Got screwed by worse player, advice on this hand?

[KOJAK]

This is the funniest post I have ever read on this site.

[elwoodblues]

I am by no stretch of the imagination a good player (be forewarned). One thing that you might try is finding a site that offers Kill games. Play at your normal limit, then every once in a while (when a player wins 2 hands in a row for x number of bets) the stakes will double and you'll get a taste for a higher limit. While the kill game doesn't play exactly the same as the actual games at the higher limits, you might be able to overcome your fear of losing a hand at a slightly higher limit.

Have fun with it. See you at the low limit tables!

~elwood

[Homer]

You were definitely lacking proper aggression in this hand. AK, suited or not, is a premium hand. You want to raise because you most likely have the best hand, and you want to make lesser hands (like the K2 that beat you) pay multiple bets to see the flop, or else fold their inferior holding. The flop was close to ideal for your hand (with the exception of the flush draw...you'd rather have had it be rainbow). You have top-pair, top-kicker, which is quite a powerful hand on this flop. There is no reason to assume that you don't have the best hand. You should be betting and raising with this hand, until you find a reason to believe that someone else has a better hand. When the turn pairs the board, you still shouldn't be worried, as it was the bottom card that paired. There is no reason to believe that anyone called the flop bet with bottom pair. There is still an excellent chance that your hand is good. Assuming you bet/raised and didn't meet any resistance (i.e. reraising) on the flop, you should keep betting/raising on the turn. If someone starts to raise out of nowhere, you might want to consider slowing down and seeing the showdown as cheaply as you can. But, until you have reason to believe your hand isn't best, don't get scared of monsters under the bed and slow down. The river card is a perfect one for you. Your hand will be best here a large percentage of the time. Keep betting and raising.

I know it can difficult to play on a small roll. That is why it is not advisable to be playing with scared money. You won't be playing your best game of poker. You will be playing in a fashion that does not allow you to be a winning player. You will probably be a lot better off if you wait until you have built a larger bankroll before you move up to the next limit. You want to be able to play your best game, without thinking about the money that is at stake. This game is hard enough to play already! [img]/forums/images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Good luck with everything. Hopefully the inconsiderate and unhelpful comments by some of the people around here will not deter you from posting again in the future. You will receive good advice from the majority of posters, or at a minimum, well-intentioned advice. It is a shame that you will have to sift through some garbage along the way, but that's the way it goes...

-- Homer

[ChuckRazor]

The next time you get AKo in early position, you should fold, throw a roll of nickels out the window. This will save you money in the long run.

[Homer]

wonderful first post ahole

[MRBAA]

Okay, okay. I'm sorry I asked if he was 12 -- but his concern and seriousness about such a small sum of money did make me wonder if he might be very young. Am I totally out of touch or is a $5 loss insignificant to everyone here? You just can't play THAT scared.

[Fitz]

Everyone's financial situation is different. A $5 loss will be a bigger deal to some. I have a cousin who makes over a 100k a year, and I still can't get him to play above 3/6, so that is all relative.

I think the more important thing we can all take from this post is how to deal with the awkwardness we all feel when we move up to a higher limit. I had a similar experience recently; I normally play 2/4 online, and occasionally, I will play 3/6 if a game looks good. A couple of weeks ago, I stepped up and got into a 5/10 game online. I'm a very experienced player, and I still ended up making some weak tight mistakes that I know cost me money.

One other thought: What if he is 12? I was playing nickel dime poker with my buddies at that age. Had I had internet access, I'm sure I'd have been in a quarter game somewhere. Think about it, if we'd all started studying and building a bankroll at that age, we'd be beating the 30/60 games today.

Good luck all,