I can't beat 25nl, HELP!

[Hiiiiiiii]

I'm running at -6.75 bb/100 over 6,000 hands. I know this isn't many hands but I know I'm doing things very wrong.

My stats are 26/18 and I thought this was ideal according to Aba. But I'm just not seeing the results.

Is there something I am missing? Or is this just a bad downswing. It's very frustrating because if I can't beat NL 25, what can I beat?

[jamez_kerry]

Check your positional stats. Ideally you should be playing the least amount of hands from UTG and the most from the Button. If all these % are about even then you're playing too many hands out of position. NL25 is all about playing ABC poker - maybe you're trying to over complicate it with fancy plays?

[Hiiiiiiii]

I just took a deeper look into my db. My positional stats are ok. However, my biggest losers are KK and QQ. Most of the time I play these hands I either win a small pot uncontested or someone has AA and we get it all in pre.

How do I avoid this?

[reno expat]

you didn't give much information, but the two potential leaks i see are as follows: 1) you are raising too big with your KK and QQ to the point where no one will give you action with anything except for AA. You don't want to be in situations where the only hand that can call your rather large bet crushes you. 2) you may be getting too attached to hands. check your went to showdown %. See if you aren't taking the hands that you play too far.

[Gustav]

Much more likely he is seeing monsters and folding/slowing down too much.

[reno expat]

If this is the case, this could also be diagnosed with either a really low showdown percentage for folding too much or a low aggression rating for seeing monsters and failing to push edges by checking down winners.

[jmgambler]

[ QUOTE ]
I just took a deeper look into my db. My positional stats are ok. However, my biggest losers are KK and QQ. Most of the time I play these hands I either win a small pot uncontested or someone has AA and we get it all in pre.

How do I avoid this?

[/ QUOTE ]

Then either the hand sample is not enough or your on a swing.
Because KK/QQ over time, even if you played them badly, short of folding PF with them statiscally they just will not stay in the red....... ask ANYONE here to look at the stats from their PT.

AA/KK/QQ are the biggest money earners.....(In fact every PP for me is in the Green) I have 15,000+ hands at Doyles, FTP, UB each and they all say the same.

AA vs KK doesn't happen often enough to worry about ... You sure your not getting clever with them?

[RMLewis]

There isn't much room for creativity at the micro-stakes. Generally speaking you'll encounter tthree types of players.

1) Fish - pay any price to chase their flush but know when their hand down
2) Rocks - Read a poker book and plays textbook hands, but passively
3) Donks - hyper aggressive and seemingly irrational players

In addition to checking your PT stats and adjusting them accordingly to more TAG abc poker style, TABLE SELECTION plays an important role.
Occasionally you'll sit down at the table with another TAG (possibly a fellow 2p2er) but for the most part, the players across from you will fall into those three catagories.

When it comes to selecting your table, PLAY with the fish. You can charge them heavily to chase and they will mostly just call you down and fold the river if they don't hit. You want to AVOID the rocks, because they don't showdown light, and you will rarely get paid off on your hands. Finally, The Donks... When it comes to the donks, you have to be willing to be patient. I know it's tempting loosen up when a maniac is at the table, but don't; that's what he wants you to do.

The moral of the story is: select your tables so that you can maximize your potential value AND play Tight and Aggressive. You can't go wrong.

[Hiiiiiiii]

Thanks for all the great advice.

[creamfillin]

Are you trying to play like aba? that could be the problem lol. Anyway when I'm looking for problems in my game the first place I look is definitely NOT stats.

Review hands histories
Review hands histories
Review hands histories
Review hands histories
Review hands histories

See where you think you're spewing, overvaluing hands, missings out on value etc. etc. etc.

How is your hand reading? What type of players are you losing the most to? Maybe calling down too lightly from laggish opponents? trying to push people off hands? Calling too many raises with trash OOP? You'll have to do some serious homework to find out your leaks.