker vid too lol.

[Peteyweestro]

I'm in the same boat as the OP, but i do believe king is correct it's just that t my stakes especially good quality poker doesn't win all the time in fact i would say it wins around 70% and just plain ol dumb luck wins the other 30%, so between that and because i have way to many other things going on to actually go back and study my or my opponents hands very much or read any books on poker so for that i understand that i will probably never get to the point of being very good or making boatloads of cash. I stay satisfied going between $10 and $100 on my sites and am happy if i kill some time and get work outta my mind for awhile, whilst socializing with some pals

[villaridge]

lol, I mean lol.

ok, take the king way or the peety way. If you wanna be a consistent winner at poker u better go study, then repeat. or u can float and do ok, lol, maybe.

It's all up to you. Like anything in life, if u wanna do it right and succeed you have to apply effort. some people decide Poker is what they are gonna conquer, and some just say I like it and I'm good. The advantage will always be with the peeps that wanna conquer.

I'm not saying there is anything wrong with Peteys approach. He's a good "natural player" IMO. A lot of us don't have the time to study and dedicate to poker.

If you are happy with winning once in a while and your BR fluctuating in the 10 to 50 range then fine enjoy. If you wanna move up and make more, or wanna see a gradual progression up in BR then you better study, buy books and read, and study your stats/HH, make notes like king does.

again, up to you

[madjek]

Okay, maybe I'll read a book. Has anyone written the "Poker for the lazy fat ass" yet?

[villaridge]

yeah, they called it Poker For Dummies tho

[PLAYFUL1]

yippppppppppppp... playful has to start reading some more poker books again, butt there hasn't been any good new one's on the market..playful is drawn more to picture books and pop-ups lolll

[Peteyweestro]

Villaridge you said it all in your post, it is 100% up to each person and what they want out of the game, couple bucks and some escapism like me or study properly and try to do it big, like others...i don't think any way is wrong

[hojediade]

First as Villa and Mo already says it, study must be a way to improve your play and of course reduce variance in poker.
The second point might be the games your willing to play. It seesm like you're mostly a MTT player, so that you'll need to play much games for your BR to grow. The volume factor as stated Mo.
My last point would be to ask what is your goal and what is your way to reach it. I used to think that cash-games couldn't fit me and so i only played MTTs for a long while, but now i'm mostly willing to play cash-games as i discovered it suits me well.
So to tell the truth, i think that poker players should reconsider themselves once in a while when things are not running the way you're willing it to, and experiment new things. Who knows, maybe you're a cash-game player that ignores himself.

[rgchan]

I here of and see many players who win some $$ in MTT games who then go to the Ring tables and immediately lose it.I am guilty of this as well when I,m bored and can,t find any games to play sometimes.Stick to the games your successful at and don,t jump up levels.
Rg