why am i so bad?
 

ive been plpaying about a year..mostly nl hold em and some nl hold em tournaments. i am a consistant loser despite understanding the game (i think). i began by playing way too many hands, then got much tighter and found little consistant success. i was very passive, but am now pick my spots and am aggressive when i have the best of it. but even when i am patient and appropriatly aggressive, i find i am still in the red. it just occurred to me that in about half the pots i win, i don't have the best hand...i am not called. does this indicate anything? i need all the help i can get!

Re: why am i so bad?
 

its simple... you just suck.

Re: why am i so bad?
 

you should try getting better

Re: why am i so bad?
 

It's really difficult to answer with the info you provide. I think the best you can do to answer yourself is print your highest profit/loss hands and analize the way you played them. try to imagine what would happen if you played them differently. Get some software like Poker office or poker tracker to help you keep an eye on your game and find weaknesses and strong points. If you really understand the game and spend A LOT OF TIME thinking about it AWAY from the table you should be a consistent winner

Re: why am i so bad?
 

If you play regularly online then it's worth getting hold of PokerTracker or PokerOffice or something along those lines to help evaluate the hands you play and fix up the holes in your play.

It's also worth reading up on theory, especially if you think you understand the game then make sure you understand the value of position, pot odds etc and make sure you're playing at the right limits for your bankroll.

Re: why am i so bad?
 

I think you should start from like the smallest NL cash games and try out different hands and ways to play them against certain opponents. You try to figure out what type of hands your opponent is likely to have and how he is going to play them.
For example in the really smallest games people play all sorts of hands and usually weirdly. Those games are great for figuring out which hands are solid and which are just crap. And should build you some confidence to bet hard, what you typically want to be doing.
Try out different things. Think why they worked or didn't work and in what kinds of situations those plays might work better. Also you should think about your opponents' plays: why were they bad/good and how could you use that to your adventage.

One fun drill to try out is to limp (just call) every hand pre-flop and start the play from the flop. That puts you in very tough marginal decisions on later streets which is a very good way to learn post-flop play.

Re: why am i so bad?
 

The fact that you ask the question and are honest with yourself is a big step in the right direction. Everyone can become a winner but few will do what is required.

Tell us about yourself, how long playing, age, gender and such. Take some time to write down a few hands and tell us about them.

Re: why am i so bad?
 

First, you should have posted this in the beginners forum.

Second, you may be
[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] Playing too loosely, despite what you say.
[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] Failing to adjust to position.
[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] Choosing your bet sizes poorly.
[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] Evaluating hands poorly postflop.
[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] Playing tough opponents.
[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] Playing too little to get accurate results.

Re: why am i so bad?
 

thank you for some of the input.

i think ione of my biggest problems is my ego gets involved. i think "anyone can play tight. but a good player would be able to play some less than premium hands by using position and betting the proper amount". usually this ends with me going bust after my opponents call in situations that are technically incorrect. i think i may be relying too much on the strict mathmatics. i would almost never call with only a draw unless the pot was offering me correct odds. yet time after time, my top pair is getting drawn out against even when i make it incorrect to call.

Re: why am i so bad?
 

[ QUOTE ]
yet time after time, my top pair is getting drawn out against even when i make it incorrect to call.

[/ QUOTE ]

and you complain?

Re: why am i so bad?
 

[ QUOTE ]
thank you for some of the input.

i think ione of my biggest problems is my ego gets involved. i think "anyone can play tight. but a good player would be able to play some less than premium hands by using position and betting the proper amount". usually this ends with me going bust after my opponents call in situations that are technically incorrect. i think i may be relying too much on the strict mathmatics. i would almost never call with only a draw unless the pot was offering me correct odds. yet time after time, my top pair is getting drawn out against even when i make it incorrect to call.

[/ QUOTE ]

Does that include paying off if their draw hits? If it does, then you're making money and good decisions. If you're making the *pot* odds incorrect to call, but the *implied* odds are there then your opponents aren't making a mistake. I'm only saying this because I picked up on you saying the 'put was offering me corect odds'...if that was just a slip of the mind, fine, but if not...that could be one of your problems.

