Chatbox Comments on Your Steals: Change your game?

[SuitedSixes]

I normally play with chat turned off, but this morning I had it on. I was making my usual Level 5+ steals with typical stealing hands and was picking up a lot of uncontested chips. The table started talking about how I was just buying every pot, so everytime I would make a raise, I would get a chorus of "call him"s. I was beginning to feel like the table target. These were all hands that I preferred a fold to a call. I knew that if I got a monster I would get paid off, but it was making me reluctant to raise with my normal range of hands.

I also have the same type of problem when I will get a string of three or four raiseable hands in a row. I feel like I am just inviting a call from a marginal hand.

Does anyone else have this problem? Do you change your style?

[ZeeJustin]

There is nothing wrong with adjusting your play based on your image. Obviously, if you ahve a loose image, and players are looking for an excuse to call you, you should tighten up your stealing standards a bit.

[gusly]

[ QUOTE ]

Does anyone else have this problem? Do you change your style?

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure what level you play at, but at my level (10+1 right now) I don't really think of this as a problem. Even for players that aren't stealing, I see this chorus of "call him" all the time. Most decent players ignore this, and the ones that succumb to the "peer pressure" are usually bad players that will have crap hands, and I can outplay them postflop, even if I have crap too. /images/graemlins/smile.gif

And if I get called and lose, I've got some advertising value that usually allows me to win back what I lost and then some, when I do have a monster.

[schwza]

level = blind level. i'm guessing... 50/100 at party?

[Sidekick]

It doesn't happen that often that I get 3+ steal hands in a row or am able to steal 6+ times in say 3 orbits at level 4+, but it has happened occassionally. I have gotten the same chorus of 'call him!' when it happens.

After about the second time of that I do tighten up my steal standards a bit for a couple of orbits. While my steal hand is often better than what someone will call me with, I don't really like playing a 60/40 or coin flip hand under those conditions.

[gusly]

LOL... I have ADD and my drugs were wearing off when I wrote that. Even so, I think the gist of what I meant comes across. /images/graemlins/grin.gif

[jnh24]

I had a similiar thing happen to me this morning. Was 4th of 4, doubled up and stole my way from 5,500 to 9,000 before we got to 3 players. I have the "Won, Don't Show" option selected but turned it off and flashed a few of the stronger hands to make them more reluctant to keep me honest.

[se2schul]

I keep the "Won, Don't Show" option turned off just so that I can flash a few of the stronger hands to make them more reluctant to keep me honest. I hope that it will make them less likely to call me, but I'm not sure if it actually works. Opinions??

[SuitedSixes]

I subscribe to the, "show them if it's something you don't normally do" school of thought. For example, if I never raise with trash hands, so I want to be called when I do raise, I'll show a trashy hand for advertisement purposes. In the scenario I mentioned, I did show a 99 and an AQ just to show everyone I was raising with solid hands, because I was in a situation where I wanted blinds, not callers.

[Mystic]

I do this a lot. Against typical opponents it is possible to steal most of the chips in play as long as you show a genuine raising hand from time to time, and of course have a previously tight image from the early levels. However this is best used against mediocre players who are hellbent on making the final 3. Against jokers who will happily call with KT and the like and experts who realise what you are doing it is obviously not the best strategy.