AlphaMeridian
03-28-2005, 05:31 AM
Please excuse me if this comes out a little disjointed, but it's the only way I can think to explain it, and I really need advice and or opinion on the subject.
In short, I'm not sure I have the nerve for the game. I don't know if this is just a dropoff in confidence due to a downturn, or a real self evaluation. My NL tourney game is nearly nonexistant. I've been trying to work on it for ages, and I'm just not getting anywhere. I typically play with a couple of friends every other week for 2 or so. I started out well a year or so ago, when I was first getting into the game, and I was okay. I never crushed the game, but I was okay. However, these guys are simply great at reads. That's something that I've never had a talent for. Sure, I can try to pick up on their betting patterns, but they never really play the same way, it's not really getting me anywhere, and I'm not really good at picking up on the patterns at limit play either. It's gotten to the point where I'm really not sure I can play the game. So much of what I've gathered of tourney play is applying reads to situations (when to raise to isolate a weak limper, when to lay it down, when to try to steal vs. tight or weak blinds, when to push, and when not to push)
If it wasn't for the fact that I've got a fairly decent winrate on the party .5/1 over what is approaching 10k hands, I'm not really sure I'd play. But even there, I make _so many_ mistakes, I'm beginning to think it's a fluke. It's like the fish instictively raise or C/R me, and I crumble into a heaping pile of goo who has MUTB syndrome.
So, I ask you. This seems to be something that I don't get. I've tried for a couple of months to put together some semblance of a NL tourney game, and patch the holes in my limit game by what I can only gather, is inherent weak/tightness. I've read SSH and that mitigates a number of problems with my limit game, but not all. But, I can't for the life of me get how they know when I've got a hand in tournaments, and when i'm bluffing. When I'm drawing, vs. when I have a made hand.
Has anyone else gotten through this?
-Alpha
In short, I'm not sure I have the nerve for the game. I don't know if this is just a dropoff in confidence due to a downturn, or a real self evaluation. My NL tourney game is nearly nonexistant. I've been trying to work on it for ages, and I'm just not getting anywhere. I typically play with a couple of friends every other week for 2 or so. I started out well a year or so ago, when I was first getting into the game, and I was okay. I never crushed the game, but I was okay. However, these guys are simply great at reads. That's something that I've never had a talent for. Sure, I can try to pick up on their betting patterns, but they never really play the same way, it's not really getting me anywhere, and I'm not really good at picking up on the patterns at limit play either. It's gotten to the point where I'm really not sure I can play the game. So much of what I've gathered of tourney play is applying reads to situations (when to raise to isolate a weak limper, when to lay it down, when to try to steal vs. tight or weak blinds, when to push, and when not to push)
If it wasn't for the fact that I've got a fairly decent winrate on the party .5/1 over what is approaching 10k hands, I'm not really sure I'd play. But even there, I make _so many_ mistakes, I'm beginning to think it's a fluke. It's like the fish instictively raise or C/R me, and I crumble into a heaping pile of goo who has MUTB syndrome.
So, I ask you. This seems to be something that I don't get. I've tried for a couple of months to put together some semblance of a NL tourney game, and patch the holes in my limit game by what I can only gather, is inherent weak/tightness. I've read SSH and that mitigates a number of problems with my limit game, but not all. But, I can't for the life of me get how they know when I've got a hand in tournaments, and when i'm bluffing. When I'm drawing, vs. when I have a made hand.
Has anyone else gotten through this?
-Alpha