Stars frustration
 

Hey guys.. please go easy on me if what im about to let go upsets you, im very annoyed atm, and just need to vent.

Obviously many of the experienced players have had a night like this, but this one was my first. I felt like i played quite well, and after reviewing my hand histories, i found minimal mistakes here and there, but overall I would call my play at least a minor success. That being said... i 2-tabled Pokerstars most of the day, and am down 75BB in 918 hands. It seemed like no matter what, the last person who had 1 out left got it. I had 5 out of 38 hands where i had either top 2 pair, overpair and top pair on board, or trips and LOST to either runner runner straight/flush, or someone with a kicker slightly better(Ace over King, King over Queen) etc.

Overall, i won 28 BB from hands, and lost 103 BB, for a net of -75BB. This is at the $1/$2 level.

I have about 6000 hands logged, so im starting to get at least a glimpse of how i play.. and of course there are plenty of flaws.. but is this just a bad day? Im sure it is.. i just need reassurement. On another note, Pokerstars seems to be much more difficult for me than any other site that I have played on. I haven't played there much, but the 1750 hands that I have logged there are losing hands, where i am either breakeven or slightly ahead on the other sites.

Thanks for listening... and if anyone has some advice, id appreciate it. I hate it when my confidence takes hits like this, and of course its poker, but sometimes i just want to smack that damn pocket Jacks upside the head..


< /rant>

Thanks... and wish me luck. [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Re: Stars frustration
 

Get used to it. You're going to experience many more downswings in the future, and some of them will be a lot bigger than 75BB. Have fun.

Re: Stars frustration
 

[ QUOTE ]
Get used to it. You're going to experience many more downswings in the future, and some of them will be a lot bigger than 75BB. Have fun.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is good advice. I'd also add that you might not be ready yet to be 2-tabling. I advise most friends who haven't played many hands to stick to 1 table for awhile as it's better for development. Good luck.

Re: Stars frustration
 

what he said.....and you have more mistakes in your game than you are aware of.
most people do.

stop thinking that there aren't any mistakes in your game just because you aren't seeing them.
it's a common mistake.
but regardless of the mistakes in your game, -75BB downswings WILL happen. That's poker.

Re: Stars frustration
 

They don't call it riverstars for nothing....

Re: Stars frustration
 

thanks for your honesty guys. I ceartinly do have a lot to learn. I've calmed down now, gonna call it a night, review the hands in more detail tomorrow, and keep plugging. I appreciate your help/truth [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Cheers!

Re: Stars frustration
 

[ QUOTE ]
They don't call it riverstars for nothing....

[/ QUOTE ]


Lol no doubt

Re: Stars frustration
 

My best advise would be to ensure you are not playing inferior cards. If you are getting outkicked often you may be playing a little loose. Throw away weak aces and kings. It is hard to say from one post but getting outkicked costs lots of money! Good luck on turning it around.

Thank you,

Jim Kuhn
Catfish4u
[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Re: Stars frustration
 

Another piece of advice. Sounds like you are just starting out. Stars might not be the best site for this. Switch to Party where the players are A LOT worse regardless of what level you are losing at on Stars

Re: Stars frustration
 

I read somewhere that stars is rigged. Thoughts?

Re: Stars frustration
 

FWIW - there are posts like yours ALL the time on these forums.

- newbie doesn't know why he isn't winning, etc etc.
- veteran posters tell him "dude, work on your game."
= newbie EITHER acknowledges the possibility that he might not be as great as he thinks he is (not typical response) OR gets really defensive and stubborn and just thinks he's getting flamed (easily the more frequently chosen path).




Your response to the criticism was:


[ QUOTE ]

thanks for your honesty guys. I ceartinly do have a lot to learn. I've calmed down now, gonna call it a night, review the hands in more detail tomorrow, and keep plugging. I appreciate your help/truth

[/ QUOTE ]


is one of the best I have seen from a new poster in a thread such as this.
That bodes VERY well for your chances.

I don't believe I've ever seen a thread like this actually continue with the struggling new poster saying 'thanks for the honesty guys' when he is essentially being told that he probably isn't a very good player.

you already have a great outlook. seriously.

You are interested in looking into your hands in more depth and figuring out what you should be doing better....which you should be doing anyway regardless of whether you have been winning or losing in the short-term...but there's nothing quite like a healthy down-swing to get those ideas of 'I better plug those leaks' in full gear.


Anyway - good luck.
And don't just look over your hands on your own.
Take a hand or two and post them in the micro-limit or small-stakes strategy forums.

And read some of the other threads over there, develop your own opinions on some of the hands there, and learn from the masters. some of the players that post frequently over there are REALLY good (and try your best to ignore the idiots).

Re: Stars frustration
 

Could poker rooms be rigged?

I mean, I guess it's possible...

Re: Stars frustration
 

Dude, im in the same boat you are.

Yesterday I felt I was poker god catching all my cards and then today... -$300... all of flopped sets havenot won. They have turned into fullhouses and still lost. All of my preflop raises are not catching jack [censored]. This is tough. I must fight on!

