Learn Texas Holdem

Question:

Great site!

I have played texas holdem for an year and have given the game alot of thought. In addition I have read 4 books and done alot of research on the net. I play cash games at the casino at a ´2/2 No Limit table where min buy-in is 50-200. Now I have played about 15 times in all and to my surprise I am ahead of the game.

Here are my results:

• +6
• +120
• -100
• +84
• +92
• +142
• +293
• +158
• -34
• -70
• -120
• +25

Now what I really wanna know is if I have the edge at poker in other words am I a winning long term player or was this just luck. What is the cheapest way to find this out or is there an other way? I think that playing on average better starting hands, keeping bluffs at a minimum and considering pot odds should get the money, also adjusting playing style according to the amount of money I have infront of me. It looks boring since there is no action, but it seems to work. Most people lose back all their winnings and more(I can afford to lose back what I won but I cannot afford to lose further money) I know this information is probably not sufficient to make a feasable judgement on my poker skills, but what I would like to know is how can I find out if i have the long term edge at these holdem tables or not???

Answer:

 

Hi Alex

Firstly I'd like to say that you seem to have grasped the fundamentals of a winning Hold'em strategy. You play good starting hands, consider pot odds and keep bluffs to a minimum, and usually that's enough to beat low-limit games. Your profit often comes from other players' bad decisions rather than you outplaying your opponents.

Now to your question: Are you a winning player? I don't know. It is impossible to say if you are a winning player after only 15 sessions, and it would be impossible to say after 150 or even 1500. As a poker player you want to be a winner in the long run - and the long run can be far away to say the least. And to be honest, you have long journey ahead before you reach the long run.

The thing that bothers me, however, is the sentence: "I can afford to lose back what I won but I cannot afford to lose further money". If that is the case, I can definitely say that you are playing with the wrong stakes. No-Limit Hold'em is a game with great swings and even the best players in the world suffer big losses from time to time. If you can't afford to lose you should play lower limits.