What do you do?

[scott2130]

Lately when I go to the B&M I have been either been hit hard by the deck or it avoids me like the plague. (I would be happy with break even) I don't think my play changes, I just can't hit a flop some days to save my life. It doesn't matter what you have, it gets run down. (no bad beat stories, you know what I mean)

My question is, what do you do on days like this and when?

When is the important part of this question. Obviously you change seats then change tables and then change again. But when?

Say you are playing 4/8 and you are a winning player. You start with $200 and get sucked out on twice with big hands on the river. You are now down to $100. Do you change seats?

You play a few small pots and grind your way back to only $50 down. Then you get into some big pots and lose another $100, so you only have $50 left. 2.5 hrs have past by now. Do you change tables at this point? The action is great you just can't get a hand to hold up.

So you reload another $100 and go to a new table with $150. At this point you are playing rock tight but every time you raise preflop you miss the flop, or draws with 15 outs don't come and you are down to $50 again. Say 2 more hours have past at this point. Again, I want to say that you are only raising with "TOP TEN HANDS" and you are being run down by 23o. You are now frustrated and are down $250. Do you play more, change tables, go to the buffet for a long break, or call it a day?

Any suggestions would be helpful.

Thanks,
Scott

[RoundTower]

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Say you are playing 4/8 and you are a winning player.

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Is this hypothetical, or does it apply to you?

[poker327]

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When is the important part of this question. Obviously you change seats then change tables and then change again. But when?


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I never do this unless I have a good reason to. The only reason I change seats is to get position on someone. The only reasons I change tables is if I notice another table is loose and/or my table is tight.

[scott2130]

A little of both. You have to start some where.

[scott2130]

So you sit in the same place a try to grind it out? How long and how much $$ do you spend to give the cards a chance to turn in your favor?

[poker327]

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So you sit in the same place a try to grind it out? How long and how much $$ do you spend to give the cards a chance to turn in your favor?

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I play until I feel like going home, or the game isn't good anymore. Last week I couldn't catch cards for nothing, and the few times I did I mostly got rivered (left down a lot). But I felt the game was good. One thing I do is bring an MP3 player with me to not make me bored. Last night I was getting hit over the head with the deck and when I was behind, I was hitting rivers because of opponents passive play in 1/2 NL. Getting good cards comes in cycles. You will not always get good cards during a session, and even if you do, you may still lose with them.

I feel that if you believe in the luckiness of a seat at a particular time, then you may be better off playing craps. You will get a result a lot faster (obviously -EV in the long run). As soon as I left my seat last night, a player immediately wanted it since it was so "lucky." I saw a player switch seats two times, the third seat he was winning with (nevermind the first seat he had me drawing to two outs and never raised my bets, the river gave me one of my outs.

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You play a few small pots and grind your way back to only $50 down.

...

Do you change tables at this point? The action is great you just can't get a hand to hold up.

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1. Stop measuring in terms of how much you are down or up. If the action is great and you are playing well, this is all that matters. Play more in good situations and play less in bad situations.

2. It is possible that you are playing under your bankroll.

[scott2130]

I live in Colorado, so the biggest game you can get at a casino is $5/$5. The only other game is 2/5.

[CORed]

Changing seats or tables because the cards are running bad is just plain silly. It isn't going to hurt, but it isn't going to help either. Or to be more precise, random streaks can't be predicted or attributed to external causes. Your probability of getting good cards the next hand is the same whether you change seats or stay put. Also, if you ask for a deck change because your cards are running bad, you deserve a kick in the nuts.

[scott2130]

OK,so changing seats or tables is just not going to help.

What about taking a break or packing it in for the day? Have you ever said to yourself "todays not my day" and just went home?

If you stay do you change your play at all? Play rock tight? Don't bet or play "AS" aggressively? Or do you just play as always and hope you don't blow your bank roll?

These questions may be elementary, but I am just feeling down on myself and need to know it will turn around. /images/graemlins/confused.gif

[poker327]

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OK,so changing seats or tables is just not going to help.

What about taking a break or packing it in for the day? Have you ever said to yourself "todays not my day" and just went home?

If you stay do you change your play at all? Play rock tight? Don't bet or play "AS" aggressively? Or do you just play as always and hope you don't blow your bank roll?

These questions may be elementary, but I am just feeling down on myself and need to know it will turn around. /images/graemlins/confused.gif

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I was going to recommend taking a break in my other post. Go eat a meal or just walk around for awhile. (You should be taking a break regardless of how are you are doing, but especially if you are running bad). You can also say just go home and come back another day fresh.

Play as the table play dictates, don't change your play whether you are getting good cards or not (for example, I am on a good run of cards so I can play any two..)

[bravos1]

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OK,so changing seats or tables is just not going to help.

What about taking a break or packing it in for the day? Have you ever said to yourself "todays not my day" and just went home?

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This may be the thing to do... if it appears that you may be tilting.
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If you stay do you change your play at all? Play rock tight? Don't bet or play "AS" aggressively? Or do you just play as always and hope you don't blow your bank roll?


