Cold cards?

[js13_tps]

How common is it not to get anything that resembles a starting hand from any poker book or online reference for an extended period of time?

Just curious. Even my TTH game says fold all the time. LOL

[illunious]

Depends,

I once sat at a 5/10 B&M game and didn't see a flop for 3 hours.

I play 8 tables online and it's rare that I don't see a flop within any 2 minute timespan.

I play $0.01/$0.02 in a NL home game and every starting hand resembles a starting hand.

[BaronVonCP]

Depends on your definition of extended period of time. Going through a couple hundred hands without anything to play is gonna happen sometime I guess. Not all that often though.

[cardcounter0]

It happens. Last weekend I was in a B&M $3/$6 game. There was a clock on the wall visible from the table. From 9:00PM to 2:00AM, I did nothing but post blinds and fold.
From 2:00AM to 3:00AM, I continued to fold, but might have actually seen a flop or two, and then folded. I was down over $300 without seeing a hand. When I left at 5:00AM, I was up a hundred or two, so it works both ways.

[PokerFoo]

Ive often wanted to ask this question myself. If you follow the starting hand strategies found in the low limit books youll play one 1 of every 12 hands in early position. Thats 1 hand for every 120 dealt. If you remain true to those strategies and fold to a raise and then a reraise in late position when marginal, you could sometimes not play for a long time.

I'd like to hear what experts have to say about playing that tight. Is this a contradiction in what would be concidered good play? Or is this an example of minimising losses and maximising wins over the long haul?

[js13_tps]

i realzie being a newbie to online poker, well, poker in general, and that the 2 new player mmt's on party are a very small sampling, but so far in 2 tournies I have gotten AK 3 times, TT & 88 once and thats the best 5 starting hands I've had.

Here is on I managed to win. I know I played it weak, but pls critique anyway.

Party Poker No-Limit Hold'em Tourney, Big Blind is t20 (8 handed)

CO (t815)
Button (t235)
Hero (t2730)
BB (t2665)
UTG (t1320)
UTG+1 (t635)
MP1 (t1345)
MP2 (t2210)

Preflop: Hero is SB with T/images/graemlins/heart.gif, T/images/graemlins/spade.gif.
UTG folds, UTG+1 folds, MP1 calls t20, MP2 calls t20, CO calls t20, <font color="CC3333">Button raises to t130</font>, Hero calls t120, <font color="CC3333">BB raises to t240</font>, MP1 folds, MP2 folds, CO folds, Button calls t105 (All-In), Hero calls t110.

Flop: (t775) 5/images/graemlins/spade.gif, 9/images/graemlins/diamond.gif, 2/images/graemlins/heart.gif <font color="blue">(3 players, 1 all-in)</font>
Hero checks, BB checks.

Turn: (t775) 8/images/graemlins/spade.gif <font color="blue">(3 players, 1 all-in)</font>
Hero checks, BB checks.

River: (t775) J/images/graemlins/club.gif <font color="blue">(3 players, 1 all-in)</font>
Hero checks, BB checks.

Final Pot: t775

I wanted a check raise on the flop and didn't get it, after that i was thinking he ay have had a straight draw possibly and was content with what i had.

[Rudbaeck]

[ QUOTE ]
Ive often wanted to ask this question myself. If you follow the starting hand strategies found in the low limit books youll play one 1 of every 12 hands in early position. Thats 1 hand for every 120 dealt.

[/ QUOTE ]

I don't see how you get 1 in 12 to 1 in 120. I know Lee Jones says 1 in 12, but he lists 22 hands as playable under the gun. And I get 22/169 to be a bit more than 1 in 8.

And for most games he is a wee bit too tight in early position. I open on 14.85% of all hands dealt to me UTG, and Astroglide opens on 16.28% of all hands. (He is probably the best combination of a great player and great database on these forums. Over 100,000 hands of 3/6.)

But there are times when I don't get anything playable even on the button for many orbits, and there are those times I get to raise pf for 6 straight hands. It evens out in the long run.

I find it pretty rare that it's 3 bets back to me, unless several players have very loose raising standards, in which case I don't release most of the hands I opened with anyways. Yes, it happens in tight games, but then you can merrily fold any marginal holding.

[ras]

been having that problem for past week. being dealt non-playable hole cards, and when dealt playable ones, get out drawn. stratedgy seems pointless unless you have the nuts. people call to the end, often with terrible hole cards.

[ras]

isn't that a boring way to spend your time? saw some guy reading a book at a b&amp;m game also. seems awfully strange way to spend one's time having "fun."

[cardcounter0]

yeah, winning money night after night is getting to be a real drag, but I'm learning to adjust to it.
/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

[deecee]

Just spent the day at the Taj and went nearly two hours without playing a hand. The kicker was I didn't even have any hands that were winnable had I been loose enough to play them. What I did do was play a few hands I shouldn't have and they earned me an expensive second best. I got wiped out, not because I played too tightly, but because I wanted to see just a little action.

It's tough sitting there and watching people pull down puts with J8o and a fullhouse. /images/graemlins/confused.gif

[PokerFoo]

[ QUOTE ]

I don't see how you get 1 in 12 to 1 in 120. I know Lee Jones says 1 in 12, but he lists 22 hands as playable under the gun. And I get 22/169 to be a bit more than 1 in 8.


[/ QUOTE ]

assuming your at a 10 player table. 1 hand for every 12 in early position is 1 hand every 120 total hands dealt as you sit there. Thats roughly 1 hand every hour and a half youll play UTG. Granted that uncludes the 9 other hands you get as you go around the table where you will loosen up and may play. And if the table is very weak (the places you supposed to look for) players will often raise or call every time they are UTG with hands like K4 Offsuit and get a cold call and a re-raise. That will make it hard to call even on the button with most marginal hands. So you could sit there a very long time waiting for a spot.

I guess it's a real test a patience.

[Rudbaeck]

Well, playing as is taught here on 2+2 will have you playing about every 6th hand dealt utg. You are utg three-four times an hour. So 90-120 minutes between every hand you play UTG.

All in all I see 29.4% of all flops, so playing a little less than every third hand isn't murderously boring.

[js13_tps]

4th tourney tonight, i get 3 more chances at the $1 newbie on party.

I played 5 hands not from the blinds tonight and finished 116 of 601. 77, QQ, JJ, AJs, KQs. Thats it, the rest were horrible trash. A very loose table, no telling what they would play. I made it to, i forget the level, sry, but blinds had just went to 200/400 and i was down to 390. I pushed with KQs and lost on the river. Oh well. I'm learning.

I limped a few times from the BB with offsuit junk and folded to the first bet, because nothing hit on the flop at all. Twice from BB i had 8's and both times there was an all in in front of me, easy fold?

[Rudbaeck]

Yes, an easy fold.

Didn't realize you were talking about No Limit. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

Tournament play can be especially grueling that way. Especially if the cards are cold when the blinds have risen to a grotesque size. A big reason I don't like tourneys much, 3-4 hours of flawless (???) hard work only to be eaten alive by bad luck when the blinds go humongous.

[js13_tps]

the only reason i'm playing nl tournies right out of the gate is i'm eligible for the $1 new player ones at party. After my week is up i'll have to reevaluate where i want to take my game next. probably microlimits and/or some cheap sng's?

[AcesKracked]

On PP, I once went 78 hands without a hand that would have won if I played it through the river. Fortuantley I was patient enough to just sit and watch and only lost a $20-30 in a NL $50. I have also seen people in B&amp;M and online win 15/20 hands.

[Rudbaeck]

I'm a huge fan of ring games myself. But to each his own. Do what you find fun and profitable.