4 ms·

Cool write up. I played online professionally for the year leading up to the big online shutdown. AMA, always love talking poker strategy.

reillychase 1y ago
Nice! It's legal here in Michigan and a few other states, where are you from?
fallinditch 1y ago
Probably a dumb question but when I watch poker on TV I see that the aggressive players tend to win, so why do the losers let themselves get intimidated?
- reillychase 1y ago
  Oversimplifying for sure but if you're loose and aggressive against a tight aggressive player, you're going to make them fold most of the time and win a small amount by applying pressure on bluffs but every once in a while if you get too aggressive and they call you because they have a monster hand then you get wrecked
- SaltyBackendGuy 1y ago
  Aggression generally wins the day but pay attention to the size of the bets and their position. Generally, you want to make a lot of small bets to show action (they can fold for a minimal investment) and leverage table position to make other players make hard decisions.
- hawk_ 1y ago
  In poker, like in trading, the key is knowing when you have an edge and being aggressive but also knowing when you have a losing have and cut your losses. It's the balance that makes a good player/trader.
  - NitpickLawyer 1y ago
    > the key is knowing when you have an edge and being aggressive but also knowing when you have a losing have and cut your losses So basically "You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, Know when to walk away, know when to run." :)
skulk 1y ago
what do you think about OP's 40% VPIP? It seems to me that in low-stakes online play you'd want to play tighter than that, but I know very little about poker strategy beyond what I've absorbed from seeing people talk about it.
- rokkamokka 1y ago
  I mean, according to the graph he's losing money, so not that great I guess? :)
  - reillychase 1y ago
    Yes this was going to be my reply lol
  - jjxw 1y ago
    To be fair, 1k hands is a pretty meaningless sample - I think most pros would say you need at least 50k if not 100k hands for the results to be any reliable signal as to whether or not a player is actually winning or losing in the long run.
- splonk 1y ago
  It's a fairly meaningless stat without knowing the number of the players at the table. At a quick glance he seems to be playing 6-max, but sometimes 3-handed. In any case 40% is within the reasonable range for 6-max.
  - reillychase 1y ago
    This is true, when I played live poker with full ring I got destroyed, you can be much more loose with 6 or less
  - vmg12 1y ago
    Assuming they are playing 6 max with full tables 40% vpip is egregious and I do not see how they could have a winning strategy playing like that. (Looking at their results they are not winning).
niwtsol 1y ago
I read doyle's Super System back in the day and used that as the basis for my poker strategy from high school to mid-twenties. In talking to some friends who play competitively, they say SS is just super out dated and you would get eaten alive at any cash game. I'm curious what, in your opinion, is the "standard" playing strategy that is most effective in today's poker rooms? I'm curious if that answer is different online vs in person.
- reillychase 1y ago
  No idea, obviously you can see I'm a n00b and not a profitable poker player but on the strategy side, and this is very oversimplified, but you should be folding a lot of the time other than when you get AA-22, AK, AQ, AJ, AT, KQ, KJ, QJ, JTs, T9s, 87s you call or 3 bet pre-flop because you have good odds. When you're up against tight players you can make a small bluff on the flop and scare them away most of the time, if they raise you fold though. Position is very important in the game, when you're on the button you have odds in your favor because everyone else has to check or bet before you so you play more loose and aggressive in that position and more tight and passive in early position. There is no one single strategy to memorize and apply, that's why it's great. 5 minutes to learn the game, a lifetime to master.
  - pinkmuffinere 1y ago
    > No idea, obviously you can see I'm a n00b and not a profitable poker player but on the strategy side Sorry, why are you answering a question if your first response is “no idea”? Am I missing something? If you have little information, my feeling is that your response is at best just BS? I know that sounds very rude, I’m sorry for that.
    - reillychase 1y ago
      You’re probably right, I am just sharing what I have been studying and from my experience playing but I’m a losing player so it should be taken with that context.
    - retsibsi 1y ago
algo_trader 1y ago
> I played online professionally for the year leading up to the big online shutdown Are today's online tables simply impossible to win? (bots, collusion) Or are players simply too evenly matched and the house rake/fees kills you anyway?
- jkercher 1y ago
  I don't think so. I don't play nearly as often as I used to, but I still do alright. Though, I usually play tournaments where "game theory optimal" can only get you so far. There is a lot more nuance in a tournament where your style should change as it progresses.
- bluecheese452 1y ago
  Pretty much. Not impossible but the effort reward ratio simply isn’t there.
- dataengineer56 1y ago
  It's become a lot more difficult to win online since online poker was banned in the USA. The USA sat at a huge net loss online and every other country profited.
  - sans_souse 1y ago
    agree, and this is what I've heard in general of the post shutdown landscape
- sans_souse 1y ago
  When I left (or, got shut out, so to speak) in 2011 the games were getting a lot tougher, less big fish and more reg on reg with marginal if any edge, where you're essentially just paying the rake (-%rakeback).
rhubarbtree 1y ago
Played a random game the other day and I love it! What’s the best way to learn and get involved? I just want to play socially, happy to lose a little money each time as the cost of fun.
- reillychase 1y ago
  I like reading BlackRain79 and watching his YouTube videos. Nothing beats experience though. Start playing without money for a long time first to learn the rules of the game. I actually downloaded a Game Boy emulator for iOS and the ROM for GBA World Poker Tour (2005). After playing that for a long time I finally got the basics like muscle memory of knowing what hand beats what and what possible combinations could be out there based on the board cards, stuff like that. Then from there if you live in a legalized state like I do you could start playing the lowest stakes online like .01/.02 NL.
  - rhubarbtree 1y ago
    Thanks. BlackRain79 looks good. I’ve not found a decent app for playing online with a good UX yet.

