Analysis of your Biggest Losses

[FairyTales]

I was playing yesterday and had a pretty bad session overall, small and big losses like it is almost always the case for me, and thought ok i suck, i'm the biggest donkey ever (Which might be true)

I always analyze my session to see where i've made the worst mistakes, calculate my equity etc...to improve my game as every person willing to learn should.

But today i came with an exercise i've never made before and that i have found REALLY insightful.

I opened PT and looked for the hand where i've lost the most since i've started playing, i took a piece a paper and started to write down by line, the amount i loss, and then the hand i had by the river and on what kind of board it was (example, possible straight draw, flushes possibility, how much overcards, if the board was paired), in a word the board texture and to what kind of hand i lost for example:

-1.4$ TP on flush + straight board ( TPGK vs flush).

I made that for every hand where i've lost more than 20BB.

Once i was finished i made the total of those big losses (a sort of really really simplified reverse sklansky bucks (hands where you could have saved some BB) [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] ) and made 5 lines underneath to show me on what kind of board i've lost the most.

Lines where:

vs Straight board x times
vs Flush Board x times
vs Paired Board x times
vs Overcards x times
vs Combo board x times ( board that meet several draw possibilities AKA "really scary boards")

By analyzing those hands from the beginning in one session and by putting those on paper, i've come to a lot of interresting conclusions on my play

1. I dont pay enough attention to the board texture and tend to get involved with hands that won't support the heat on draw heavy board

2. I don't give enough credits to villain (especially the ones with horrible stats)

3. I tend to go broke or pay a big chunk of my stack with holdings way to weak compared to the dangerosity of the board (see 1 and 2) also see the theory of big pots need big hands.

I know that i'm a losing player ,even if it's getting better lately, i don't think that i'm that stupid, i analyze my game, read books and 2+2, take time to think about the game and to learn new concepts, it's just that i have those kind of enormous leaks that needs to be fixed NOW and that all the theory i've learned haven't clicked in my head.

By making this I know that i'm leaking money but most importantly now i know WHY, and really recommend you to do the same.


Any thought on this is welcome, and if you want to team up or adopt a donkey feel free to PM me [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[shoefactory]

Seems like you're just calling off your chips too much. Fold more but be aggressive on those flops so you don't give free cards.

[ev_slave]

I'm in a similar position - I'm breakeven/losing slightly (for the past month I'm behind, overall I'm slightly behind) and trying to plug the leaks with the goal of being AT LEAST 2PTBB/100 over my next 10k hands (I've played a little less than 15k so far). I've been analyzing my leaks and here are my biggest lessons I've learned:

1) Calling is a much bigger mistake than betting or raising.
2) If it's a "tough" or marginal spot, by definition the EV of a call or a fold (or bet/check) are very close... so err on the side that loses the least amount of money until you get better at figuring the situation out.
3) Most books/posts concentrate on PF aggression and Flop aggression. I had been concentrating very hard on these areas, but then turning very passive on turn and river and losing too much there (by calling too much when opponent is ahead, and checking too much when I was ahead).
4) Tie in to #3: It's better to bet or raise the turn to figure out where you're at in the hand, than it is to call and then face a river bet that you don't know what it means. The turn bet or raise may cost more than the check or call, but playing the river perfectly is WORTH the extra expense.

These are my main lessons from 10NL on FTP. If you play different stakes, these may not be as helpful. What are your stakes, btw?

[FairyTales]

I completely agree on the fact that i call way too much, the problem being that i know i'm behind, i'm fairly new to the game (been playing for 4 months) but i'm quite sure i have decent skill to read people hands/ranges (i'm not that confident in general except for this), the thing is that i can't stop myself from making those stupid calls.

You have that little voice in your head that says, he has XX you are behind, fold! But then you start to think and always find wonderfull excuses to call. During my first month it was a "let's see what he have syndrom", now it's more like "his stats are bad, he's a poor player, he made horrible play lately, let's call" which isn't a better excuse when you KNOW you are behind, that's simply stupid, both in term of EV and mentally. Can't remember exactly where i read that you should listen to your inner voice (think it was in PoP) but that's definitely true, your brain is way more apt to recognize pattern inconsciously, than you are by trying to overthink a situation, that just help you to feel worse about your game.

Ev_slave, your second point is IMHO absolutely fundamental for a beginner, the problem is that you read everywhere that you have to exploit even an edge of 1% (really marginal situation), that's completly true. But what they forget to say is that you have to be a really experienced player to be able to do that and show a profit in the end (read long long term), folding those will probably transform us into nits until we are enough experienced to use that.

What i have found usefull regarding the aggression on later street is to reraise more often at those kind of limits (I play 5NL) if villain is really ahead he will shove, it's probably a bad strategy but when used in the right kind of situation it may save you a lot more on later streets (plus the fact that by repopping villain you have some FE), just realize that it complete your point 4.

I play 5NL both full ring and SH ,but i'm definitely a loser at 6 max, and a marginal winner at FR over the same kind of sample as you.