Why do people hit and run?

[gildwulf]

i just started playing a lot of HU and I have found that a lot of (bad) players play a few hands, make 1 big score and then leave. Is there a psychological impetus for this or are they just dumbasses?

They think you are better or might be better, so they take their win and leave.

[mosquito]

Not being one of those, I can't say for sure.

They may think they are being clever.

They may just like posting a win.

They may know they 'got lucky' and don't want to press it, especially if they played something silly and 'fooled you'.

It's idle speculation. Have to ask one of them, but the answer may not be coherent. It's possible they have no reason at all, or none that conforms to any logic we understand.

After all, some people do the same thing with slot machines. They may just be trying to get lucky.

[Jacob_Juul]

well the hit and run is bad for many reason (in my opinion)
just to name the two most important...


But the reason they do it is because they always want to leave the with a profit - I guess it's another not to get bored at the table. [list] When a table is good (you are winning) then you leave.
When it's bad and you get stuck - you stay until you are even or have a minor profit. It's game selection in reverse...






When it's bad and you get stuck - you stay until you are even or have a minor profit. It's game selection in reverse...

[popesc]

Most of the hit and run artists I've seen play an extremely LAGgy game. By the time anybody at the table realizes that they are extremely reckless, they've moved on to another table.

[jb9]

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Most of the hit and run artists I've seen play an extremely LAGgy game. By the time anybody at the table realizes that they are extremely reckless, they've moved on to another table.

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I've seen this too. Someone sits down, plays very aggressively, and steals a few pots. Then, after showing down a 97o that he raised preflop and flopped a straight with, he leaves the table before anyone paying attention starts re-raising him preflop.

Of course, he would probably be better off staying at the same table and switching styles from LAG to TAG, but I guess that's not as much fun.

[ QUOTE ]
i just started playing a lot of HU and I have found that a lot of (bad) players play a few hands, make 1 big score and then leave. Is there a psychological impetus for this or are they just dumbasses?

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I think you answered your own question.

[steamboatin]

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(bad) players play a few hands, make 1 big score and then leave.

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If they are a bad player, then leaving is +EV.

I do this sometimes and I'm not bad. Alot lately, actually. It's from boredom. I sit down, make a decent hand, am up half a buy in and then just can't stand the thought of sitting here, too boring, so I figure I'll cut and run. I used to go for 5000 hands a week and now I am only posting like 2500, my boredom is killing me.

Another reason: I typically run about 16% VPIP full ring, but if I am up this creeps towards 20-21. I have to force myself to not try and use my momentum to dominate the table...which can work it short but in full tends to bust you. I play better when I am even or down but not tilting.

[MediaPA]

Admittingly having done this a number of times (HU), I'll shed some light on my reasons.

Usually when I'd play someone heads up, it would be for a decent chunk of my bankroll. I'd be playing way above my normal game where stealing/winning a pot or two would be a nice 'score'. I played 25/50 HU with a buy-in trying to get back to even. I achieved my goal with a big river bluff and quit. I could have won a lot, but I could just as easily lost it back if I stayed.

Some people just like the feeling of leaving a table up. There was a game where I check raised twice in a row, both times making my hand when I did (trips and a straight). When the guy called w/ dueces on the second CR, I figured he'd get the money back if I stayed. I don't tend to change my game much, so the longer I play someone the better chance I think they have of figuring me out.

Aggression generally can work wonders for a HU hit and runner because most people won't peg you as a LAG before you leave HU. Repeat customers are hard to find.

**Note: I went down huge by doing this kind of crap, but I've been very fortunate in the end. Look at it like the BJ system or constantly doubling your bet. Not sound poker at all.

Did this make any sense at all?

[andyfox]

Not exactly what you're talking about, but a similar situation: check out my article in this month's magazine.

[popesc]

With the number of available tables online to sit down at, it is probably easier to move than to tighten up.

[SomethingClever]

Ya got me. Yesterday I sat down and waited for an opponent. One showed up, bought in, posted the big blind.

I folded my option in the SB, he got up and left. /images/graemlins/confused.gif

That's more of a give and go. /images/graemlins/wink.gif

[toots]

I don't play HU, but I do regularly hit and run in B&Ms. Why?

1) Because I'm not that great a player
2) Because I'd rather have the pleasure of a "won" room and dinner than bust my back grinding it out for a few dollars more
3) Because even though it's long term $ -EV, it's short term temperament +EV, and I go to B&Ms to be entertained, not make a living

I gave up playing online. My online playing career was a sort of hit and run - after a few tens of thousands of hands of HE, O8 and 7 stud at various microlimits levels, I left the tables a few hundred dollars ahead of where I started. Again, I'm not that great a player, and it seemed reasonable to quit while I was ahead.

But, I would H&R on an individual table, or at least look like I was Hitting and Running if, after a couple orbits, I decided that the table was too tough for me to beat reliably. I'd take my first decent win and leave for greener pastures.

If I'm at your table and I hit and run, be flattered, because in all likelihood, I've decided you're a better player than I, and I'd rather cut my losses.

[Timer]

[ QUOTE ]
i just started playing a lot of HU and I have found that a lot of (bad) players play a few hands, make 1 big score and then leave. Is there a psychological impetus for this or are they just dumbasses?

[/ QUOTE ]

How many years have you been playing poker, and what is your age?

They arent flattered, they want to win their money back and then some.

This is the same reason I get upset at B&M when they kick a drunk out right after he rivered me. "No, he needs to stay! I need to win my gaaaaaadamn money back!"

[captZEEbo1]

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Ya got me. Yesterday I sat down and waited for an opponent. One showed up, bought in, posted the big blind.

I folded my option in the SB, he got up and left. /images/graemlins/confused.gif

[/ QUOTE ]I've done this to people before...it's really funny and I get a lot of pleasure from doing it. It's especially funny if it's someone you regularly play hu, then all the sudden this time they post sb and fold, you type out "THANKS FOR THE $25 CHUMP, I'M EATING GOOD TONGIHT!!!" and immediately leave.

I am guilty of doing this on occassion and overall I am a winning player. I dont use pokertracker/pokeroffice etc. and have been keeping "stats" very crudely for the past few years. essentially all I do is log in a sheet is what limits/site I played on and +/- profit. If I've been running cold, i.e. 3 losing days in a row and I find myself up one decent pot within the first 10 minutes of playing... I have just gotten up and quit for the day. Purely pyschological and many ppl would probably laugh at me for doing so but it seems to work for my mental well being and feels that I've broken out of the rut.

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you type out "THANKS FOR THE $25 CHUMP, I'M EATING GOOD TONGIHT!!!" and immediately leave.

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LOL

[gildwulf]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
i just started playing a lot of HU and I have found that a lot of (bad) players play a few hands, make 1 big score and then leave. Is there a psychological impetus for this or are they just dumbasses?

[/ QUOTE ]

How many years have you been playing poker, and what is your age?

[/ QUOTE ]

A little over a year, 21...why? Is this some kind of insult?

[davet]

Hit and Run artists likely read some mis- guided book that told them they EASILY could beat any game if they use this POWERFUL system. Also remember that, in a whole, we live in a very risk adverse society. Most people see gambling as a form of entertainment. They all realize that "they" (we) will get their money if they play long enough.

Think of the quote: "When you are up, get up." unfortunately, it should have added the word forever.

I do have a friend that counts cards, and we debate the merits of hit and run all the time.