Any Words of Wisdom?

[Dagaco]

I'm close to not playing anymore and taking up bingo. So many people on this site state winning at micro levels is easy etc. I cannot conceive how many times I have put my chips in ahead and lost to some speculative gambler. How can it be +EV if 5 times out 8 when ahead on the flop you lose on the river. What is the use if my money keeps disappearing to some guy who should be sports betting on knackered horses not playing poker. I am tired and grumpy from a litany of bad beats and runner, runners whatever you want to name them and I know what some of you are going to say. And you will probably tell me its my game and I have leaks. I dont even know what Im after but I'll post anyway because alot of comments are well-meant. Nothing about ego, over estimating my abilities because that couldnt be further from the mark. If this thread is answered I realise it will be harsh and unrelenting but that's okay.

Happy trails

[ItalianFX]

Take some time off. Take like 3 months off. I ran really bad for awhile and took all of last summer off.

Look at my thread to help you feel better:

http://forumserver.twoplustwo.com/showfl...rue#Post9701883

Edit: Literally, after posting that I played some more 1+.20 18man tourneys and went something like 1, 1, 2, 4, 1, 2, 5, 17, 4 ... something to that affect.

Read Theory of Poker - I will say this book helped my game 110%. I need to actually finish reading it and then reread it.

Study the forum that you play in. If you play tourneys, check out STT or MTT depending on what you do.

Read 2+2 as much as you can.

Play tight.

Play thousands of hands. I actually hate the idea of the "long-run," but it really is the hallmark of poker. You will pick up things and start to see trends.

Don't give up.

Good luck - Poker is about luck sometimes too.

Post hands on your respective forum.

[CanSpoilU]

This is the way I look at it. You WANT people to try to suck out on you. This is the only way to be a winning player. To bet big when you know you have the lead.

If you don't want people to suck out on you... then the opposite must happen. You would be trying to suck out on your opponent. If you are sucking out on your opponents... you are making bad decisions by calling when you are behind.


And yes... it also helps to take time off. Maybe not three months. A week off wouldn't hurt though if you are losing bad.

[Mike Gallo]

Hi Dagaco,

Sometimes you will lose, that's why people call poker gambling.

Order read and learn to embrace Mason Malmuth's book Gambling Theory and Other Topics. This book will give you an insight into gambling, not just poker.

In the meantime,weather the storm. Show resiliency. Solid play will win against bad play in the long run.

[CanSpoilU]

And don't forget that suckouts happen to all winning players. Look at this hand. I knew this guy didn't have a 2 or a 3 so I figured this was easy money. Wrong... he hit a two outer. I was probably 90+ % ahead to win the hand and lost.

Yeah I was pissed and was talking to myself about two outers for a few hours after this hand. But I just kept saying to myself in the end that I still made the WINNING play.


Absolute Poker
No Limit Holdem Ring game
Blinds: $0.25/$0.50
9 players
Converter

Stack sizes:
UTG: $49.60
UTG+1: $99.25
MP1: $83.15
MP2: $33.05
MP3: $32.15
CO: $31.55
CanSpoilU: $45.60
SB: $104.55
BB: $10.90

Pre-flop: (9 players) CanSpoilU is Button with A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]
2 folds, <font color="#cc0000">MP1 raises to $1</font>, MP2 calls, 2 folds, <font color="#cc0000">CanSpoilU raises to $4.5</font>, SB calls, BB folds, MP1 calls, MP2 calls.

Flop: 2[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] 3[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] 2[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] ($18.5, 4 players)
SB checks, MP1 checks, MP2 checks, <font color="#cc0000">CanSpoilU bets $15</font>, SB calls, 2 folds.

Turn: 2[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] ($48.5, 2 players)
<font color="#cc0000">SB bets $29.5</font>, <font color="#cc0000">CanSpoilU calls all-in $26.1</font>.
Uncalled bets: $3.4 returned to SB.

River: K[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] ($100.7, 1 player + 1 all-in - Main pot: $100.7)


Results:
Final pot: $100.7
<font color="#ffffff">CanSpoilU Shows As Ac</font>
<font color="#ffffff">SB Shows Ks Kd</font>

[ItalianFX]

[ QUOTE ]

And yes... it also helps to take time off. Maybe not three months. A week off wouldn't hurt though if you are losing bad.

[/ QUOTE ]

I guess it depends on the quality of that break.

If he takes a week off to read Theory of Poker, that is fine. I took 3 months off because I was working on getting a job, plus, wanted to save my money and try my hand at something else. But in the meantime of that, I stuck around 2+2 and read a lot.

Sometimes you can feel like you're spinning out of control, and then when you take a step back, you realize that poker is like a huge myth and one day it clicks.

[Dagaco]

You are all right and thanks for your comments. It amazing how much perspective I lost in the wee small hours after a couple of bad suckouts just because I was tired.

I can live with the knowledge that the suckouts I am experiencing are happening although I am making the winning play and I will continue to get my money in the middle with the best of it despite the results.

I have read Theory of Poker - excellent book. I will re-read it after I have read Small Stakes Hold em and just keep learning.

As always comments on this forum remind of the bigger picture that is poker. Many thanks.

[Colmate]

Not that i have a lot of experience that counts but here's my opinion. Having read Harringtons 3 books and slowly coming to terms with putting them into practice, it is so true that the meatheads of this world are your bank for future games. In this last week I have been in the same position as you having seen my pot chopped by 20% either by meatheads, or by a bad beat here and there. If i go all in with AK, the bigstack called with his 55 and tripped them. If i did the same with 88, the guy with J7 off suit calls it and hits the J. Yes of course this happens all the time but it sends you towards bingo when it lasts all week. A couple of days ago, the tables turned and the coin flips went my way. If you havent read HOH I would suggest it is worth a look. My game has changed completely since reading them.
Good luck and hang on in there, it will change

[AP0CALYP5E]

You're much better off exploiting other players, than trying to figure out if your KK is any good in a multi way pot.

[CanSpoilU]

If it makes you feel any better... you had to see the two suckouts I had happen to me today. I'll try to post the HHs tomorrow.

It was way worse than the hand I posted above because they both legitamitely had jack [censored]... yet they managed to make a winning hand out of both by hitting runner-runner on the turn and river.


So yes suckouts do happen. I did manage to end my session up 1.5 buyins thanks to one guy trying to suck out on me in a HUGE pot and he failed. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]