running cold vs. running bad

[bacats32]

Is there a difference. Ex. running cold is just not getting any cards decent to work with and running bad is getting hands and getting them cracked ex. KK and end up catching set only to have the A fall and guy has AA. Is my analogy right? If so which one would you rather be and which one is more frustrating.

[AaronBrown]

I agree with you, although not everyone is so precise in their terminology.

Running cold costs you nothing if you're a good player. Sure, you have to fold a lot of hands and lose blinds, but you make up for that with some steals and misdirection. If you fold 20 hands in a row, then play one, everyone assumes you have a top pair. That lets you steal, and if you do get called, you can make a lot of money when your low cards pair. Or, if you do happen to catch one good hand, you can play it as if you're doing it because you're bored.

You shouldn't be bored when running cold, because it's a great opportunity to learn about everyone else at the table. You use your brain in poker to analyze people, not cards or chips. That's just as engrossing when you're in the hand as when you're not.

Running bad costs you money, even if you're the best player in the world, even if you're a mind reader. You could be drawing dead with what seem to be great cards, you could lose a big pot when someone hits runner-runner or one of her two outs on the river. This is far more painful, especially when the other player has played badly and won anyway. You tell yourself that you're just lending her the money, it will come back soon with interest, and that luck evens out. But it still hurts.

They are different sure, but often one leads to the other if you are not careful. A lot of players who start running cold will end up running bad, beauce they will lose their patience and start playing too many martinal hands. I'm sure everyones heard the classic 'thats the best hand i've seen in an hour', so he has to play it. Once you start playing marginal hands because you are cold, you will often end up setting yourself to run bad.

Howie
http://www.pokerbonushelp.com

[sh58]

i disagree with aaron about running cold not affecting you.
you can only do this type of thing against the right opponent. alot of the people i'm playing at the moment are uberdonk calling stations. against these, you need the goods because they will look you up even if you haven't played a hand in the last 30.

i agree tho that if you play well, it shouldn't be that bad whoever you are. if you are running cold vs calling stations then you will just have to fold hands until you hit one. it is minimising losses really.

[AaronBrown]

I stand corrected, sh58. I agree that some circle of poker hell undoubtedly features a game with rich idiots who call everything, and you can't get a hand better than 84o. My comment was based on at least a pretty good table of players.

However, as you say, even then you do no worse than lose your blinds. Whereas one bad beat hand can take your whole stack.

[iveyleague24]

[ QUOTE ]
They are different sure, but often one leads to the other if you are not careful. A lot of players who start running cold will end up running bad, beauce they will lose their patience and start playing too many martinal hands. I'm sure everyones heard the classic 'thats the best hand i've seen in an hour', so he has to play it. Once you start playing marginal hands because you are cold, you will often end up setting yourself to run bad.


[/ QUOTE ]

Running bad has nothing to do with your actual play/decision making. Running bad is simply a case of spiked variance lowering your EV over an extended period of time.

[RobNottsUk]

I'm not sure there's not a shadowy world in between the bad and cold.

What happens when, you have reasonable hands pre-flop, which then become marginal hands on the flop?

When you have been showing down winners, and have a winning rep, you tend to take these pots.

But when you have been suffering from "flop lag", had to make some great lay downs, that dude who's been busy tends to throw in a raise, and now you have a very difficult decision. Get it wrong and your session may book a considerable loss.

You look like a loser and opponents become much more confident and tricky against you.

[Frond]

Some of my worst losses have come from getting good starting cards and not connecting at all with flops. These sessions can tend to get expensive. The ones where I am just card dead are not generally that big of losses. Finally get a HE session where I am getting smacked with oairs big cards etc. and no flop love. I think it was one of my worst losses to date.