That is, on the turn betting 1/2 the pot, thinking you're pricing out a straight or flush draw, but then on the river you'll call a pot sized bet, your opponent is actually calling 1 to win 8, which makes your opponent's play correct. Now, you can't run away from any hand you don't have the nuts, but if you bet a bit bigger, or don't automatically pay off if the draw hits, you can make it wrong for your opponent to play that way.

Shane

Re: why am i so bad?
 

You've not said how big the game is or where your playing.

If your game is loaded with donks calling against pot odds it can be a very difficult situation. First, if you've got one or two of these in the pot with you, they are calling on the flop no mater what you bet (usually) with open enders, naked aces, overs and flush draws. I take a little more risk here for less variance. I'll check the flop more often and make my "get out of my pot bet" on the turn. I'll still often bet the flop when I hit or think I'm ahead against this kind of player but I'll bet less and save the pot size bet for the turn. Even a total idiot often won't call the big bet with 1 card to come on a pure draw. With 2 to come they'll often call anything. I'm mostly about lowering my variance in these situations and trying to take many small bites of flesh when I'm ahead while not risking a huge percentage of my stack against this type of player without a very big hand (2 pair/set or better), Break them, don't let them break you when they get lucky.

Re: why am i so bad?
 

shane,

if there was no preflop raise, and the flop is checked to me in position, i'll usually bet the pot with top pair against a draw on the flop. even with a weak kicker.

Re: why am i so bad?
 

Ocho, couple of quick questions:

1) What limits are you playing and are they MTTs, or SNGs?
2) What books have you read?
3) What books have you read more than once?
4) Are you part of any sites like Stoxtrader or Cardrunners?
5) How many tournies have you played?

and

6) have you gone to the NLHE forum for the limits you play, and read the FAQ there?


Answer those and it will be easier to kinda figure out where you're at.

Re: why am i so bad?
 

try whipping it out

Re: why am i so bad?
 

[ QUOTE ]
try whipping it out

[/ QUOTE ]

Try shutting the [censored] up. Pokerclaudio and Emmadilemma can shut their pieholes too. WTF are your problems?

This thread could have gone somewhere better but OP has a legit, honest post and wants to improve. Certainly better than all of these BS intro posts we see here all the time, feel free to flame those guys instead.

Re: why am i so bad?
 

Maybe try a limit game as this forces you to understand the technical side of the game and the bad beats don't cost you as much.

Re: why am i so bad?
 

i guess you should stop reading book, and jus play more !

experiences is the key, you concentrate too much on the technical side of the game, and you should learn the art of the game, you are playing the players ! the math and theory is important, but the hardest is to find the most profitable play at a certain situation with imcompleted infomations

Re: why am i so bad?
 

Learn pot control.

My game improved a lot when I realized I do not have to try for big pots with top pair or overpair. Mid-small pots are good enough. Not to say that you should not be agressive, but do not build monster pots with your top pair/top kicker.

Re: why am i so bad?
 

me

3 years losing money. not taking it seriously or playing lots
1 year break even. read lots, studied lots.
winning ever since, still read and study, work on my game outside of actually playing everyday

keep at it. play more. think more.

Re: why am i so bad?
 

I think you should improve your game

Re: why am i so bad?
 

"it just occurred to me that in about half the pots i win, i don't have the best hand...i am not called. does this indicate anything?"

It might. If you're playing "by the book" Tight your opponents probably have a good read on you and have a pretty good idea when they're beat-or when they beat you. Mix up your bet levels, especially PF and at different positions. Don't pop 4x bets in EP w/AA/AQ/KK/etc. every time. Range them out between 2X and 5X. There's nothing wrong with min-betting AA sometimes because what you lose in equity you more than gain in opponent confusion. They're much less likely to accurately put you on a certain hand or range and that's good all-around equity right there!

Also, re-examine the plays where you didn't have the best hand yet you won without a showdown. See what you did in those hands and how Villains reacted to it. It might provide some answers.

Re: why am i so bad?
 

OP, try getting someone like a poker coach to evaluate your game. Better if it is not a buddy but someone you don't know. Worked for me.

Just the fact that you recognise that you need some work(we all do BTW) means that you don't suck. Someone who really sucked woulodn't even know or admit it.

GL

Re: why am i so bad?
 

Wrong forum. Move to the Beginner's Forum or BBV.

Other than that, I'd read the Psychology of Poker and do the self-tests to evaluate why and how you play. I suspect that your approach to the game isn't what you think it is.