I love 2+2! (sarcasm, long)

[rickr]

I believe it was Harrington that made a statement in his new book (if I'm misquoting, I'm sure someone will correct me) that basically whatever style you choose to play, you'll win the most with the opposite. I play weak tight. I take down many small pots raising preflop, because people assume I have a hand. But the big pots seem to come from the few times someone plays back and I get aggressive. Pick your game, and be prepared to change gears. Ram and Jam works great except when you lose.

Later,
Rick

[pfkaok]

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I actually just bought your book and have read the first 50 pages or so. I really like it so far and am excited to read and re-read the rest.

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Well, i think this will help A LOT... if you've just been trying to be extra aggro to be a money-bag, or not weak/tight then its to be expected that you'll feel lost and uncomfortable with your play. Once you get all the concepts in SSHE the aggr factor will probably go up, but just under 2 that you had before is certainly not overly weak. you probably could stand to find a few more spots to push your edges, but you need to understand how to recognize them in order to take advantage of it. raising with moderately strength hands is good IN CERTAIN SPOTS, and reading SSHE should help you to logically decide when these spots come up.


BTW as bicyclekick said, 20k isn't that much... of course you might be able to tell that you're just not feeling as good, and solid at the tables, and that would be different. But sheer variance is a very powerful thing. during the beginning/middle of last month i was just about break even for around 20k hands. however i had been running really well before then, and in the past few weeks since, so don't get too down yet.

good luck, and hope that after reading SSHE you'll be able to pick you spots better, and also recognize when posters in SS are advising too much AGRO... there's lots of good info on this site, unfortunately a lot of bad advice is given too, so you gotta be able to tell the difference.

[Awesemo]

i'd suggest reading real poker II the play of hands by Roy Cooke. This book will help show you an appropriate amount of aggression and explain exactly why each move is correct.

[lehighguy]

Aggressions does improve winrate, but its very diffucult. I used to be like you. Very conservative and only betting with the great hands, never bluffing. I had a very nice 3/6 winrate. But I could tell I wasn't maximizing my value. It felt like I was losing pots I should have won. So I read SSHE and read the 2+2 forums. My winrate dropped dramatically at first, I didn't really know what I was doing. But, as I got more experience my results improved. I learned when to be aggressive and when not to be.

Before you avoided making hard decisions. You simply didn't get in decisions where you wouldn't have the best hand. SO you gave up EV to protect yourself. But poker isn't about winning 80% of your EV, its about winning 100%. Aggression is the key.

He is an example. I'm sitting at a 100NL table. MP has AQ and UTG has AJ. WIth significant PF raising flop is A,Q,rag with flush draw. UTG checks, MP bets. UTG checks, MP bets. UTG bets small amount, MP calls (no likely flush or straight). WTF is MP doing. HE has top two pair. He needs to raise. He gave up EV cause he was afraid of the wind. SUre, maybe the guy will have trips or something somtimes, but more of the time he has a [censored] ace and you need to nail him.

Here is another example. Let's say you have a strong hand and a flush card comes on the turn. If the person on your left bets he doesn't have it cause he would have gone for a checkraise. You should raise into his bet to make his draw (and anyone elses) expensive. If he trip bets at least you now know he has the flush and can fold.

You need to get maximum EV, and that requires risk. Managing risk requires study, specifically study of hands and hand quizes. If you want to learn to play postflop I recommend the party 5/10 6max tables. 6 max will force you to learn good postflop, and I have found it very profitable.

[SA125]

The best thing ever written about poker is from Sklansky and it's short and sweet - the 8 most common mistakes we make during a hand. It all boils down to that.

1 - Checking when we should bet.
2 - Betting when we should check.
3 - Calling when we should raise. etc.

Instead of trying to play an uncomfortable style, try to make better decisions in the one you play. Are they betting or raising because they know you're tight and want you to fold, or do they have the goods on you?

I find that the difference between a session being a winning one or a losing one is often just 2-3 hands. Good luck.

[mikeyKay]

i agree with what you have said...when i first finished reading SSHE i was so over aggressive and went on my biggest downswing. i then started studying more, and thinking, and i eventually worked out of it. i aslo agree with the 5/10 6max play. once i moved up to this level i really thought about every check/call/bet i made and it made me a much more aware/better player (im still no pro at this level, but im getting better). it made me no longer play like a robot. dont be a robot.

-mike

[pfkaok]

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i aslo agree with the 5/10 6max play

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i agree on that too... 6max helps quite a bit with postflop play, since it forces you into many more margainal spots. as long as you think about it while you play, and go over hands after sessions you're bound to improve.