Making 1st Online Deposit...pokerstars Or Fulltilt?

[shynepo3 0]

Ok, so I'm taking the plunge online...I'm trying to decide whether to deposit on PokerStars or Fulltilt. Both have the $600 bonus, but I think Pokerstars lets you deposit in 3 seperate times within 90 days, but with Fulltilt, you have to make one big deposit of $600. Also, I understand Fulltilt's rake and how you get your deposit back, but I dont get how Pokerstars VPP works...Should I also sign up with a rakeback site? I have no clue about that. I dont plan to multi table at first, and I will be playing $25NL or lower. I will be using holdem manger, but I'm trying to find a good tutorial, but I can't seem to....Can anyone give me an feedback for all my questions above..? Thanks...y'all been a great help since I started playing again regularly in January 2010...

[Naked_Cowboy 0]

http://www.raketherake.com/?refer=RTR34188Use that to get rakeback at full tilt. Rakeback is absolutely imperative if you're going to be playing that low. The site has very easy to follow setup instructions, so go there before you download fulltilt to make sure you get signed up properly.I believe full tilt will credit your first series of deposits to your initial sign up bonus as well. If it doesn't happen automatically, you can email them and they will adjust it.Rakeback at full tilt is going to be more useful to you than the VIP program at pokerstars for a cash game player starting out until you start playing major volume. If you were a tournament player, i'd say probably go with pokerstars. PM me if you have any questions or post them here.

[shynepo3 0]

http://www.raketherake.com/?refer=RTR34188Use that to get rakeback at full tilt. Rakeback is absolutely imperative if you're going to be playing that low. The site has very easy to follow setup instructions, so go there before you download fulltilt to make sure you get signed up properly.I believe full tilt will credit your first series of deposits to your initial sign up bonus as well. If it doesn't happen automatically, you can email them and they will adjust it.Rakeback at full tilt is going to be more useful to you than the VIP program at pokerstars for a cash game player starting out until you start playing major volume. If you were a tournament player, i'd say probably go with pokerstars. PM me if you have any questions or post them here.

Cool..thanks a lot. I was leaning towards full tilt, but that porsche looks nice on pokerstars...lol.Any tips for holdem manager?

[Naked_Cowboy 0]

you'll only need the lowstakes version of HEM, which should save you some cash.tips depend on what you want to use it for. Are you looking to play with a heads up display or just have a tool to review your stats and big hands later?the first time i installed HEM it took me something like 20 hours to get working correctly, most of which was my fault. there are a lot of quirks with installing it, but having a completely updated operating system (hopefully windows 7) and following the instructions super closely will help. there isn't as much of a front end guide, but the troubleshooting section of their website is great.

[Novak297 0]

ive been playing full tilt for a few months and havent had a problem with it.. im gonna be starting up a pokerstars account as well to switch back and fourth.

[shynepo3 0]

you'll only need the lowstakes version of HEM, which should save you some cash.tips depend on what you want to use it for. Are you looking to play with a heads up display or just have a tool to review your stats and big hands later?the first time i installed HEM it took me something like 20 hours to get working correctly, most of which was my fault. there are a lot of quirks with installing it, but having a completely updated operating system (hopefully windows 7) and following the instructions super closely will help. there isn't as much of a front end guide, but the troubleshooting section of their website is great.

i got it working...can you tell me what stats of other players i'm playing with will help me? what should i be looknig for? also, these are my stats currently:Hands397$-$10.45 (this is playing a mostly .01/.02 and 02/05 cent, 6 max)bb/100-49.47VPIP%40.3 (is this too high?)PFR%31.2PFR/VPIP Ratio77.53Bet%17.2vs 3Bet Call%57.14Bet Range6.7Sqz%7.1Agg2.19I'm really trying hard to use this tool, but i dont really know what to be looking for when i see other ppl's stats, other than vpip (which indicates loose and tight right?)....any help is appreciated, plus links to good tutorials..thanks regardless..

[QED 4]

If you search on youtube there are some HEM tutorials there.

[trystero 0]

your sample's too small but that VPIP is way too high.there are two steps when analyzing poker statistics (or any statistic obv). one is to identify what the statistic literally means. to do that you should check out HEM's glossary. http://faq.holdemmanager.com/questions/388/Stats+Definition+for+Report+TABthe second is to interpret the statistics. HEM attempts to do this for you a bit, by telling you what the average scores are, and pointing out your shortcomings (like "VERY HIGH PFR"), but you won't be able to do this on your own for the most part. you'll need to post numbers and sample sizes and let more experienced users tell you what's up. it's very important that you understand the significance of sample size. in baseball, you wouldn't judge a batter's 's ability after 20 or 100 at-bats, would you? in poker you need an even larger sample simply because, in the majority of hands, the player under scrutiny is not involved.

