Playing tighter can be more frustrating

[steamboatin]

On the advice of many, I am concentrating on playing tighter and I am beginning to notice that when I get my good starting hands cracked it bothers me more than it did when I was playing loose.

When you are playing 30% of your hands, its no big deal because you get to play another hand shortly. When you wait and wait and wait for a decent hand and it gets beat, it seems to have more impact on your emotions.

Just an observation.

How many tables do you play? I had the same problem when I first got edumacated to the fact that I'm not supposed to see every flop but it much more bearable when I play 3 or 4 tables at a time. But then you have to pay attention to your table image, everyone notices you playing tight and bail when you make a little bet.

[steamboatin]

I use to play two or three tables but now I am only playing one but I am working on other things in between turns. If I tried to multi-table, I'd just drop back into my old habits. I have to force myself to fold.

[ryanghall]

I play NL rather on the tight side, to say the least, but I 4-table online so it's not a huge deal.

However, when I play live it can be *very* frustrating to me, as sometimes you can play a whole night and not get another premium starting hand or set, so I just sit there and stew while there's nothing I can do about it.

Ryan

[steamboatin]

sit and have a nice chat with the fish. It is amazing what you will hear sitting around a poker table.

I caought hell for making a note about how long I played and then it was explained to me that I needed to actually play a hand if I wanted to win. ( from a gentleman that just raked a big pot after calling two cold with 92s and catching his third nine on the river.) I was card dead and misplayed the few hands I got so He was convinced I was a fish. He might have been right on that occasion.

[deacsoft]

I've been there. I would fold and fold and fold and then watch some guys take down pot after pot with hands I'd want to fold with in an unraised big blind. Then finally I get a hand only to have it cracked by someone who limped and called a cap preflop with 7-5o. It was nearly enough to make me ill. However, it didn't take long to figure out that it's guys like that who put food on my table and pay my bills. It's still frustrating, but much more easy to deal with.

[meow_meow]

From the perspective of someone who plays too tight and is trying to loosen up, I have to agree. I think it probably has to do with the fact that as a tight player, you very likely were ahead all the way.
It's much more frustrating when someone who called your preflop raise with 85o in the sb and then chased a gutshot the whole way sucks out on your pocket 9s, then it is when your flopped 2-pair gets counterfeited on the river by a preflop raiser holding AA.

[steamboatin]

I don't go on tilt over it but I have to guard against loosening up again. I was way to loose so this is a big change.

If you don't have poker tracker, get it, it will reaffirm your beliefs in tight play after you look at a lot of hands. Better yet get Poker Tracker, play loose for a few hundred hands then look and see the percentages of the different winning hands. You'll see that it's the same ones everyone preaches about waiting for. Those decent hands do get cracked but in the long run they make $$.

[bernie]

Think of a sink with a slow drain(rake) at the bottom with mini catchbasins on the side that leak back into the main sink .

All those hands you used to play, figure they were neutral EV at best. So you see the others dragging pots with those hands. They are trading pots back and forth, really not making anything. Basically swirling water in the sink while some of it goes down the drain and the water displaces itself to another catchbasin soon to be released back into the sink likely to be swirled over to another shallow catchbasin. This represents every hand. All the water they take to their side of the sink will be coming back and going into another loosey's side of the sink. Some will go down the drain. But it will still be pretty much part of the water in the sink while they stay in the game.

Then you come in with a ladel, scoop out some and put it into a seperate bowl away from the sink. The water dripping off the ladel are your blinds.

That, or your catchbasin has a very high wall with a very small leak(blinds).

So you just let them swirl the tank. Then every now and then come in to take your cut.

Have fun...

b

[SomethingClever]

[ QUOTE ]
On the advice of many, I am concentrating on playing tighter and I am beginning to notice that when I get my good starting hands cracked it bothers me more than it did when I was playing loose.

When you are playing 30% of your hands, its no big deal because you get to play another hand shortly. When you wait and wait and wait for a decent hand and it gets beat, it seems to have more impact on your emotions.

Just an observation.

[/ QUOTE ]

PLAY MORE TABLES

[steamboatin]

I can't just yet, I'll slip right back to playing loose if I don't concentrate. I'll play more tables after I get myself retrained.

[The Goober]

Yeah, I notice this too. Just remember that there's a reason that most people don't play very well - its harder to do.

Where I play, there are a lot of players who could be very good if they wanted to be. They know what hands to start with, and they know how to read hands and players well. They are losing players, though, because they go on tilt so easily. I see this pattern over and over again - guy is playing good TAG poker at a crazy table - patiently waiting for good hands before jumping into the fray. Then he get hit with a couple suckouts and watches a few huge pots gets pushed in the 'wrong' direction. All of a sudden he's calling "rack over!" and calling 3 bets cold before his chips even get there. Usually that rack is gone within 15 minutes.

Playing tight is a lot harder than playing loose - and that's why the fish are fish.

[SomethingClever]

[ QUOTE ]
I can't just yet, I'll slip right back to playing loose if I don't concentrate. I'll play more tables after I get myself retrained.

[/ QUOTE ]

You should be concentrating even harder with more tables.

Also, you'll have less time to be concerned with marginal hands, making it easier to fold them.

I have the opposite problem as you... my vpip when I played 2/4 was like 12.

[cbfair]

[ QUOTE ]
Think of a sink with a slow drain(rake) at the bottom with mini catchbasins on the side that leak back into the main sink .

All those hands you used to play, figure they were neutral EV at best. So you see the others dragging pots with those hands. They are trading pots back and forth, really not making anything. Basically swirling water in the sink while some of it goes down the drain and the water displaces itself to another catchbasin soon to be released back into the sink likely to be swirled over to another shallow catchbasin. This represents every hand. All the water they take to their side of the sink will be coming back and going into another loosey's side of the sink. Some will go down the drain. But it will still be pretty much part of the water in the sink while they stay in the game.

Then you come in with a ladel, scoop out some and put it into a seperate bowl away from the sink. The water dripping off the ladel are your blinds.

That, or your catchbasin has a very high wall with a very small leak(blinds).

So you just let them swirl the tank. Then every now and then come in to take your cut.

Have fun...

b

[/ QUOTE ]

Awesome metaphor!

Descriptive and inspiring, even.