When to wave white flag?

[colpres]

I joined Party's $.5/1 Limit Hold'em the other night, full of expectations for a good night. My first win came in hand 72.

During the first 71 folds and losses, I thought I was playing SSH poker. You know, not going too far with weak hands, raising with the strong pre-flop hands, etc. As the book says "Sometimes your cards will run worse than average and you will lose." Thinking that the cards would change, I stayed in the game for 7 hours, and they never changed during the whole episode. Hundreds of hands, 18 wins.

How do you know WHEN to surrender to the "thermal noise on a zener diode" that has decreed that this session it will select cards for you that will not win? Seriously, my on-line play is best characterized by multiple small wins punctuated by one down session that undoes a week or two of successful play. Is there some "newbie" delusion that I'm falling prey to? It doesn't seem as if I'm outplayed that badly by opponents - instead, it seemed it was the 1 for 14 2 to 1 open-ended str8 or flush draws justified by pots odds that missed or the 4 for 43 set opportunities and only winning the hand 2 of the 4 times my set draw came through. The other players were playing 6-3 suited, J-5 offsuit, and any ace-rag combo that came along, so the game seemed beatable. I didn't know when to give up and get out. Any suggestions?

[TwoShedsJackson]

If you can't cope with playing 70-odd hands without winning one, stop playing now.

[ QUOTE ]
The other players were playing 6-3 suited, J-5 offsuit, and any ace-rag combo that came along, so the game seemed beatable. I didn't know when to give up and get out. Any suggestions?

[/ QUOTE ]

You don't want to get out of games with these guys.

[tiltaholic]

this one time, at band camp, i went 210 hands and i PLAYED 6 of them not including the blinds. not won, not lost, but played. it happens.

[ QUOTE ]
Seriously, my on-line play is best characterized by multiple small wins punctuated by one down session that undoes a week or two of successful play. Is there some "newbie" delusion that I'm falling prey to? It doesn't seem as if I'm outplayed that badly by opponents

[/ QUOTE ]

more likely it could be loss of focus, impatience, and annoyance when you are not doing well. these can be very real threats to being a winning player. if you are feeling any of these, it is time to get out (if it is effecting your play).

[Greg J]

A lot of people will tell you, "that's poker, get over it!" And yeah, that is true. But I know it's frustrating. Learning to deal with the frustration is the key. I think the hardest hurdle to overcome in poker is they emotional/psychological one.

There are times when you wait and wait and play VERY few hands, and the one you do play loose to outrageous runner runner two pairs to beat your TPTK. This happens to me a lot, as it does to us all.

Then there are times like the other day where I am 4 tabling, have AA on one table and KK at two others, and took down nice pots in each of them. I called my wife over to the screen and she said "oh cool!"

The good will happen too.

[colpres]

Nice post - thanks! I told my wife so she'll know that a "cool" at the right time can come in handy!

[Larimani]

online poker is RIGGED. [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[BruinEric]

One thing that is "sinking in" for me is that a player needs to really strengthen his post-flop game so that the "small wins" can be "medium wins," and the "medium wins" can be "large wins" by always being aggressive in the right place.

I often lose aggressiveness on the river when I have the 2nd or 3rd nuts and fear nutty stuff like quads with 55 on the board.

There will be times this strategy will LOSE you more money in pots...but its all about the long run.

[BruinEric]

Let me add a helpful hint -- if losses at .5/1 frustrate you (as they do me). Take a break and sign up for Paradise using the GRANNY 50% deposit bonus. (PM 2+2 username GrannyMae who can tell you all about it.)

You can clear this bonus (which does not expire) playing .25/.5 at their site. Their site also offers lower limit as well, but those games aren't raked so you can't clear the bonus at that level.

When I am working on an aspect of my game or am in a big psychological funk, I drop down to a lower limit and get myself in order.

For example -- are you tempted to check AKo on flop in LP with a low-rag rainbow board? Practice playing it right where it costs you less money -- or better yet, costs only the bonus money.

Just my two cents.

[droolie]

You need to stop looking at things like this. It doesn't matter how many hands you have lost in a row. Each hand is a unique experience and has nothing to do with what came before. It may not be your night but that doesn't mean things won't turn around if you keep a good attitude and make the best decisions. 100 hands is nothing. If you're opponents make more mistakes than you, you will win. It isn't about the number of hands you win in one session but the amount of money you win over the long haul. If you cannot adopt a long term approach quit poker now. If your bankroll can't handle the fluctuations drop limits.

[bottomset]

learn to play 3/4 tables that way 70hands dead is only 20mins or so .. it makes the rough stretches that show easier to stomach

also its not about # of hands won/lost, its $won/lost