Variance/Bad beats/ Common beginners Mistakes?

[iNsChris]

So it seems im going on a "bad beat" or seeing "variance" alot. Or maybe its my game... I don't really know TBH, Imo i think i play ok - Play better after coming here.

yet i don't know for sure as havent posted many HH's or spoke to anyone via msn etc. But i have posted running commentary on games.

So i wondered, did everyone hit this when they started at micros? Or did alot of you not (therefore think poker was easy cash and continue).

To those who did, What changed? Just it was varience or that you improved/Spotted leaks in your game?

I want to improve anyway i can and i am currently reading ITH and plan to probably read SSH if needs be.

So i'm basically wondering what the common errors are amoung beginners? IMO im tight and scared, So i fold when maybe i could win...

Today i took some of these chances, currently im up $1.20 when join 0.02/4s with 40cents. I took few chances on the rivers/turns hit the straights/TOKs/Fullhouses.

I have also NOT BEEN raising AA's JJ's and i seem to win more when i dont!? Is this something i shpould stop and go back to the "standard gaming basics"? or keep as it is if i win?

Othertimes when i have raised i've missed the flop and lost to a twopair if i continue to play.

i've been inspired/encourage by ed miller to go in for the big pots and not to fold when i lead.

So i have played a few more hands, taken few more cheap/calculated risks.

I won't be suprised if i hit the variance now and loose, so this is why i'm posting this to see if i can spot any errors in my game with help.

Thanks,
Chris.

[AncientPC]

Dude, it's 0.02/0.04. I'm not trying to belittle your level, but people in general don't really care about winning / losing money at that point--they just cap it on every round and chase whatever they can.

This results in high variance games because your opponents are not playing very logically. Since you know when and where you should call / bet / raise, you will come out in the long run. However you can't see that because you're thinking too short term.

Try multitabling if you haven't already. If you're on Paradise or UB, the max tables are 3. This will allow you to get closer to the "long run" and not focus as much on the short term swings.

A lot of us here put in a few thousand hands a day, and it's still swingy. Today I lost 150+ BB in less than 15 minutes at the end of my session, resulting in only net +24BB (I play NL). If you read some of the posts by Schneids and a few others in General Texas Hold'em forum, he goes on streaks in the thousands.

[iNsChris]

Yeh thought so, They just seem to not care.

At the moment i prefer 0.05/10's but when i multitable i dont seem to get good reads on the players so it seems it may hinder my play?

I'll try multi tabling 2/4 and then move into 5/10 if it goes ok.

Thanks,
Chris.

[Fiddler]

I doubt anyone has ever started as a winner, they might have started with a good run though and confused the two. Count on losing some money while you learn.

[iNsChris]

K, I'm just trying to get an idea of what could possibly be wrong, i'm not sure if its my playing style or just my bad luck...

IMO its the hands/flops i get but i've only played a little while so i bet i have major leaks i need to fill.

Trying to get ideas of the common leaks so i can fix them if i have them.

[AKQJ10]

I agree with most of what's posted on this thread but I'll take exception to one point: I don't think multitabling is the best way for a new player to go. I understand the point about getting to "the long term" faster, and it has some validity, but it's offset by the fact that new players (I write this as one) NEED to learn from observing player tendencies, etc.

You're what, 30 BB ahead at .02/.04? I would suggest continuing to play as much as possible until you're up about 100-200 BBet ($4.00 to $8.00); by that time you should have a decent starting bankroll for .05/.10 and playing .02/.04 will feel like a waste of time, so you can move up (assuming you have the ability to add to your poker bankroll; otherwise, don't move up until you have the proverbial 300 BBet - $30).

[iNsChris]

At the moment AK

I have: $9.90 and i've been plauing .2/4 then once i hit 1.20 i change table to 5/10 and use the "profit" to try win more, if i drop below 40 chips ill leave and drop back to 2/4

Trying to "laddy my way" to profit, then make more... Bit like buying/Selling houses lol. Play bigger with the winnings... etc.

