I can't beat .5/1 Party

[Greg J]

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And never, ever delude yourself into thinking that your last 5,10,20,50K hands tell you what you need to know about the quality of your game. Variance is a capricious bitch. Beautiful. Irresistible. Chronically unfaithful. She makes us feel invincible, knows just when to turn the knife. And despite all the abuse, deep down we know we can't live without her. Wouldn't want to. Even as we half-heartedly try to convince ourselves otherwise. (feel free to transpose genders if need be)

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Wow.

Paragraphs like this are why you need to post more. Nice.

[DerFleischmeister]

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My V$PIP is around 25, pfr 8-9

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The PFR% is too low for a VPIP of 25. I know of people who are winners at .50/1 with a VPIP of 25% (I'm 19% myself), but they are also PFRing about 13-15% of the time. (Mine is 9%.) Normally, your PFR% in a full ring game should be about half of your VPIP%. Find more hands to raise with and more hands to fold (like the T9o here. I would only play this on the button for a blind steal if it was folded to me, and then only with tight blinds.)

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I'm going to SD about 37 and winning just over 40.

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You're going to the river with a few too many marginal hands. The combination of a slightly high WtSD% and a significantly low W$SD% tells us this. "Ideal" numbers for all of the PT stats can be found here...but don't get too attached to stats. They are a general guide to finding large-scale holes in your game. The best way to address marginal questions is posting hands right here.

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a VP$IP of 95 and a PFR% of 12

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That is not a LP...that is a LAG, and he is immediately on your left...the worst place for a LAG. Change seats/tables (especially if this table is playing as tight as 17-20% VPIP), if his actions are controlling the table. You want LAGs/maniacs on your right, for the most part. The combination of a tight table and the one LAG at your table on your immediate left is a recipe for disaster. There are MUCH BETTER tables to be had on PP .50/1. If a donk like me can beat .50/1 for 2.5 BB/100, almost anybody can.

SSHE is probably THE BEST book in existence for PP .50/1 (and PP 2/4, for that matter). Read And Heed, when it gets to you.

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What prompted me to post this thread is that today a player sat down at Party with $20 and turned it into $100 within about 2 hours.

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LAGs will frequently do this. LAGs will even more frequently sit down with $100 and turn it into $0. These swings are a side effect of their playing style. It is not a long-term winning style of play...it just appears to be.

[sexdrugsmoney]

Thanks for the replies, its given me alot to think about.

Gregj is right, I suck at Poker, I have no delusions about this, but I want to get better.

I take responsibility for my actions, but I've been told alot of conflicting stuff from lots of people and books.

When I first started out at .5/1 I played tight but didn't make any money.

People kept saying about the 'donks' at .5/1 and "crushing" games and so I got a bit more aggressive.

If I was playing 5/10 I'd play differently, I'd respect my opponents, at .5/1 I don't believe them, and want to "see"!

I might have to go back to my tight strategy.

Sasnak, I reckecked PT: v$pip 96.09 - pfr 12.50.

I get PT to autorate my players using a persons rules on this forum. However now I'm going to scrap that and use bisonbisons' found here: link

With all the "crushing" talk and second hand SSH info I've heard from the forums it sounds as if you are supposed to "push" your opponents and bet strongly with middle pair as in Low Limit they are just as likely not to have an Ace if it flops (Ed Millers "Lee Jones Monsters Under the Bed" post). Wheras I would have thrown away my KQ if the flop came 2KA and I checked and it was bet according to Jones' advice.

I have to get that SSH book but suspect it has been lost in the mail. (been waiting 6 weeks for it)

Cheers guys,
SDM

[Sasnak]

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With all the "crushing" talk and second hand SSH info I've heard from the forums it sounds as if you are supposed to "push" your opponents and bet strongly with middle pair as in Low Limit they are just as likely not to have an Ace if it flops (Ed Millers "Lee Jones Monsters Under the Bed" post). Wheras I would have thrown away my KQ if the flop came 2KA and I checked and it was bet according to Jones' advice.

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I'll search for EM's post later unless you have a quick link for me.

Maybe you're misunderstanding some of the concepts SSH and others preach around here. Going aggro and raising just to be raising to increase your PFR stats, or limping into a pot with a marginal hand becasue you need to get your VP up, is wrong. Look for the situations where it is correct to do so against certain types of opponents, etc.


You also aren't wanting to "push your opponents"... You're wanting to "push your EDGES". Don't "push your opponents" with middle pair. Push your edge when you have an over card along with middle pair and a BDFD or BDSD and a favorable board to yourself. Don't take "push middle pair" as a blanket statement.

The difference is in knowing when to push, when to call and when to release.

~

[silvershade]

I think that you need to stress just how long long term can be at these tables, you could play well and be down after 10,000 hands pretty easily. Given long enough playing good poker you will ( almost ) certainly win but its not unthinkable to go weeks losing if you only play a couple thousand hands a week.

[Paxosmotic]

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I think that you need to stress just how long long term can be at these tables, you could play well and be down after 10,000 hands pretty easily. Given long enough playing good poker you will ( almost ) certainly win but its not unthinkable to go weeks losing if you only play a couple thousand hands a week.

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In more advanced games I'd agree, but with Party .5/1, I will respectfully disagree, and almost certainly get pounced on by a lot of supporters of the Variance Movement. If you're losing money after 10k hands at .5/1, it is not variance at all, you are simply a losing player.