I have no balls

[I am Money]

New to serious poker. My goal is to overcome the learning curve as fast as possible. But I have no balls. I'm a tight passive player. (but not tight enough to make money) I lose. I'm on my way to becoming better. I'm not a calling station anymore. (I'm a folding station.. /forums/images/icons/confused.gif )

I also think I must understand that this is poker (e.g. in the short run, luck is part of the game). I will not win every hand I play. Especially in loose games. BTW, the game I play is loose-passive or loose-moderate.

I usually buy in with $80 for 3-6.

Please comment on these ideas:
1) Increase buy in to $160.
2) Get some balls and see more hands to the end. (and raise along the way). Trust my skills and experience and know that I won't lose every hand.
3) Continue to do this even if I lose two or three big hands in a row.
4) Pray that I an good enough to come out ahead in the long run. My swings will be much bigger, right?

thanks -

[Homer]

Caution: Rambling

1) Increase buy in to $160

I usually buy in for 20-25 BB's. That is $120-150 in a 3/6 game. If you only buy in for $80, you are going to feel short stacked right away, which will no doubt cause you to become even more tight-passive. If you buy in for more you might feel more free to splash your chips around because if you lose a hand you'll still have a good bit of money in front of you. Also, it would really suck to be in the middle of a dream hand and have to go all in, costing yourself many bets.

May I ask what your bankroll is for 3/6? You should have $1800 dedicated to poker or if you have less you should be able to supplement your bankroll on payday.

2) Get some balls and see more hands to the end. (and raise along the way). Trust my skills and experience and know that I won't lose every hand.

It sounds like you play tight already, so you just need to learn to be more aggressive when you have the best hand/draw. Get you money in when you have "the best of it". Trust your skills and everything else (winning money) will fall into place eventually. The long run in poker is long. Keep playing your best and know that in the end you will get the money.

3) Continue to do this even if I lose two or three big hands in a row.

Yep. Play your best regardless of if you have won or lost 100 hands in a row. The cards have no memory.

4) Pray that I an good enough to come out ahead in the long run. My swings will be much bigger, right?

If you feel the need to pray then you probably aren't playing your best game. If you are playing scared you will play weak-tight and won't win. You have to know that you will come out ahead in the long run if you play well. There will be swings (at times bigger than you can imagine...but that's why you have a 300 BB bankroll, right?), but you have to play through them. It's easy to play well when you are winning. It's not so easy to play when you are losing or breaking even. You have to play through these tough stretches and lose as little as you can. It's all about maximizing EV. In your next 100 hands you may stand no chance in hell of winning any money. But you can minimize your loss by playing these crappy hands well, which means you are maximizing your EV.

** Ironically, your fear of losing will cause you to lose unless you change your mindset. You must believe you are capable of winning. You must be confident enough to jam the pot with your best hands/draws. Believe that you are the best player at the table. Make your opponents squirm. It's a lot of fun!

-- Homer

[Schmed]

Why do you say that he should have 1800 dedicated to poker??? How did you come about that figure, (300 bbs ?). Man that means I need 3800 to play 6-12....I need to get back to the tables so I can make some more money so I can play at the tables........... /forums/images/icons/grin.gif

Seriously though how did you come up with the figure?

I always buy in for one rack of white. I play pretty tight when I get down to 40 I buy in for another 100. (If that goes I go home........ /forums/images/icons/mad.gif )

[Homer]

It is suggested that a poker pro have a 300 BB bankroll (see Gambling Theory and Other Topics), so as to minimize the risk of going broke from a bad run. If you just play for fun and can lose X dollars per week, and can take X dollars out of your paycheck again the next week, then you don't literally need a 300 BB bankroll. This idea is much more important to professionals. If a pro has $10,000 he shouldn't be playing 40/80 because there is a good chance of him going broke. He should play 15/30 until his bankroll is $25,000 or so.

-- Homer

[Barry]

I agree with Homer here (as I usually do). 25 (or so) BB seems to be the lowest buy-in that you should go with. It gives you enough to weather a storm and to allow you to show proper aggressiveness when you need to. Less than that you run the danger of having scared money and playing way too weak tight. I usually like to buy in for 50 BB; partially for the intimidation value.

It's better to stay with lower limits until your bankroll can support big enough buy-ins at the higher limits.

[I am Money]

I have a set monthy "entertainment" budget for poker. If I have a bad run of cards then I will have to be patient between visits to the card room.

[Nottom]

1) $80 seems a bit low to me for 3/6 IMO ... I generally like between 20-25 BB and usually buy-in for $150 at a 3/6 game

2) I really don't know how to answer this, you don't just want to start seeing all your hands to the river, but if you are routinly throwing away top pair, especially on the flop, when you get raised then you probably need to see more showdowns. Also if you aren't raising your good hands when there are draws and 2nd best hands out there, you are throwing away money. Posting some hands would be the best way to get some help in this area.

