Where did my patience go??

[Leave_it_2_Beav]

Greetings Poker Gurus,

This is my first post and before I go any further I must tell you how informative this forum is! I am a poker rookie, became an addict about 6 months ago. I have been playing Party 1/2 as well as some NL multi tournaments. I played a 30/3 Multi about 3 months ago with about 1100 people. I played flawless and took 2nd which started my bankroll off to a very nice start. However, I think that early success has hurt me more then it has helped me. I thought I was a lot better player than I am, which I now realize I almost suck (but this forum has helped me start to rise above the sucking status)! After that tournament I played a lot of 1/2 and won very consistently for about 6 weeks. Now here is my problem:
I can't win a session to save my life. My patience is completely gone. I have been seeing like close to 40% of the flops mostly in ring games. I am sure this is a huge reason why I am losing, but I see all these players playing these bad starting hands and winning. In these ring games should I have a higher percentage of flops seen then in a full 10 man table? Should I have a different strategy playing these ring games? How do I play the blinds in both games? Also I have benn reading Sklansky's Hold'em Poker and been focusing very hard on his pre flop strategy. Does anyone have any input on developing a note card on his starting hands, raises, etc. to help maximize my winnings. I have been in a real slump lately and need a bit of a pep talk so I don't throw in the towel and cash out my bankroll to head straight to my favorite bar and soak up all my sorrows with many Greygoose on the Rocks with 2 Limes!! Any input would be highly appreciative! [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

_Beav

[J.R.]

Whew! There is a lot there. Read these boards, buy ed miller's book this summer, don't play too loose preflop (you should be seeing around 20-25% of the flops), don't play too tight postflop, and consider raising when thinking about calling.

Don't memorize Sklasky's starting hands. Learn the types of hands that play well in each situation so you know why you play a hand and can then decide when it is appropriate to play.

Post some hands here on on the micro limits forum and remember to be patient, even experts go through big losing streaks. There is a reason why you need a bankroll.

[JARID]

Beav,

You are going through what many players, including myself went through when they first began playing poker. To complicate matters you won big early and fell under the notion that poker is an easy game to master.
I'm sure you played very well in your tournament, but I also suspect you caught more than your fair share of cards. Three months later, the cards aren't coming and you are still trying to re-capture the emotional high your second place finish gave you. This is dangerous. You need to be patient. Everyone has cold streaks and everyone suffers bad beats. You will be no different.
The players you see winning with garbage cards are not long term winners. You need to dare to be better than the average action junkie that plops down in front of his computer or hits the ATM at the B&M for a fast cash $40 and a few thrills. When these players are running hot they look brilliant, but watch a little longer. Inevitably, they will give it back. Sounds like you play online. This phenomena is more apparent at the B&M's.
Keep reading and keep playing and you will become more familiar with which hands you should start from and where. Tighten up though, 40% of flops is way to much. If you feel yourself starting to get impatient, take a break. Finally, I am a big fan of vodka rocks [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img], but never drink while you are trying to learn how to play.

Hope this helps
~J

[Leave_it_2_Beav]

Cheers! Thanx for the input fellas...I will keep plugging away until I start winning again.

[regisd]

[ QUOTE ]
Also I have benn reading Sklansky's Hold'em Poker and been focusing very hard on his pre flop strategy.

[/ QUOTE ]

i found abdul's pre-flop strategy page helpful -- there's a table showing hands to play depending on how far off the button you are. seeing things clearly in terms of position helped get me out of the habit of playing marginal hands (that would be okay, say, on the button or the small blind) in early and mid position that i really shouldn't have been playing.

[Red Mosquito]

Hey Beav...noticed you're from NorCal, so am I (if you're refering to Northern Calif.). Do you visit Bay 101, Garden City or Lucky Chances by any chance??

The Mosquito

[Leave_it_2_Beav]

Whats up Mosquito.

I live in SF. I go to San Pablo casino in the East Bay on occasion. They have a fun NL tourny on Saturday and Sunday's. $25 with a $20 rebuy. I need to hit Lucky Chances soon. R u in the City?

On another note..It feels so good to get cards again! I just had my first winning session out of my last four. I seem to play much tighter when I am winning, I will muck much quicker because I don't want to lose any of my BR, but yet play aggresive when I have the cards. If I am losing I seem to chase more and play much looser, ultimately losing and feeling like a very weak player. 2night % of flops seen 26%, Showdowns won 80% = winning session.

Note to self:
This is one long poker session!

[winky51]

Wow all this sounds like me [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] and the beatings I am taking these last 2 weeks, except I am playing 20%-25% of my hands.

Yup bad beats can run 100BB if your unlucky enough. From what I understand you should have 300BB to play at a certain table. I didn't believe it at 1st but now I do. So at 1/2 you should have $600.

And yes reread. A good advise is to make your own cliff notes like I did. Each time I go to play online I read my notes for 15 mins to refresh my memory.

I also did some math comparing all sorts of hands you might play. suited connectors, connectors, suited 1/2/3 gaps. flush draws. The cost for playing such hands staggered me and I finally saw the why's. For example if you are suited and connected you should get to see something worth while on the flop about 36% of the time. Just being not suited and 1 gap drops that percentage down to 21%. Having JJ under is only 50/50 against an overcard coming. Things I didn't realize and I discovered them myself through charts and statistics. Real helpful.

Sklansky's book is great and it explains the why but not enough in my opinion. So you have to figure out the why more for yourself.

[DanTheCardMan]

[ QUOTE ]
On another note..It feels so good to get cards again! I just had my first winning session out of my last four. I seem to play much tighter when I am winning

[/ QUOTE ]

Are you sure the inverse isn't in fact the better way to look at it: playing tighter leads to more winning? Seeing 40% flops was killing you.

[Leave_it_2_Beav]

Very true statement. Again, when I start losing my flop % seen goes up because I am chasing. I need to remind myself this is a game of patience, if I don't have it get out. There are many more hands to be dealt.

Quick question:

How should my strategy differ playing ring games?