Correct play when u just want to punch someone...

[pointcount]

Here's the thing..

I'm sure we've all had experience with tables of bad players, and although I've read these are the 'bread and butter' of the poker player I can't seem to crack it. A table full of people holding 86o, a3o, reraising 22 should be fantastic but even when I try to push them out of the pot with PF raises they stay in and usually call me to the river..and win... making low straights/flushes with 1 suited card (4 suited community cards) etc. Eventually after playing at this table for over and hour I have a showdown % of 14% and have lost over 20BB. My questoin is this... whens enough and should you continue to play here even though you're getting bad beats?

[EdSchurr]

Only quit if you feel like you're playing worse as a result of taking those bad beats, or your bankroll is too low now that you can't handle any further losses which aren't unlikely (information ratio!).

Being able to keep cool is definitely important.

[Greg J]

[ QUOTE ]
Eventually after playing at this table for over and hour I have a showdown % of 14% and have lost over 20BB.

[/ QUOTE ]

Hey man -- welcome to the boards.

This is an INSANELY SMALL sample size. I mean super tiny. 20bbs is not a downswing worth worrying about. If you are playing tight preflop and decent postflop you should, in the long run, beat guys limping in with 86o. Short term variation is part of poker. It seems oftentimes that when you win you win BIG (like 20 bb/100 hands or much more), but when you loose you loose big also (which can be comparable to the same 20bbs -- just in the other direction.

I say this as a relatively inexperienced player still: 20bb downswings are fairly rouitine for me. I don't let them get to me too much since they happen pretty often. My winning sessions more than make up for this though.

[ QUOTE ]
My questoin is this... whens enough and should you continue to play here even though you're getting bad beats?

[/ QUOTE ]
Only if your level of frustration interferes with your play. Then you should pry yrself away with a crowbar if you have to. We all have different frustration thresholds. (Mine is like 7 or 8 bad beats in a row.)

[SofaCoach]

[ QUOTE ]
I try to push them out of the pot with PF raises they stay in and usually call me to the river..and win...

[/ QUOTE ]
If you are raising with quality hands like big pocket pairs or suited broadway cards and they want to call with 83 or J4 or whatever, GREAT, the more the merrier. Will they often win win that junk, yes, but you will win much more than your fair share playing better cards. i.e., If you raise with AQs and you get 7 to the flop anyway, you won't win MOST of the time but you will win far more than 1/7th of the time, so all those calls are making you money.

[Jaran]

Correct play when u just want to punch someone...

Leave the table, find a wall and punch it. Seriously, dude, if the bad beats are getting to you this much, you need to get away for a while and collect your thoughts.

-Jaran

[bisonbison]

Point, you have to realize that not every session can be a winning session, not every good hand can be a winning hand and that you have to adjust your play to best suit the conditions (i.e. raise hands that love it when 65o calls).

[cnfuzzd]

Dont listen to these nancy men. Correct play when you want to punch someone? Order three shots of tequila, then throw them on whomever sucks out on you next, then consume lots of whiskey. Then, punch someone, usually while trying to have sex with their spouse. Then, as they are racking up your chips and cuffing your wrists, start shouting BISON GAVE ME THE DRUGS!!! BISON GAVE ME THE DRUGS!!!!

(note, not always a +ev move)

peace

john nickle

[sfer]

[ QUOTE ]
A table full of people holding 86o, a3o, reraising 22 should be fantastic but even when I try to push them out of the pot with PF raises they stay in and usually call me to the river..and win... making low straights/flushes with 1 suited card (4 suited community cards) etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

You want them to call. Read this. In fact, everyone new should read this. Old Joe Tall post.

[Joe Tall]

You should learn to: Enjoy a Bad Beat.

There is a typo the example that has not been changed. The T should be a J.

Peace,
Joe Tall