A Lesson in Patience

[Warik]

Often times we sit at a table (or two) for a half hour, or even more, without getting any hole cards that "the rules" say we should see a flop with. We then often get impatient and call something we probably shouldn't. I play with a $25 stake at $0.50/$1.00 right now and have never lost the whole stake, but I went from $25 down to $3 today in less than an hour and took a break to collect myself.

I started again with a new $25 stake.

This is what happened in under a half hour at the same table after losing $22 in an hour at $0.50/$1.00.

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- Hand 1 -
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Party Poker 0.50/1 (10 handed)
Hero has A[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and is BB

EP2 limps, MP1 limps, MP2 limps, MP3(poster) checks, CO limps, Button folds, SB folds, Hero raises, EP2 calls, MP1 calls, MP2 calls, MP3(poster) calls, CO calls

Flop(13 SB): 7[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 8[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], Q[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

Hero bets, EP2 calls, MP1 folds, MP2 calls, MP3 calls, CO calls

Turn(16 BB): 4[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

Hero bets, EP2 folds, MP2 folds, MP3 calls, CO calls

River(18 BB): 5[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img]

Hero bets, MP3 calls, CO folds

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- Hand 2 -
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Party Poker 0.50/1 (10 handed)
Hero has T[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] and is EP1

UTG limps, Hero limps, MP2 limps, CO limps, Button limps, SB limps, BB checks

Flop(7 SB): 9[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 7[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

SB checks, BB bets, UTG calls, Hero calls, MP2 calls, CO calls, Button calls, SB calls

Turn(10 BB): 6[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

SB checks, BB bets, UTG calls, Hero calls, MP2 folds, CO folds, Button calls, SB calls

River(16 BB): 8[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

SB checks, BB checks, UTG checks, Hero bets, Button raises, SB folds, BB calls, UTG folds, Hero 3-bets, Button calls, BB folds

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- Hand 3 -
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Party Poker 0.50/1 (10 handed)
Hero has J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img] and is CO

UTG limps, EP2 limps, MP1 limps, Hero raises, Button folds, SB folds, BB calls, UTG calls, EP2 calls, MP1 calls

Flop(10 SB): J[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

BB checks, UTG checks, EP2 bets, MP1 calls, Hero raises, BB folds, UTG calls, EP2 3-bets, MP1 folds, Hero caps, UTG folds, EP2 calls

Turn(16 BB): 3[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

EP2 checks, Hero bets, EP2 calls

River(18 BB): K[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

EP2 checks, Hero bets, EP2 calls

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- Hand 3 -
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Party Poker 0.50/1 (10 handed)
Hero has K[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], K[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img] and is BB

EP2 limps, MP1 limps, MP2(poster) checks, MP3 limps, CO(poster) checks, Button folds, SB limps, Hero raises, EP2 calls, MP1 calls, MP2(poster) calls, MP3 calls, CO(poster) calls, SB calls

Flop(14 SB): Q[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], 7[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img], 5[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

SB checks, Hero bets, EP2 folds, MP1 calls, MP2 raises, MP3 folds, CO folds, SB calls, Hero 3-bets, MP1 folds, MP2 caps, SB calls, Hero calls

Turn(20 BB): A[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

SB checks, Hero bets, MP2 calls, SB calls

River(24 BB): K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

SB checks, Hero bets, MP2 folds, SB folds

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- Hand 4 -
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Party Poker 0.50/1 (10 handed)
Hero has K[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img], A[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img] and is EP2

Hero raises, CO calls, Button calls, SB calls, UTG calls

Flop(10 SB): 9[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], T[img]/images/graemlins/club.gif[/img], J[img]/images/graemlins/diamond.gif[/img]

SB bets, UTG calls, Hero raises, CO calls, Button calls, SB calls, UTG calls

Turn(15 BB): 9[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

SB bets, UTG folds, Hero calls, CO calls, Button calls

River(19 BB): Q[img]/images/graemlins/spade.gif[/img]

SB bets, Hero raises, CO calls, Button calls(all-in), SB calls

------------------------

I won every single hand.

Don't let yourself get impatient and see flops with questionable cards.

BE PATIENT

You will hit some good hole cards. You will see some great flops. You will run into some very stupid players.

That was a 30 minute session and I won $43. No good player can keep that up at $0.50/$1.00, but no good player can keep up losing $25/hr either.

Stay patient and keep winning.

[arfsananto]

Good post, especially for a newbie like me. It gets very frustrating when your trying to play solid, and seeing any-two-carders winning with hand that no one should call with, or folding your trash and watching that it would have been the winning hand. Keeping in mind posts like this, and the good advice I have gotten from others, helps keep me straight.

thanks to all

Adrian

[Warik]

Same deal here. When I fold those hole cards that would have won the pot for me it feels awful, but then I remember that if I sat down and played T8 from EP 1,000 times I would be way the hell behind.

If you plan to be playing hold'em a year from now, just keep in mind that the premium hole cards that lose you money today and the crappy hole cards that would have won you money today mean absolutely nothing in the overall scheme of things.

[arfsananto]

Good luck (and good playing) on your goal, and thanks again for a good post. A year from now (hopefully) I;ll be posting on how far ahead I am by keeping this in mind.

Adrian

[bernie]

the real patience comes in when you get these great hole cards and they get cracked for about a week str8.

it's always great when you wait that long and when you get a hand they hold up and get paid off with them. but a whole different story when they dont. THAT's where the test is.

see ya

b

[Clarkmeister]

You weren't taking your own advice on hand #2. JTo is a ridiculously easy muck in EP. You shouldn't play that hand except in the CO or on the button.

[Warik]

I'm still learning Lee's WLLH rules for what to play in EP/MP/LP and that was a mistake. oopsy [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

[harboral]

Good half-hour for you - and very good advice. I just had a similar half-hour of monster hands - I flopped a straight flush - then in 3 consecutive hands I had pocket aces and flopped a set. Next two hands were pocket queens and both times I flopped a set with an ace and the set held up. Four hands later I raise with 88, get a few callers and flop a set - river is 4th 8 - hell of a rush. SO................same advice - be patient.

[toby]

I'm right there with you on the patience thing...today I folded so many hands that were horrible (J6o, T4o, etc) that would have won huge pots by hitting trips or 2 pair or a miracle straight or something.

I can see now why some people just play "any 2 can win". Of course, it is the long run that counts.

Today's odd events on PartyPoker:
1) I was playing two .5/1 limit tables and my hands were hitting the flop incredibly well.....on the other table. For example ATs on table 1 results in 3 of the same suit showing up on table 2.

2) While I was writing this, I was dealt J6o and T4o back-to-back. (the random hands that I made up in the previous paragraph) Very wierd

-Toby