Ok, so here my story. Ive been playing poker for a little less than a year online. Ive seen moderate success at small limits and Ive just been trying to build a bank roll. I take poker pretty seriously and try to imporve everytime i play. So i put 50$ into Full Tilt about a month ago and began playing small .5/.10 cash games and 5$ 6 max/full ring sit n go's. I saw a lot of success the first week, doubling my bank roll to 100$, then after that first week of success, i began a dramatic decline in profit. I tried to stay above my initial depsoit of 50$, but just recently went below to 46.80$. I took a week off after expierencing some pretty tough beats and odd plays on my opponents part that benefitted them when they sucked out on me. Heres an example that happened on my first tournament back. I had Kings on the button with the blinds at 30/60 and was facing a minraise and a call, which i then reraised to 420 and got one caller(the chip leader) the flop came 235 rainbow and my opponent checked, i made it 600 and he went all in, i called. he showed j4 of spades and hit an ace on the turn. I dont really know if playing these low limits attracts horrible players or if im playing bad also. It seems that everytime, and i mean everytime i get my money in good, something just has to go wrong and i lose. Im seriously contemplating just giving up online poker. I know a lot of yall are accomplished in the online world, i was just wondering if yall could give me any helpful advice that would change my mind. Should i move up in limits, even though i may not afford it just to avoid some questionable plays on my opponents part? I really dont know and was just hoping for some advice from some expierenced players.

Thanks

When your opponents make mistakes, you win.

If you can get past short term results you will do a lot better.

Moving up where your opponents play better certainly isn't the answer.

I don't think you understand where your profits come from in poker.

Don't move up.

You're going through what we all went though at one time or another. A lucky streak, followed by an unlucky streak, that has little or no bearing on whether you can actually play poker well or not.

There's nothing you can play on Full Tilt with $50 and be properly bankrolled for, except possibly $1 single table sit-n-go's. If you "take poker seriously" then take bankroll management seriously. You will see much worse money swings that this. Get used to the idea that your goal is to make the correct decision every time you're presented with one, regardless of the outcome. If you make more good decisions than poor decisions, you will win money in the long run.

Decision number one should be to play with a proper bankroll. For $10 buy-in no limit games, your minimum bankroll should be $200. More is better.

Oh, and the rake in the $10NL games on Full Tilt will kill you.

To summarize what these guys have said:

1) you need to accept the existence and impact of variance in poker

2) you need to be properly bankrolled to withstand variance

Go out and beat a small child to death with a metal pipe, then you'll run good.

Is that extreme enough?

FYP & Now it's extreme enough.

Listen to simo, he knows his poker.

Pretty sure this is what you meant to say

yes

lol qft.