Feeling like I should just give up. (Low Content)

[elbuddha]

I've played over 30,000 hands now, and I have nothing to show for it.

Between last night and today, I've lost everything I made in the last two weeks and more. And those two weeks were grinding back the previous losses. Short term variance of course, except that this happens over and over and over and over. And its really bothering me.

I'm not going to post my stats because they are right where they should be, even W$SD. Except for my win rate which is 0. I've never been up much more than 75BB, I've never been down much more than 150BB. No I don't multi-table, no I don't bonus-whore.

I'm starting to believe I can't even beat Party 0.50/1.00. I'm starting to believe I can't sustain any win rate whatsoever. When I am up at a table, I feel like I should cut and run before I lose it back. And I always lose it back and more, whether it is at the same table or not.

Yeah, "Post hands where you felt icky." But I almost never feel icky anymore. Maybe I should post hands where I felt confident I was making the right plays.

Everyone else seems to have insane winrates. By 30k hands they've beaten .50/1.00 ridiculously and moved on. If I suck this bad, should I just hang it up? I really don't think I suck this bad, but it's increasingly difficult to ignore the evidence.

I guess I'm looking for advice, encouragement, or commiseration. But I'll probably just get a bitch-slapping for wasting everyone's time.

[JoeyMagsXXX]

In mid March I had a 250BB down swing over 5K hands. Before that, I had always been a moderately winning player. I took some hard looks at my game and found that the little stuff was killing me. Once you start to get above average, your leaks won't be as obvious!

I started reading the forums here. I noticed 2 things about my play:

1) My blind play was horrible
2) I wasn't agressive enough

Number one is almost fixed. I still need some BB help but I am getting there.

Number two is the most crucial aspect to winning micro limit poker! Why? Maximizing your wins and minimizing your loses! I was minimizing my loses, but also minimizing my wins because I was just being too timid!

I found my flop AF was under 1.5! Ouch! I was being more aggressive on the Turn and River. I was waiting for my hand to develop before raising or I was "afraid" of flush and straight draw and not raising when I had the best hands. This is a huge no no which can kill your game.

Take this to heart -- BE AGGRESSIVE NOT JUST TIGHT.

It worked for me and now I am winning more than ever.

--Joe

[IcarusFalling]

i know the feeling.. i've gone to party a few times and got BEAT HARD.. that was when i was REALLY newb tho and playing any suit AXs KXs QXs JXs

check out your starting hands make sure they are up to par.. that might be one of your biggest leaks .. i can ussually ATLEAST break even in games like that now...don't chase when you shouldnt, fold when they raise and you think they have you beat... i've been playing micro almost 6 months now and i've played way more than 30k hands.. i've gone up 600 gone down 600 and back up again .. it takes time

[jaxUp]

hmmm...30k hands and nothing to show for it. Well, I'm not very familiar with your style of play as you're relatively new to the forums.

[ QUOTE ]
And its really bothering me.

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This kind of sounds like you need a break.

In all likelihood, you have been running poorly, and also not playing as profitably as you could be. Take a week or two or three off and don't even think about poker. Find another hobby, read a book, go out with your wife/gf/friends, whatever.

Once you have done that, take an equally long time to study before you begin again. re-read SSH, reply to every thread on the micro board, go through PT and examine hands where you missed bets/should have folded, etc... You will come back to the game feeling refreshed and optimistic, and hopefully with a clearer vision of what you should be doing.

Also, I would recommend 1 or 2-tabling once you come back, until you are feeling VERY comfortable. Once you are comfortable, try getting your VPIP up to 20 or 21...expand your game. Just make sure you remain optimistic.

[RyGreen18]

its good to take extended breaks from poker whether your running good or bad, IMO. You say that you don't bonus whore, perhaps you should consider it. It really helped my bankroll while I was learning, and stil does today.

"Everyone else seems to have insane winrates". These are the people posting their winrates, the people who don't do well (and there must be tons of them, even those who read this forum) simply don't post them. Focus on your postflop play, the stuff that SSHE discusses at length. I've read that book 8 times and still get something new everytime i reread it.

Take a break from poker. Read 2+2 and SSHE for 1/2 a day while your gone. Come back to party on a Friday night and take the fish for a ride

[iluzion]

If you have played 30k hands at .5/1 and have nothing to show for it and it's really bothering you, I suggest taking a break. Take some time off, read (or reread) SSHE, analyze your hands, post your hands, look over all your stats. .5/1 is not in anyway a tough game.

[toss]

You should post some other stats like your win% of premium hands and which hands are costing you do most $$. Even if all your stats are in the right place, they could be there for the wrong reasons. (not saying that thats what I think)

And start posting more and responding to like all the hands with your advice. Thats one of the best ways to tell if you know what you're doing.

[Vagrant]

elbuddha,

I would suggest you go to Pokerstars .05/.10 tables. In my little experience with partypoker, the PS .10 tables seem to be just a little bit looser and a great place to learn to play. If you lose a big hand or have a bad downswing, it is less demoralizing and you can experiment more with tactics and strategies you dont quite understand or dont believe will work.

[droolie]

I have a couple suggestions.....

Start bonus whoring you idiot! Why anybody would play 30K hands without whoring is beyond me. You could have made a couple grand in bonuses while playing break-even poker. Not doing this is well, idiotic. While you play under a bonus think of it as an extra 2BB/100 to your winrate because it is!

Secondly post more. Ask questions! Disagree with Entity! You will learn! You could be running badly but I serioulsy doubt it. You have some fundamental leaks you don't realize. Have a buddy look over a session or to of all you hands. Maybe get a friend you trust to watch you play live. You would have to be extraordinarily unlucky to be playing great and not beating party .50/1. I also think it's time you posted a 30K stat tune-up. The sample size is good enough now that some of your leaks should be apparent.

[bottomset]

yeah read the archives, there is a ton of info in there

spend time responding to other hands, try to be the first too, or respond before looking at the replies its an efficient way to see if you have the correct thought process

speaking of that, write out your thought process when you do post hands, or respond to them .. explain why you called, raised folded etc.. just copy/pasting a hand won't teach much