Lucky Dog Poker by Russ Scott

This week, an Illinois reader tells about hitting a wall playing low-stakes poker online and asks for some advice to "get over the hump."

Q: I feel that I have hit a wall playing poker. I manage to get in the money in online tournaments on a regular basis, but I can't get to the final table enough. I'm looking for some fine-tuning that'll make for more consistent results. Any suggestions? — Ray H. in the Illinois Quad-Cities.

A: The "wall" you speak of could be more connected to game selection than to your current playing ability, Ray. So let's start there.

Your online stats show that in the 120 days prior to your e-mail, your average tournament buy-in was $3.12 and the average size of the field in events you played was 1,012. In 34 events costing a total of $106, you finished in the money five times (about 15 percent) for $17 in prizes.

Those numbers are, indeed, down from your two-year totals, which show you in the money 79 out of 421 games — a respectable 19 percent with an average loss per game of just 40 cents. That's much better than the typical online player achieves.

The lull in your recent results simply could be due to normal variance. Every player goes through cold and hot streaks, and usually there's no reason to second-guess your playing ability.

Another factor could be your most frequent game of choice — Omaha, both straight high and high-low. With four hole cards and five community cards, the outcome of every hand is more unpredictable than in hold 'em or other games.

But I think the key elements for you are the type of events you play and your buy-in level.

Relatively inexpensive buy-in tournaments with hundreds or even thousands of opponents are a breeding ground for "donks" and people mostly seeking a good time playing online. So are those $3 one-table sit-and-go events you enjoy.

By "donks," I mean players who don't care at all how well they play and typically have to get lucky to win.

I'd guess that at least one-third of the players in the events you've been playing fall into that category. If several of them play inferior hands against your strong one, you're not a favorite to win the pot.

By "good-time" players, I mean those who try to play a solid game but mostly are interested in having fun rather than making lots of money. They like to play lots of hands and are not easy to beat.

This is a tough combination to overcome. In the games you're playing, you can outlast 1,000 opponents, finish in the money 75th and not even double your buy-in as profit. A competent player seeking positive cash results has little chance in this setting.

So, what should you do?

First of all, don't panic. You're a good, solid player with skills in multiple games. Most likely your former results rate will return soon if you do absolutely nothing.

However, I believe you are playing in some of the toughest games on the Internet — low-stakes events where the competition is high in volume and volatility. I recommend you take a few shots at the higher buy-in multi-table events and sit-and-go tournaments.

Yes, you'll be up against better players (and some tricky ones), but you can play that game, too. At least the action should be more predictable and your competent play stands a better chance of being rewarded.

In a follow-up e-mail covering two additional weeks of play, Ray said he followed my suggestions with these results: 15 cashes in 28 single-table tournaments — an assortment of Omaha, hold 'em and mixed-game events — for a total of $240.30 against a buy-in cost of $176.20.

"I have moved up to $6.60 buy-ins with a few at $12 and feel like I am playing better," Ray wrote. "This makes me think I should stay with the single-table tournaments, which are still 'Donkville' but are profitable. Thank you for the review."

Nice turnaround, Ray! You're welcome!

E-mail your poker questions and comments to russ@luckydogpoker.com for use in future columns. To find out more about Russ Scott and read previous LuckyDog Poker columns, visit www.creators.com or www.luckydogpoker.com.

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