[CrisBrown]

Hi jay,

<<CAVEAT LECTOR: I am a very aggressive player, and if that isn't your style and you're not comfortable and confident playing that way, then what I'm about to say probably won't work for you.>>

It may be that you're simply running into a string of bad beats -- they do happen -- and/or it may be that you are tilting just a bit in the direction of weak-tight poker, which can be deadly in NL play.

When I tilt -- and everyone does at times -- it's almost invariably in the direction of playing too tight. I play so few hands that I get impatient and desperate, and that leads to overplaying the hands I do play. This is actually a fairly common form of tilt, though it's not talked about too often, and it's every bit as dangerous as going wild and chasing too much.

Obviously, when the table is loosey-goosey, you want to be playing tight, solid, ABC poker. At a loose table, you can afford to play a few more good drawing hands (e.g.: middle and small pairs, suited connectors, suited Aces and Kings) from late position, if you can get in cheap. The implied odds if you hit them are tremendous. But you want to tighten up in big cards, which don't play as well in a multi-way pot, and play your "trouble pairs" (QQ-99) more for set value than for pair value. Obviously, at a loose table, you're not going to do much (if any) bluffing. But when you have an improved hand (two pair or better), you'll be betting for value more, because the looser players will call you with weaker hands.

When the table tightens up, though, you have to adjust your game. Now you're going to be seeing mostly heads-up pots, and pairs and high cards play better there. You'll want to avoid the drawing hands, as tight players won't pay you off if you hit them (except for sets or hidden straights). You can bluff and semi-bluff more -- most of my pots come this way -- but be careful with your value bets because tighter players are playing stronger hands (on average), and they are less likely to call with hands that are beaten.

Most of my chips come on bluffs and semi-bluffs once the table (or a pot) gets tight. If it's folded around to me in MP or LP, I'll often raise with any two cards that are likely to be live, provided I don't mind a reraise. That is, I'll raise with very good hands (where I'd welcome a reraise), and very weak hands (where I won't feel bad if I have to muck them).

However, you need to be careful with this. If I've just stolen a pot with J5o from the CO, I'm not going to try to steal again in the same orbit with a hand like K6o. I'm more likely to get called that second time, and I want a hand that has some potential if called. So while I wouldn't steal a second time in close succession with K6o, I might do it with 76s, because if I am called, at least 76s has some potential to make a hand on the flop.

And of course, when you're called on a steal-raise, you have to be ready to get off that hand cheaply.

If I'm first to act on the flop -- or if I'm second to act and it's checked to me -- I'm usually going to bet at the flop. I represented a strong hand with the pre-flop raise, so I'm going to follow through on it for one stab. But unless I've hit something, that's the end of it. If I'm reraised, I'll lay down the hand. If I'm called, I'm not putting another chip into that pot unless my hand improves dramatically on the turn and/or river.

If I'm second to act and the pre-flop caller bets at me, then I'm going to think about the player, the board, my hand, the relative stacks, the phase of the tournament, etc., and make my decision. I usually won't make a bluff raise at the flop, although I might call a smallish bet at the flop and bet the turn if it's checked to me.

What I don't want to do is get pulled into a big pot with a weak hand. If it looks as if this is going to be a monster pot, and I don't have a solid hand, I want to get away from my steal with a minimum loss. When I'm playing my style of poker, I'm not desperate. I know I'm going to take another shot at a pot soon, so there's no reason to pour good money after bad when I get caught on a steal.

And that's when I'm most comfortable at a poker table. I don't feel as if I'm at the mercy of the dealer, and I don't feel pressured to overplay "the one good hand I'm going to get." I'll take my shots, picking up little pots along the way, and sooner or later I'm either going to catch a big hand or hit a big flop, and make a big pot.

When I go on tilt, I give all of that up and surrender to the mercy of the cards. And for me, that's a terrible way to play.

Cris