Bad night at Pokerstars

[sfer]

[ QUOTE ]
I only started doing this badly after reading Small Stakes Hold'em. I think it is largely irrelevant to online play, especially the popular sites like Pokerstars and Paradise.

[/ QUOTE ]

You limped with JJ. You can either reread or wait for the Cliffs Notes.

Seriously, this thread is a waste of time. If you think SSH ruined your game, fine. You took some beats. Want a tissue? Remember that line from Glengarry Glen Ross? I used to play poker...it's a tough racket.

If you want to learn and you want the forum regulars here to help, do us a favor and at least have the courtesy to convert your damn hands.

[Luke]

Read the other responses in this thread. They are ALL steering you towards the right mindset despite their harsh tone.

I'll just offer some advice on the hands:

Hand 1: Raise preflop and bet the river.

Hand 2: Looks OK to me. Players close to all-in with often bet overly aggressive and unpredictably so your turn cap is fine.

Hand 3: With some moderate bluffing, calling down is probably OK. With a lot of bluffing going on and a lot of draws on the board, calling down is at the very least correct. 3-betting the turn is also an option.

Hand 4: Raise the turn. Like you said you have a bunch of outs IF you're behind but you could very well be ahead of a bunch of hands like 2 pair, a smaller set or top pair.

Hand 5: Raise preflop. This is similar to hand 1 with JJ. You want to raise now when your pot equity is clearly large and can easily capture an extra bet from everyone.

I'd probably 3-bet the flop but certainly wouldn't fold.


You say you read Ed's book but are making clear errors that go against some of his basic concepts. Not raising JJ and AJs in those spots is a HUGE mistake.

Reread Hand #5 from Ed's Preflop Quiz on p. 259. That's the ATs hand where there's 6 limpers to you in the BB and he says not raising might be a bigger mistake than raising with 72o.

Also, stop thinking, "How can I get away from this hand?" when you have a strong hand and face a little resistance. It will only get you in trouble against loose and aggressive online players.

Good luck and welcome to the forum.

Luke

[Naiss]

I don't feel comfortable with JJ or AJo/s, if A,K,Q comes down with the former I have to fold to any bet unless I become a calling station and I can't be confident I have the best Ace with the latter. People will play AK and AQ quietly in these games with $100+ (25+BB)pots. Also a pre-flop raise in this game caused a domino effect whereby it would guarantee every round would be capped and I didn't feel like paying 4 pre-flop bets with JJ due to the fact I was down at this point. You can't seperate emotions from the math.

Thanks for your help, I really enjoyed playing in the game but it would have been great to enjoy it and finish ahead.

[bdk3clash]

"Remember that line from Glengarry Glen Ross?"

In no way does SSH advocate this mode of extremely weak tight thinking. You can't say SSH made you into a losing player if you obviously aren't playing in any sembelance of the style that SSH advocates. You can't have your cake and eat it too, buddy.

[sfer]

OMG. Did you scribble your little "capping" thing in there?

POTD!

[bdk3clash]

Ph33r my l33t Ph0to5h0p skillzzzz

[bisonbison]

coffee is for closers.

[nolanfan34]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't feel comfortable with JJ or AJo/s, if A,K,Q comes down with the former I have to fold to any bet unless I become a calling station and I can't be confident I have the best Ace with the latter. People will play AK and AQ quietly in these games with $100+ (25+BB)pots. Also a pre-flop raise in this game caused a domino effect whereby it would guarantee every round would be capped and I didn't feel like paying 4 pre-flop bets with JJ due to the fact I was down at this point. You can't seperate emotions from the math.

[/ QUOTE ]

My gosh. I'm going to try to respond to this in a nice way before some of the other guys get to you. [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

First, based on these paragraphs alone, you're playing at too high of a level to be a long term winner. I've been there, and that weak-tight thinking will only limit your potential earning. I'm the first to admit that when you take some beats, and have some hands cracked, it's tough to stay aggressive.

But this is usually especially the case when you're playing higher than your bankroll can support. I post/play more in the micro .50/1 and 1/2 levels, but decided the other night to sit in a Party 2/4 game for a bit since people seem to say they're better than the 1/2 game. But I quickly found that I was way too uncomfortable with the potential swings, and I was sweating hands that would be no-brainers at .50/1. I don't doubt that I can beat 2/4, but I'll wait until I build my bankroll up to the recommended 300 BB before playing it on a regular basis. If you're worried about losing money, you can't play optimally.

Keep reading posts on here and posting hands. I would recommend checking out the micro forum, because based on what you've posted, I just think you have a lot to learn still. Reminds me of myself when I first found this site, so I'm not trying to flame you, just offering an honest recommendation.

[easypete]

[ QUOTE ]
I don't feel comfortable with JJ or AJo/s, if A,K,Q comes down with the former I have to fold to any bet unless I become a calling station and I can't be confident I have the best Ace with the latter. People will play AK and AQ quietly in these games with $100+ (25+BB)pots. Also a pre-flop raise in this game caused a domino effect whereby it would guarantee every round would be capped and I didn't feel like paying 4 pre-flop bets with JJ due to the fact I was down at this point. You can't seperate emotions from the math.

[/ QUOTE ]

A couple comments.

1. I didn't feel comfortable raising pf w/ JJ when I first started posting in these forums. Now I do it w/ 99. Why? Because they are good hands (great hands).
2. I didn't start raising AJo pf until about 1 month ago. Now that I do, my win rate for that hand has increase 200%.
3. Playing tight/aggressive is not a comfortable thing for most, nor is a natural ability. It must be learned.
4. If you are staying in a game that is capped pf 100% of the time there is a raise (because of a "domino" effect), then you may want to think about leaving the game. Game selection is a very important skill in hold'em (read PoP).
5. Yes, you can seperate emotions from math. They even have different departments in most colleges for this.