I Suck at Poker

Well, here it is. I have finally come to fruition. I suck at poker. I haven't always sucked at poker however. I was actually quite good once, at least the money I made from poker told me I was good.

At this point, I have no idea what has caused me to completely regress as a poker player. It seems I've completely forgotten everything I've ever learned about the game. My knowledge has up and gone like a fart in the wind, as they say.

I have gone from a solid winning player to a complete fish. Tilt and variance have both played it's role, but I am making the stupidest mistakes that I never even thought about doing when I first started playing! If I'm not stacking off with top pair (or worse) I'm getting out-kicked or out-drawn. I have completely forgotten how to extract maximum value, control the size of the pot, or put people on a range. My past 20 sessions or so have been so sick, so bad that I want to thump myself in the temple with a ball peen hammer.

So, to all who posts here at FTR, for the ones I've engaged in conversation with and the one's I haven't, I am putting myself in that 'beginner' category until I hear otherwise from other solid players here on FTR.

I am completely starting over with poker, so in advance, I thank you all for putting up with me and the stupidity that has yet to bestow upon FTR. I imagine I will come up with some of form of operation thread but I can't even think that far ahead at this point. I'm off to watch Prison Break and unwind. Happy Labor Day everyone. End rant.

it sounds like you are on some kind of hudgge megatilt

so, heed these kind words of advice:

DUDE CHILL.

don't force yourself. play on a large enough roll, keep making the +EV plays and all will be well


my actual advice:
break the game down, and try to find out for yourself what the hell it really is. playing multiple variants (such as limit, limit horse, PLO, PLO8, stud, stud8, razz etc.) will help you infinitely. do not just "listen to what people tell you", "if it worked for X it will work for me", etc. crap. reinvent fire if you have to, as long as you get to the logical understanding of why it burns, and why its essential.
Understand how the game works, and you are already miles ahead of tons of people.

get in the lab and experiment. drop any kind of helper app you may be using, most of the time those things will only depress you more (IM RUNNING $1K BELOW EXPECTATION! F U SKLANSKY AND YOR GODDAMN BUCKS!!!1!1). also, fuck huds. read your books, eat your carrots. exersice, bang the chick(s), clear your head.

understand yourself. try to get a good hang on when you are in top condition, and when you should be shelved. you are the only imperfect thing in this otherwise perfect game, do not forget this.

and then, pwn.

Consider taking a week or two off. If your heads not right its hard to play good poker.

get someone you respect to sweat you.

Get your ass in IRC.

Originally Posted by spoonitnow

Get your ass in IRC.

Downloading it now.

Originally Posted by jacksawyer

it sounds like you are on some kind of hudgge megatilt

Dropping down from a near $50NL roll to bordering along a $5NL roll in a few short weeks will d0 that to a person.

i lol'ed at the sig spoon.

Originally Posted by jacksawyer

it sounds like you are on some kind of hudgge megatilt

Dropping down from a near $50NL roll to bordering along a $5NL roll in a few short weeks will d0 that to a person. [/quote]

Tell me about it.

Take a few days off to clear your head, like bjsaust said. Come back and drop tables to two if necessary so you can focus on each hand and make clear, good decisions. Go back to basics. Don't know your stats but tightening up in EP can never hurt.....

Oh yeah, read NLTAP too....

I think it's time to switch back to full-ring with a mix of SNGs... at least temporarily. I've been getting a little too comfortable with bluffing and playing OOP in 6-max. Just another reason my BR has dwindled down to the size of a baby turd.

Originally Posted by Mezza Morta

I think it's time to switch back to full-ring with a mix of SNGs...

that is stupid. pick your poison.

Originally Posted by reDZill4

Originally Posted by Mezza Morta

I think it's time to switch back to full-ring with a mix of SNGs...

that is stupid. pick your poison.

I didn't mean at the same time.

Originally Posted by Mezza Morta

I didn't mean at the same time.

I know what you meant.

Regardless, what's the issue here? It sounds like you're saying choose one and stay away from the other. I don't plan to bang every hen in the house but I ain't putting all the eggs in one basket either.

Harrington says this:

As in many competetive occupations, you can play very well for a while, believe that you have mastered the game, and then get subtly out of synch, and find that your results have deteriorated, even though you feel you're playing as well as ever. When that happens there's no recourse but to be ruthlessly determined and objective until you put the puzzle back together again.

(i think the key word here is objective)

hope this helps.

