Snap calling!

Asheh · #1 09-19-2007, 04:02 AM

Gmornin all, just wanted to write somthing about snap calling as im sure its common among us all.

The hardest thing I find at the moment which seriously reduces my winrate is my ability to make very rash decisions, Ill play a hand so fast that subconsciously ill know what they have, and when they make that big raise.... snap, ill call, they will flip over (most of the time) the hand I was expecting. I will lose a buyin and have to rebuild.

If i look over most of my sessions which have been really swingy recently, ill see hands I know I couldve folded. Stupid decisions by fast mouse clicking which could be tilt calls, although my tilt is nowhere near as bad as it used to. My sessions have consisted of 4buyins down through tilt, then making it back and being up 1bi. Now imagine if i could take away those tilt/snap calls, profit++++++++

A very good example of this is calling down with a flush draw, some guy giving you just under 2/1 to call on the river and you know deep down, he has the flush. You call anyway on the offchance hes bluffing, your wrong as usual.

So i wanted to start a thread on ways to stop this, I still havent found out a way yet, i still do it, but I know if i stop i will profit so much more than I am. Its easy to say, "think about your hands more", but its tough, i believe this is one thing that defines us MSNLers to the higher limits. Trusting your instincts.

Ash.

vixticator · #2 09-19-2007, 04:26 AM

Yeah, this is more spite/tilt calling. Biggest leak by far. Nothing is a close second. Generally only happens after bad beat or failed bluff that "should" have worked. I always start making unbelievably bad calls. Just put them on whatever draw and try to pick off the bluff. When you know it's wrong. I hate this.

kroeliewoelie · #3 09-19-2007, 04:29 AM

Put a post-it on your screen with something like "WAIT" on it. Have been thinking about doing it myself.

Have you identified other factors that contribute to the frequency of bad calls? For me being tired is definitely the biggest factor. Since I have decided this weekend to stop/don't start playing while tired, I've had less swings, but of course a few days of not that much play is a bit early to be conclusive.

whyzze · #4 09-19-2007, 04:31 AM

I have been thinking about this recently. I was toying with making a spreadsheet and tallying up how much I lose to these 'bad' calls I am making. I mean this is all after I can justify the call was horrible.

I think when I see how much I am down because I expect it to be a lot it may motivate me to make better decisions.

Asheh · #5 09-19-2007, 04:33 AM

Definatly tiredness never helps. I also noticed another thing, NOT having enough time to play, (ie my girlfriend was coming round and I have a target of how much I wanted to make, the *gamble* calls I made in that time were crazy). Because I couldnt play when she was round, so I wanted to make as much when she wasnt, so I juts tilted.

SO a good rule is only play when you have plenty of time to!

CrustyFace · #6 09-19-2007, 04:43 AM

This is a very good thread.

I find that i am very wary of my bankroll at times. As soon as i become aware that my roll is coming down i start looking for profit, rather than letting it come.

clowntable · #7 09-19-2007, 04:43 AM

I can absolutely second this. I felt that I played really bad the last couple of days and it was almost all due to not stoping and thinking clearly.
This tilts me way more than a beat. I don't think beats tilt me, maybe they do a little bit. But if I know I made a stupid mistake that I shouldn't have made....this can really tilt me. And it's a sneaky tilt, too. Not pure monkey tilt but just thinking even less the next couple of hands...

What I have done as a cure for now is just reduce the number of tables for a couple of orbits to reduce the speed of subsequent decision making once a situation like this comes up.

Asheh · #8 09-19-2007, 04:54 AM

[ QUOTE ]

What I have done as a cure for now is just reduce the number of tables for a couple of orbits to reduce the speed of subsequent decision making once a situation like this comes up.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is some good advice actually, sitting out on the table after youve made a bad call, make better decisions on the remaining tables until you feel your back upto your best form again and sit back in. Might also give you some table image if they think your tilting.

vixticator · #9 09-19-2007, 04:56 AM

I stop playing slightly after get the feeling of tilt, sometimes a bit too late. Usually just 20 mins is enough to clear my head. Yeah, oddly I often tilt on just one table while multitabling. Makes no [censored] sense.

Harry Fong · #10 09-19-2007, 05:12 AM

On top of tiredness, time management and monetary concerns I also find that I make bad calls during boring sessions where my mind wonders and I am not paying due attention. If I have any trouble focusing on playing my best game then I cut down the amount of tables I play and sometimes not bother playing at all.