Re: Stars frustration
 

Microbob, thank you =) I appreciate the encouragement. I appreciate the encouragement. I hope to succeed and I'll ceartinly continue working. I might abandon PokerStars $120 bonus(thats what i was chasing).. and go work up at another site. I have a ton of studying to do, as i found the info quite daunting to comprehend all at once, but im having a blast. Thanks again for your input, and I'll try to stay out of the way of the idiots =)

Re: Stars frustration
 

Smartalecc5,

Well make it

[img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

Re: Stars frustration
 

[ QUOTE ]
I appreciate the encouragement. I appreciate the encouragement.

[/ QUOTE ]



you're welcome, my pleasure.
you're welcome, my pleasure.

Re: Stars frustration
 

[img]/images/graemlins/confused.gif[/img] see.. this is what i get for trying to think at 2:45 AM [img]/images/graemlins/laugh.gif[/img]

Re: Stars frustration
 

I wanted to rant about PokerStars too. I am not a big fan of their site, but I deposited for their 20% bonus. Maybe I suck, but my first night there saw me at -20BB. It is not encouraging that most of the 2/4 tables there show flop percentages of 20-30%. Last night I logged on and played one table of 2/4 hold'em and one table of 2/4 stud/8 and I ended up down another -25BB. I moved to two new tables though and by the end of the evening won back those 45BB, but snagged a mighty 5 more to end the evening in the black overall.

I'm still not keen on this site, but there are plenty of suck players out there and you can surely beat them.

Only 250 hands left for me there and I'll get my bonus AND have enough points to grab the Sklansky Tournament book, huzzah.

Re: Stars frustration
 

[ QUOTE ]
I read somewhere that stars is rigged. Thoughts?

[/ QUOTE ]

It has to be. I won 10 SNGs in a row. And I was using the Party Pattern Mapper!.

Re: Stars frustration
 

[ QUOTE ]
Maybe I suck, but my first night there saw me at -20BB.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is not even a blip. If this effects you emotionally, your in for a rude awakening one day.

Re: Stars frustration
 

Reviewing your hands in more depth is a great idea. I would also suggest submitting hands from your sessions to pokergrader. That tool does a decent job of telling you whether you are generally making good decisions or not.

Again, reviewing your trouble hands will go a long way to plugging some leaks.

Re: Stars frustration
 

[ QUOTE ]
Microbob, thank you =) I appreciate the encouragement. I appreciate the encouragement. I hope to succeed and I'll ceartinly continue working. I might abandon PokerStars $120 bonus(thats what i was chasing).. and go work up at another site. I have a ton of studying to do, as i found the info quite daunting to comprehend all at once, but im having a blast. Thanks again for your input, and I'll try to stay out of the way of the idiots =)

[/ QUOTE ]

The Stars bonus will not go away if you withdraw. You will be able to come back and finish it.

Re: Stars frustration
 

Now you know why you need a minimum 300 BB bankroll. You're running bad. It happens. It sucks. The worst bad runs are the ones where you're getting monster hand after monster hand, and they all end up second best.

Re: Stars frustration
 

Good luck.

Re: Stars frustration
 

It is an up and down thing for me too on Pokerstars, it seems they put something in the computer for you to run bad or good...lol

The way I have been trying to good on stars..only 80 more fpps to clear the bonus. I play $10 or $20 SNG while I play 3/6 limit and normally if I am running bad on the ring game I make it up on the SNG. I kick ass at SNG's on Stars and that is mainly where my profit comes. Every 1 out of 3 times I will be up a bit in the ring game.

I am working on my 3/6 skills after doing well in the 2/4. Not much of a difference, but I am moving up at my own speed.

Re: Stars frustration
 

I wouldnt blame the site. Being card dead sometimes is all part poker. Maybe you play not so hot, sure, the games easy to play when the cards are hitting u in the face.

Re: Stars frustration
 

I am just now starting to play again after swearing off the game for months. Right about the time I needed money from poker, was about the same time that I started a hideous streak of repeated suck-outs, miracle losses, and flukish beats. It was your night expanded so long that my play started to be affected badly. Nights like that are going to happen. And you CAN have swings that are greater then 300 BBs in the long run if you let it all get to you.

So expect it. Remember it is a game. I would NEVER EVER want to go pro at this, but I LOVE it as a hobby. If you are not having fun, and don't need to play at any given time...DON'T! Cause at that point, playing tidily-winks would be more constructive then playing any form of poker.

All I have said has been said before...only now I HAVE experienced it and thus have moved from believing it could happen to knowing it WILL happen.

Re: Stars frustration
 

[ QUOTE ]
Another piece of advice. Sounds like you are just starting out. Stars might not be the best site for this. Switch to Party where the players are A LOT worse regardless of what level you are losing at on Stars

[/ QUOTE ]

Personally I find this horrible advice, no offense intended. The guy is posting because he's frustrated by bad beats. Sending him to play against the legendarily craptacular party players is only going to make that worse. Yes, they're easier to beat in the long run but they are a hell of a lot more frustrating in the short run.

Stick at the nanos at Stars until you know what you're doing then sign up at a party skin with a rakeback deal.

Re: Stars frustration
 

I assume you've bought Pokertracker since you were pretty specific about your losses and hand count. Tomorrow morning (or whenever you are fresh and completely over the concussion) replay the sessions and watch carefully. I do this routinely with both good and bad sessions and it really helps me. Dropping back to one table temporarily was good advise. You may want to drop down a level until you get your rythym back, as well. Best of luck...