reillychase 1y ago

Nice! It's legal here in Michigan and a few other states, where are you from?

fallinditch 1y ago

Probably a dumb question but when I watch poker on TV I see that the aggressive players tend to win, so why do the losers let themselves get intimidated?

reillychase 1y ago
Oversimplifying for sure but if you're loose and aggressive against a tight aggressive player, you're going to make them fold most of the time and win a small amount by applying pressure on bluffs but every once in a while if you get too aggressive and they call you because they have a monster hand then you get wrecked
SaltyBackendGuy 1y ago
Aggression generally wins the day but pay attention to the size of the bets and their position. Generally, you want to make a lot of small bets to show action (they can fold for a minimal investment) and leverage table position to make other players make hard decisions.
hawk_ 1y ago
In poker, like in trading, the key is knowing when you have an edge and being aggressive but also knowing when you have a losing have and cut your losses. It's the balance that makes a good player/trader.
- NitpickLawyer 1y ago
  > the key is knowing when you have an edge and being aggressive but also knowing when you have a losing have and cut your losses So basically "You've got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, Know when to walk away, know when to run." :)

skulk 1y ago

what do you think about OP's 40% VPIP? It seems to me that in low-stakes online play you'd want to play tighter than that, but I know very little about poker strategy beyond what I've absorbed from seeing people talk about it.

rokkamokka 1y ago
I mean, according to the graph he's losing money, so not that great I guess? :)
- reillychase 1y ago
  Yes this was going to be my reply lol
- jjxw 1y ago
  To be fair, 1k hands is a pretty meaningless sample - I think most pros would say you need at least 50k if not 100k hands for the results to be any reliable signal as to whether or not a player is actually winning or losing in the long run.
splonk 1y ago
It's a fairly meaningless stat without knowing the number of the players at the table. At a quick glance he seems to be playing 6-max, but sometimes 3-handed. In any case 40% is within the reasonable range for 6-max.
- reillychase 1y ago
  This is true, when I played live poker with full ring I got destroyed, you can be much more loose with 6 or less
- vmg12 1y ago
  Assuming they are playing 6 max with full tables 40% vpip is egregious and I do not see how they could have a winning strategy playing like that. (Looking at their results they are not winning).

niwtsol 1y ago

I read doyle's Super System back in the day and used that as the basis for my poker strategy from high school to mid-twenties. In talking to some friends who play competitively, they say SS is just super out dated and you would get eaten alive at any cash game. I'm curious what, in your opinion, is the "standard" playing strategy that is most effective in today's poker rooms? I'm curious if that answer is different online vs in person.

reillychase 1y ago
No idea, obviously you can see I'm a n00b and not a profitable poker player but on the strategy side, and this is very oversimplified, but you should be folding a lot of the time other than when you get AA-22, AK, AQ, AJ, AT, KQ, KJ, QJ, JTs, T9s, 87s you call or 3 bet pre-flop because you have good odds. When you're up against tight players you can make a small bluff on the flop and scare them away most of the time, if they raise you fold though. Position is very important in the game, when you're on the button you have odds in your favor because everyone else has to check or bet before you so you play more loose and aggressive in that position and more tight and passive in early position. There is no one single strategy to memorize and apply, that's why it's great. 5 minutes to learn the game, a lifetime to master.
- pinkmuffinere 1y ago
  > No idea, obviously you can see I'm a n00b and not a profitable poker player but on the strategy side Sorry, why are you answering a question if your first response is “no idea”? Am I missing something? If you have little information, my feeling is that your response is at best just BS? I know that sounds very rude, I’m sorry for that.
  - reillychase 1y ago
    You’re probably right, I am just sharing what I have been studying and from my experience playing but I’m a losing player so it should be taken with that context.
  - retsibsi 1y ago

algo_trader 1y ago

> I played online professionally for the year leading up to the big online shutdown Are today's online tables simply impossible to win? (bots, collusion) Or are players simply too evenly matched and the house rake/fees kills you anyway?

jkercher 1y ago
I don't think so. I don't play nearly as often as I used to, but I still do alright. Though, I usually play tournaments where "game theory optimal" can only get you so far. There is a lot more nuance in a tournament where your style should change as it progresses.
bluecheese452 1y ago
Pretty much. Not impossible but the effort reward ratio simply isn’t there.
dataengineer56 1y ago
It's become a lot more difficult to win online since online poker was banned in the USA. The USA sat at a huge net loss online and every other country profited.
- sans_souse 1y ago
  agree, and this is what I've heard in general of the post shutdown landscape
sans_souse 1y ago
When I left (or, got shut out, so to speak) in 2011 the games were getting a lot tougher, less big fish and more reg on reg with marginal if any edge, where you're essentially just paying the rake (-%rakeback).

rhubarbtree 1y ago

Played a random game the other day and I love it! What’s the best way to learn and get involved? I just want to play socially, happy to lose a little money each time as the cost of fun.

reillychase 1y ago
I like reading BlackRain79 and watching his YouTube videos. Nothing beats experience though. Start playing without money for a long time first to learn the rules of the game. I actually downloaded a Game Boy emulator for iOS and the ROM for GBA World Poker Tour (2005). After playing that for a long time I finally got the basics like muscle memory of knowing what hand beats what and what possible combinations could be out there based on the board cards, stuff like that. Then from there if you live in a legalized state like I do you could start playing the lowest stakes online like .01/.02 NL.
- rhubarbtree 1y ago
  Thanks. BlackRain79 looks good. I’ve not found a decent app for playing online with a good UX yet.