[ACynicalOptimist]

whatever happened to tomorrow? [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

anyway, I've been dealing with it better as of late, I think. My conclusion is that a big factor which I often don't take into enough consideration is the "mood" of the table and players. Based on who's been winning or losing, who just took a bad beat or who just sucked out, and if and how many bad beats have been occuring, etc., I try to get a sense of whether or not my opponent in a particular hand is more inclined to be playing ABC poker or running a semi-bluff on me. Between the mood and my own current table image, I'm able to more effectively come to a decision about calling/raising/folding in these tough spots. I still think there is this really difficult point when the pot approaches a size at which a 6-out semi-bluff raise by an opponent should sometimes be countered with a reraise, because otherwise you're letting the semi-bluff succeed (your opponent will know to value bet/bluff any time another paint card hits the river, and in medium-sized pots you're giving up way too much by folding all the time and also paying off a lot the times you're behind.)

meh I guess I didn't really solve my issue but just cop out with the standard "it depends, and requires judgment" answer