3) It all depends, if you are playing tight preflop and don't chase when you don't have the odds you should win a good % of your showdowns. People will suck out on you, its the name of the game and is good for your pocket in the long run.

4) Praying might help, but I'd suggest reading some of the books on the subject (HEFAP and TOP come to mind), coming to this board, and constantly reviewing your own play instead.

[rharless]

5) Post some hands here.

You'll be surprised at some of the feedback. Often I have posted a hand and put up a question about my play on one street, only to find my play on a different street is really the problem I had with the hand.

[Bob T.]

1) Increase buy in to $160.


Good Idea, for a number of reasons. Having more chips in front of you makes it easier for you not to be chip conscious. Having more chips in front of you makes you look more like you might be winning, whereas a short stack looks like someone to push around. Having enough chips in front of you to cap it on every street, lets you make the maximum amount of money if you flop a monster. When you buy in short, and $80 is slightly short, if you lose one or two hands, then you are suddenly playing a short stack, and you have to deal with the disadvantages of that. With a larger buyin, you won't feel your back against the wall, if you don't win the first hand you participate in.

2) Get some balls and see more hands to the end. (and raise along the way). Trust my skills and experience and know that I won't lose every hand.

Good things happen when you play more aggressively.

3) Continue to do this even if I lose two or three big hands in a row.

See #1 above.

4) Pray that I an good enough to come out ahead in the long run. My swings will be much bigger, right?


Don't worry about the swings, until the general trend is in the right direction. Post some of these hands, where you might have been chicken, and see if others think your caution was warranted. In some ways aggression might reduce your swings. Raising and eliminating some of the field, means that there are fewer players who can suck out on you. Raising frequently, and playing aggressively, means that your opponents will know that it will be expensive to go to the river with you. Both of these will reduce your variance.

[Bob T.]

If you are playing within a budget, go ahead, Homer's bankroll recommendation is for someone who has a non renewable bankroll.

[Louie Landale]

Its called "Heart". If you don't have the "Heart" then you'll get crucified if you loosen up and play more aggressively: it just means you'll be folding bigger pots.

Try this: In the middle of your forehead is a switch. "Down" is "Tight Whimp", "Up" is "Tenacious Maniac". When the switch is down, any old reason to check or fold is a good one. When the switch is up any old reason to bet or raise or finally call is a good one. As the cards are dealt, turn the switch down. If you see a flop you like (like top-pair 2nd kicker), turn the switch UP until the end of the hand. Click. Hear it? This means once you are "invested", try very hard to show the hand down in a big pot, even when you lose "Heart".

Once you get comfortable with this you'll be able to sense the fear the opponents will feel. You will also, over time, learn when to switch the switch at other times.

Your problem, probably, is that you have no idea what anybody else has. You can fix that by paying attention to the opponent's actions while you are NOT involved. Generally, focus on one player, usually the first to asserte himself: [Step 1] Figure out what YOU would have if you took the action they took. [Step 2] When you see the opponent's hand and its not what you expected, try to reconcile [a] would you have played that hand that way? [b] did you learn something about this opponent? [Step 3] Try to anticipate what THIS opponent is likely to have given what you know about that opponent.

- Louie

[sam h]

Eighty bucks is way short for a buy-in. Not only may it increase your weak-tight tendencies, it may induce savvy opponents to come after you more aggressively, further aggravating the problem.

Your problem isn't a lack of aggressiveness, its a general lack of understanding of how to think about poker - and I'm not just talking about strategy, I'm talking about understanding how to really honestly evaluate yourself and your opponents.

I think this is true for 95% of players, including myself. And the best thing to do about it is to buy a book called Killer Poker, by John Vorhaus. It's the only poker book that I've put down and started hoping that it didn't get popular.

[Bob T.]

And the best thing to do about it is to buy a book called Killer Poker, by John Vorhaus. It's the only poker book that I've put down and started hoping that it didn't get popular.

I think this book is well worth the money, especially for anyone who has an understanding about a lot of the technical poker material.

[eMarkM]

But I have no balls. I'm a tight passive player.

I say you're off to a good start if you are indeed new to the game. At least you're not starting out loose passive or loose aggressive. Most players, on their way to becoming solid, go through a weak-tight phase. Now it's time to dial up the aggression when it's warrented. And it's also good that you recognize your weakness. Don't pray, find out what's wrong with your game and fix the leaks.

It's difficult to give specific advice without seeing specifically how you play. Post some hands. You'll get honest--sometimes brutally honest--feedback.

[ZManODS]

Maybe consider playing online $1/2 which is quite similiar to live $3/6. It will teach you to play youre better hands more aggressively and allow you to play more hands per hour.

[I am Money]

Thanks for the input. Good idea to think about turning the switch “up” in the right situations. I’ve played some .5/1 online. It seemed tighter than my usual 3/6 live game. I lost less money, but in percentage terms (like number of BB), I actually did worse. I don’t play weak/tight when it’s .5/1. Anyway, thanks.