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Seems that you may be playing a bit above your bankroll. You should not have any worries about blowing your bankroll in a single session as you should have no where near your full bankroll to put on the table in a single session.

Also, if you can not continue playing the same solid way, you should leave. Your game should be, to the best of your ability, played to maximize EV. If you are just calling instead of correctly raising, folding strong draws because you don't have a made hand, not capping because you "know" your gonna lose, etc..., you should leave. If you get into this situation, the pots you win will most likely be much smaller, and the pots you lose will, unfortunately, probably be the same size. Moving your game here will leave WAY too much money on the table and you should probably just head home for some much needed rest.

You could also go brab a bite to eat and hope that the table dynamics have changed where you can start fresh, but you can only do this if you are emotionally sound... which in turn would not really require to to take that breather in the first place most likely. /images/graemlins/tongue.gif

Reading your post, I think it is easy to see that these dry runs do affect your play.

Good luck dealing with these types of situations!

[zuluking]

Its all one long poker game. Take a break, take a leak, smoke, whatever. As long as you're situation is +EV against your opponents, there is no reason to change seats or tables, unless you're going home for the night.

Last night I got stuck for $200 in the first 2 hours. But the table was so loose/passive, there was no way I was going to leave. I continued to play my game, and finished up $231.

[Dazarath]

From your post, I can tell that you're way too superstitious. You need to change your outlook on the game. A lot of the previous posts have good advice.

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Lately when I go to the B&M I have been either been hit hard by the deck or it avoids me like the plague.

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Three words: small sample size. After enough sessions, you'll have sessions of all types. You'll run hot on certain days, you'll run cold on others, and a lot of the time you'll run about average.


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Obviously you change seats then change tables and then change again.

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No, I don't. I'll only change seats if it gives me a positional advantage on the fish and I'll only change tables if my table is full of a bunch of tightwads and there's another table that's better.

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Do you change tables at this point? The action is great...

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My first reaction was "you should quit poker", but I guess this isn't the mid-high forum, and people aren't as sarcastic. If the action is good and you're still playing well, stay.

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So you reload another $100 and go to a new table with $150. At this point you are playing rock tight but every time you raise preflop you miss the flop, or draws with 15 outs don't come and you are down to $50 again.

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Don't look at things in terms of "I'm up $x or I'm down $y."

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Again, I want to say that you are only raising with "TOP TEN HANDS"

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At a 4/8 game, "rock tight" is a losing strategy. You need to be raising your good hands for value. I can think of a lot more than 10 hands that you should be raising.

As a lot of posters have pointed out, past results are not an indicator of future results, because the hands and flops you're dealt are independent of each other. Just because you got aces 3 times in the first hour doesn't mean you have any more or less chance of getting them on the next hand compared to the guy who's been playing for 6 hours and hasn't seen a hand better than KJo.

Whenever you're playing, ask yourself if you're a favorite to win money. Basically, can you beat the table for money? Are they playing poorly? Are you playing well? If so, at that instant in time, you have positive EV and should play. If the play is atrocious and you're a little tired, but can still play, then play. If the play is bad, but you just can't focus, it's time to pack up and head home.

Ask yourself the following questions:

1) Is it a good game (are you better than your opponents)?
2) Are you tired or do you have somewhere to be?
3) Have you lost more $$ than you can handle (bankroll issue--you didn't mention that it was)?

If you answered "yes" to #1 and no to the other two, keep playing. Poker is a lifetime game. Cards will come & go. If you find yourself losing steadily over months/year, then it might not be the cards (your play, game selection).

You mentioned getting beat out at the end in 2 pots, that happens.

[bodie]

I agree with Dazareth - I see people changing seats and tables around me all of the time, frantically because they think it will change their luck. They also call for set ups all of the time too. I've found that if I wait long enough in the same seat with a good attitude, the cards will come. True, sometimes I can't wait long enough on a certain day,, but you'd be surprised how often during a session after running really badly the cards will change. You can't change your game and play scared.
Just remember it's part of the game.
I will change seats sometimes to get advantage on a player, or to get on the other side of a maniac.

[pudley4]

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Again, I want to say that you are only raising with "TOP TEN HANDS

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The first thing you do is get a real poker book and learn how to play. The rest of this superstitious nonsense will clear itself up shortly.

[TripleH68]

You have to stop thinking of the game in terms of $$$.

I recently took a run at $10/20. I usually play $5/10 even though I am rolled for $10/20. I just still felt a little intimidated by the money aspect of it. You know, playing a hand well and dropping $80 in one hand!

This past Saturday I got down $300 in about 1 1/2 hours. I took a short walk to the restroom and told myself $300 is only 15bb. That is a small swing plus I had a decent seat at the table. I went back to the game and finished the session up 5bb. This is honestly the first time I ever really thought of the plus or minus for the day in terms of bets. It is nice to be growing up.

Someday perhaps this will click for you. Decisions to change seats or tables should not be based on perceived luck or whether you are up or down.