Got destroyed by check callers

[BreakEven]

I apologize that this is more of a "venting" post than anything else.

I was on Party 0.5/1.00 and was litterally shredded by check callers...one primary check caller with a 2 or 3 others regularly check calling. One player played 81% hands, went to showdown 51% of the time, and raised pre-flop 4% of the time. I never saw anyone get more straights than he did...it was unbelievable. After reviewing his hands, he seemed to play any two connectors or 1 gappers...even cards like 74o out of the blinds. Combine him with other check callers and solid starting hands lost to "inferior" (but winning) hands.

On one hand I had JJ and was playing aggressively...especially since there were no over cards on the board. I was betting and 4 were calling..a possible straight was on the board. My favorite check/caller raised me on the river and I knew he had it so I folded. He played 97o. He asked why I folded JJ for one bet. I told him that I knew he had the straight and didn't need to make a crying call and that he bet his last 10 straights (literally) the same way. (I probably shouldn't have told him that but I was aggrevated.) He replied that he changes his betting patter every hand. I wanted to laugh. How do you vary check/calling?

"Theory" says that if I play solid aggressive poker, I should get paid off. I keep telling myself that.

I feel better now.

[btspider]

please put venting in your subject. read up on variance if you are not sure what to expect.

[bisonbison]

It happens.

Don't talk to people about how you play or how they play.

Don't think that folding JJ for one bet on the river was a smart play.

[BreakEven]

I'll put "venting" in the subject next time. I'll have to go back and re-read and am looking forward to reading SSHE when it finally arrives.

I have more winning sessions than loosing ones but the winning sessions are smaller. My pattern seems to follow 3-6 winning sessions ($5-$15 range) and loose most of it in 1 (maybe 2 sessions) and voila...break even. My loosing days are fewer but significanly larger than my winning days.

I know variance is a part of it but I poor poker on my part is a bigger factor. I am going to sift through some games from the last session for posting.

[BreakEven]

You're right. No more talking and no more folding top pair in a good pot. I was on "tilt. It's amazing how aggrevating loosing $25 can make someone (i.e., me)feel. At the 0.5/1.00 level, the money is (almost) a pittance. Like others, I just want to win.

I sometimes loose sight of the fact that poker has provided me many hours of entertainment at no cost...except for books, etc. I wish my other hobbies were the same (reef aquariums $$$$, skiing, scuba diving, etc.).

[bisonbison]

Just remember, it's one big session. The patterns you are seeing in your session results are as likely to be random noise as anything real, unless you are prone to tilt when already running bad.

[umaga]

Did you feel better after you thumped your chest and showed the table how smart you are? And cried to us?

There are three things you have to learn in order to have a solid foundation to develop your game on:

1) Good pre-flop strategy
2) Being aggressive
3) Emotional Control

I firmly believe #3 is the most important. It doesn't matter how skilled/knowledgable you are if you can't or won't execute properly. If you feel the need to justify play/ show off it indicates that your focus isn't where it should be - winning money.

I'm sorry if I sound harsh - I'm trying to be completely clear how important self-control is.

[BreakEven]

I feel much better now thank you but my chest hurts.

1. Pre-Flop Strategy probably needs work but I am currently following SSHE Loose Play table and trying not to deviate much at the moment so that I can get baseline stats. Stats for last session indicated a VPIP of 24 which is slightly on the loose side being >20. Is this about where it should be when following SSHE loose play suggestions? I had a PFR of 6%.

2. Being Aggressive. There is no doubt that my post flop play needs much work. I went to showdown 33% of the time last session with either 1 or 2 pair. I did not make any other hand all night, and I may have overplayed some of these. I usually ended up buying the button until I was raised. My JJ example was the 3rd to last hand and was the only top pair I folded. When I reviewed my hands, I had many hands that were in the middle or bottom of the SSHE preflop chart plus a number of small and medium pairs. I also had very few playable suited hands. That's the way it goes.

3. Emotional Control - That's a tough. I admit I was aggrevated when he flashed 97o and mentioned he could win with any two cards. Gotta get better on that one. I will "vent" somewhere else when I need to.

[btspider]

you can't analyze those stats per session. i had a 300 hand session today where my VPIP was probably < 10.. even though my average is about 17. just keep an eye on their fluctuations as you add each day's hands.

[umaga]

1) Unfortunately I started playing a couple of years ago, so I established my pre-flop play before SSHE existed. I love the book and am implementing stuff I learn from it, however, the games I play in are generally in the "Tight-Loose" category. Therefore, I don't have a real good idea of how the standards applied to a "Loose-Loose" table look. I don't know your sample size, but PFR of 6% seems low. I have VPIP of 17.2 & PFR of 8.4 - and I believe I should be raising a more.

2) Aggressiveness is where I struggled also. I won up through 3-6 by being a rock, and then slowly improved post-flop and increasing aggressiveness. This is still definitely the area I need to improve. My agression factors qualify me as "TA-A" in bison's rating system, however, when I review hands, I pick out bets I missed. I also compare myself to players in my db that I know are better than me and see I have to improve.

3) If you feel yourself getting upset, its better to stop playing. In "Psychology of Poker", Schoonmaker talks about how winning players don't care about other people liking/respecting them. They care about winning. You have to focus on winning the war, not on an individual skirmish.

So, some jackass mouthed off - who cares. If you keep playing, you will hear far worse. You'll be called every name in the book, accused of cheating, told your a moron, etc.

To give you an idea of how important I think emotional control is - I had a girlfriend I really liked dump me and I didn't play for two months because I knew emotionally I was weak.