Cold cards or do you just suck?

DABANGER · #1 10-12-2003, 08:54 PM

Gentlemen of leisure and goodwill:

Is there some sort of guideline that one should use as a point of admission when one should not be playing cards seriously?

None of us want to be a sucker and not all of us will be pros... so when does one admit that he or she should give up playing (unless for pure recreation)?

Thank you gentlemen of leisure and goodwill.

[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] [img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

James,
Bangtown, USA (pop. 1)

Mike · #2 10-12-2003, 10:35 PM

When you have had enough and you know the game is not for you.

James282 · #3 10-13-2003, 03:24 AM

If you go down around 500 big bets you probably know that you suck. You don't need to give up, but you should study very carefully while applying your skills at a play money table, or limits that you don't care about.
-James

Baltimore Ron · #4 10-13-2003, 10:36 AM

Banger,

I'll say this with all the humility and sensitivity that my ego-centric personality will allow. If you have to ask the question, it probably means that you have work left to do on your game. A good player will know when they're losing due to a bad run of cards or due to temporary bad play - maybe not in the heat of the moment, but certainly upon later reflection.

However, the fact that you ask the question means that you have the right mental foundation for learning how to be the good player that you want to be. Study. Practice. Repeat.

BR

SittingBull · #5 10-13-2003, 03:45 PM

PLAY HAPPY OR DONT PLAY!
HappyPokering,
[img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img] SittingBull

Gildersneeze · #6 10-26-2003, 10:45 PM

Just pay attention to your game, and remember, all games are not going to happen the same way.

Do you do well when it's a high stakes loose game but poorly when you play a really tight, low dollar game? Chances are you just haven't learned to adjust your play for when a game tightens or loosens.

Case in point, I play in a weekly Hold 'em game here in NC. There's one guy that everybody (except me) dreads coming over, because he's a complete fish and a calling station (you know, the kind of person you should LOVE to have over). I know that when he plays a pot, and that happens quite often, there's just about no way of knowing what he has. He'll raise a pair of Aces pre-flop just as often as 72o, and his bets (since we play spread limit) are completely random. You can't put him on a hand if he led out with $.50, because next time, he'll bet the same hand and make it $.85, or $.20 (lowest you can bet pre-flop and flop).

Everyone else can't deal with him. I can, because I know that I just have to wait for premium hands, and I'll win not only his money, but all the money they lost to him because they'd try to loosen up just like him, or get ticked off and call him down with marginal or even crap hands.

But still, check yourself too. Gotta pay attention to what hands you go in on. Once you're in a pot, do you play with the mentality of "man, I'm already this far into it, how could I possibly get away now?" Easy. Fold your cards if you think you're beat. Why spend more money on a beaten hand unless you're way up and can afford to pay it off just to see what someone else bets on?

Give it a whirl. If you do seem to keep getting cold cards, cash out and walk away. If you're playing with friends who moan, ask them what they'd do in your situation.

Mike · #7 10-27-2003, 12:43 AM

Andy B · #8 10-27-2003, 05:43 PM

If it isn't fun, don't play. If you're losing more than you can afford to, don't play. If you lose, you can afford it, and you enjoy yourself, I don't think there's a damned thing wrong with that. People spend all kinds of money on hobbies I think are dumb, e.g., golf, so why not poker? I happen to win, but I have not won nearly enough money to justify the time that I sink into reading books, posting on this board, and actually playing. The fact that I'm not making particularly effective use of my time, monetarily, doesn't bother me too much, because I enjoy the game and the company of most of the people who play it.

onegymrat · #9 10-27-2003, 06:54 PM

Schmed · #10 10-27-2003, 08:56 PM

playing at Harrahs low limit, 3-6, 1-4-8-8, has a lot of people like the ones that you are talking about.

I have a question on the adjustment that I should make.

My thinking is that suited connectors go up in value and hands mid to high mid pairs (1010 jj) go down. Is this thinking correct? Is this the type of adjustment I should be making? I do fairly well there but I do a lot better at 6-12 where people play tighter.