So 9.90 is what 250bb or so?

5/10 i need $30 to play! Dam

I dropped to a alltime low of $4 i think, Working my way up to $19 which was my starting bank roll /images/graemlins/frown.gif

Then i think ill stick to 0.05/10 tables

[Hoss1193]

If you're NOT raising AA-JJ preflop, then you're losing money. Period. Yes, big pairs often get snapped. But they win more often than any other starting hand category. You don't get them very often (e.g., 1 of every 221 hands for AA), so when you get a big pair, you need to RAISE; to get more money in a pot you're favored to win, and to (hopefully) drive out speculative drawing hands. I know you've read this before; not telling you anything new.

At medium-high stakes with decent players, an occasional limp with AA-KK might have some deception value. But in typical small-stakes games, raise every time with AA-JJ. Re-raise with them. Cap the betting with them (reraising/capping with JJ, some might argue. But I do).

That aside, I suspect you don't raise enough with other hands, and are probably often checking when you should bet. You're probably giving away too many free cards to the longshots. My read just from your posts is a tight/passive style.

If you think you've got the best hand on any given round, bet it; if it's already bet, raise it. Sure, you'll still get sucked out on, and will lose more in a given pot than if you had checked/called your way through. But you'll also take down bigger pots when you DO have the best hand and the lame players didn't make their longshot draws. MAKE THEM PAY to chase that gutshot.

On the flip side...if you think you're beat, drop the hand. It's very easy to shift positions from "favorite" to "underdog" in a given hand, and then keep plugging money into the pot anyway; now YOU'RE the guy chasing a longshot.
If you raised preflop and flop with AA, but now the board is 4-suited and someone bets at you, drop it. Don't throw away another BB because "Dang it, I have AA and it's SUPPOSED to win!".

I've simplified a lot here, and obviously there are many exceptions. But basically, it boils down to...you're trying to DEFEND too much, trying not to lose. Shift gears. ATTACK the others, when the odds are in your favor.

[Upright Bill]

My mentor gave me an exercise that help alot. I spent 1 hour at a lower level than I normally play and played my (then) normal tight passive game. Then 1 hour never touching the Call button I was allowed to Raise or Fold, nothing else. The difference was enlightening! I was winning more hands and winning more pots when I stopped calling.
If its not good enough to Raise with is it good enough to Call with?

Bill

[OrianasDaad]

Hand histories posted here on this site are a must to improve your game. There's a good way to do this, and a bad way. I'll talk about the good way later.

Personally, I've not had much in the way of variance yet. I started at .05/.10, and am now playing .5/1. I know it will come, so that's why I have a sufficient bankroll to cover it when it comes.

I've still got some leaks, possibly many. I fix these by religiously studying my game, and identifying trends that I have.

You absolutely must read SSHE.

Weak-Tight is not a good way to play. You'll probably be a net-plus player playing like this, but you aren't maximizing your winings. Your variance will be lower - but you'll be folding a good hand far too often. I found overcard hands, specifically AK, the hardest to play - and still do.

You must raise high pocket pairs pre-flop. Period. You aren't maximizing what you could win with these hands. If you had a sufficient bankroll, and were only going to get dealt premium hands for the rest of your playing life, you would certainly raise them pre-flop every time. Not raising them pre-flop is basing your decisions on results, and not basing them on expectation. This is a mistake that is also very often attributed to those learning the game.

Summary:
The best way to improve your game is to study the written material provided in books and on this site, study your own game to find where you are making mistakes, and to post hands here to verify your "leaks" by exposing them to others for scrutiny. Plus, I'd recommend grinding it out until you have 300BB for each level before moving up. Bankroll is such an important factor that I can't fail to mention it. Nanolimits suck, though. It's not much better than play money. If you've got $50 lying around then deposit it. Now you've got at a bankroll sufficient for .10/.20 (with a standard 20% first deposit bonus). It will make moving up that much quicker - and that should be one of your long-term goals.