Originally Posted by Mezza Morta

I don't plan to bang every hen in the house

I'm not 100% sure what this means but im gonna start using it in conversations as often as possible

Originally Posted by Squeaky_Midget1

Originally Posted by Mezza Morta

I don't plan to bang every hen in the house

I'm not 100% sure what this means but im gonna start using it in conversations as often as possible

LOL I was drunk when I wrote it.

In this instance, the hens represent each variation of poker while the eggs obviously represent my bankroll. When I drink I tend to get metaphoric and silly.

Originally Posted by cardsman1992

Originally Posted by jacksawyer

it sounds like you are on some kind of hudgge megatilt

Dropping down from a near $50NL roll to bordering along a $5NL roll in a few short weeks will d0 that to a person.

Tell me about it.

Take a few days off to clear your head, like bjsaust said. Come back and drop tables to two if necessary so you can focus on each hand and make clear, good decisions. Go back to basics. [/quote]

I've been doing this - playing 10nl like I have something to learn, with few enough tables to make quality decisions each time. I'm down from 15-tables to 5, and working on my game. I had some similar results/downswings/tilt-fueled spewing binges, and I'm back to ABC poker for a while, too. GL.

umm, im a bit of a noob.... what do you mean by 15 tables?

surely you don't mean simultaneously?

what is the standard amount of tables for good players to play at the same time these days?!

Originally Posted by wonderland

umm, im a bit of a noob.... what do you mean by 15 tables?

surely you don't mean simultaneously?

what is the standard amount of tables for good players to play at the same time these days?!

Yes, I mean 15 tables at once, which isn't even that much for the FTR regs who often play 18-20 or more at once.

For noobies, most FTR regs suggest 2 - 4. Play as many as don't overwhelm you, but where you are thinking hard and well about each decision.

H christ... very profitable i'd imagine, if you're consistent with your winning.

Wow.. so what about you, i'm just curious, what's your win rate out of say 15 games played simultaneously? on average.

...and are your eyes wide open with computer like concentration?

Mezz,
I don't see anything wrong with dropping down tables, I also play sit n goes and cash games. I don't beleive that you have to pick one or the other. I am a better tourn player than a cash player even though i prefer cash games. I am by far more profitable at the sng than cash. However I still play cash games to gain the experience I need. enough of the rambling.

I would be willing to bet that something in your life has changed your ability on playing. I have found out that stress from work or the family has hurt my ability to play. SO i agree take a week or so off and come back refreshed. But don't think or even talk about poker when your off. atleast that has worked for me. I am coming off of a 3 month drought of getting drawn out on.
Good luck
Don

Originally Posted by wonderland

H christ... very profitable i'd imagine, if you're consistent with your winning.

Wow.. so what about you, i'm just curious, what's your win rate out of say 15 games played simultaneously? on average.

...and are your eyes wide open with computer like concentration?

Historically, I win at 5 ptBB/100 w/ 12 - 15 tables, about 7 ptBB/100 with 4. You can do the profit numbers yourself. But I don't learn anything playing a zillion tables (and FTR regs cautioned me against it many times).

Once you've played 100k hands of poker, and 50k at the current level, most decisions are automatic. That leaves 5 - 10 seconds to think about interesting hands and form a plan. If the game's to fast, drop tables.

The discipline - which I've never had much of - to go back and pick through the session and think AGAIN and BETTER about the tough decisions is what keeps the multi-tablers winning, I think. The fish learn, so the good players are always learning and adapting.

First off, I can't believe this thread is rated at even 3 stars, spades or whatever you want to call them.

Second, I've finally got my own PC back and downloaded both trial versions of PT3 and HEM. (My house burned down last year and I had all my stuff in storage, been bouncing back and forth from my mother-in-law's PC to my dad's laptop, ugh).

Third, I have moved back to full-ring. I'm not saying I can't handle 6-max, but I always seem to go ape shit at these tables, which many of us know can have huge swings with a LAG playing style. Moving back to FR will get me back to tightening up, especially in EP. With the move back to FR, I still feel comfortable multi-tabling at least 6-8 tables. When I get a HUD up and running, I imagine I'll be adding more once I climb back out of this hole.

I know the feeling. Sometimes you take enough bad beats and then the tilting gets you to donk off even more chips. I guess that I suck at poker too then.

All the other posts have given you great advice. The only thing I can add is even the pros go thru losing streaks.