[shynepo3 0]

your sample's too small but that VPIP is way too high.there are two steps when analyzing poker statistics (or any statistic obv). one is to identify what the statistic literally means. to do that you should check out HEM's glossary. http://faq.holdemmanager.com/questions/388/Stats+Definition+for+Report+TABthe second is to interpret the statistics. HEM attempts to do this for you a bit, by telling you what the average scores are, and pointing out your shortcomings (like "VERY HIGH PFR"), but you won't be able to do this on your own for the most part. you'll need to post numbers and sample sizes and let more experienced users tell you what's up. it's very important that you understand the significance of sample size. in baseball, you wouldn't judge a batter's 's ability after 20 or 100 at-bats, would you? in poker you need an even larger sample simply because, in the majority of hands, the player under scrutiny is not involved.

so what would be a good sample size? 1k? 5k?i am soooo bored playing 1 cent 2 cent, even 2-5 cent. i tried multi tabling at these limits, but then i felt i wasn't playing optimally, so i'll just stick to 1 table. i think i will just start playing 25nl like i originally planned (1 table). for some reason, i've ran into quite a few over shove bluffs with gut shots/flush draws (about 3 that i actually caught, and more that i probably didnt catch)....weird...

[Suited_Up 2]

so what would be a good sample size? 1k? 5k?i am soooo bored playing 1 cent 2 cent, even 2-5 cent. i tried multi tabling at these limits, but then i felt i wasn't playing optimally, so i'll just stick to 1 table. i think i will just start playing 25nl like i originally planned (1 table). for some reason, i've ran into quite a few over shove bluffs with gut shots/flush draws (about 3 that i actually caught, and more that i probably didnt catch)....weird...

As much as possible. Real sample sizes are in the 10's of thousands probably. A couple thousand would be better than 400 though, but either way, 40 is way too high, even for that sample. Closer to 20 is better.

[trystero 0]

The amount you need depends on each stat, like VPIP/PFR should reflect your actual tendencies somewhat quickly, whereas a fold to 3-bet % will require way more hands - because being 3-bet is an event over which you have no control, you just have to sit back and let the hands pile up to see how you react to them. like I have guys showing up on my HUD after 100, 150 hands who have a "not applicable" dash for their fold to 3-bet %, or their statistic is 100%...because they've been 3-bet once. After you accumulate about 10k hands, one of the most important things to check out is your level of positional awareness. If you aren't positionally aware (ie playing more hands in position, and more aggressively) then you've got a tremendous leak. Like my "overall" vpip/pfr is 19/16, but UTG I am 14/14 and OTB I am 38/38 (when folded to me) and 28/20 (with limpers).If you're bored you should play the stakes you had intended to. But if you're actually going to play 40/30 then I think you're gonna be in some trouble.

[shynepo3 0]

thanks everyone...and i'm really not sure how to play 6 max yet...i've loosened my game up a bit too much...i'll tighten up...i'm use to full ring live, where i'm normally tight agg, or maybe semi tight agg....i'm gonna play a 25nl session tonight when the kiddies & wife are asleep...we'll see how that session goes..lol..it's taking forever to get the 600 bonus back....i think i've earned like 2.00 or something..i also got rakeback too with raketherake.com - as per naked cowboy said above.....

[Naked_Cowboy 0]

http://www.gamblingsystem.biz/books/2p2NL6max.pdfThis is a pretty great primer on 6max if that's what you are insistent on playing. Are you trying to play with a HUD or looking up your opponents in HEM as you play?As for sample size, I won't consider even taking a shot at a limit above where i am until i've got a positive winrate over 20,000 hands at my current limit. The rake is essentially unbeatable below $25 NL though, so you're probably wasting your time so low.

[shynepo3 0]

http://www.gamblingsystem.biz/books/2p2NL6max.pdfThis is a pretty great primer on 6max if that's what you are insistent on playing. Are you trying to play with a HUD or looking up your opponents in HEM as you play?As for sample size, I won't consider even taking a shot at a limit above where i am until i've got a positive winrate over 20,000 hands at my current limit. The rake is essentially unbeatable below $25 NL though, so you're probably wasting your time so low.

I'm using the HUD...i'm just getting familiar with it...not even at the point of analyzing my hands....thanks for the link, i'll check it out.Last night, i decided to start of playing $25NL, and for some reason, I was trying so hard to keep my VPIP under 20 through out the session....after the first two hours, i kind of snapped and lost 2 buyins. So, instead of quitting for the night, I decided to try $50NL. I was going to try $2, $5, $10, $25, $50 and $100NL. Insted of paying attention to my VPIP, i decided to watch other ppl stats and play my normal game. I hovered around even for about 1hr or so, then went on rush where i floated quite a few pots and bluffed the turn. So I was able to turn the $50 losing session earlier into a $100 profit one. I even 2-tabled $50NL, and it was comfortable. I played about 200 hands of $50NL, and 200 hands of $25NL yesterday. I'm going to continue at $50NL for now, and if end up losing, I'll drop down until I find a spot where I can win. I really dont want to play less than $10NL, cause i feel like i dont get excited enough. $50NL, the pots are big enough, and I enjoy 6 max compared to full ring. My VPIP for the $50NL session actually was 29, which I think is not too tight or loose..wouldn't u say?