Not a noob, but maybe I play one on TV

I've been playing poker for about a year on Empire Poker, and I found FTR a few months in. The information and players here are great. I'm really glad to have found you guys.

I just have some general questions and would gladly accept any feedback.
I'm playing the 25NL/PL (.10/.25 blinds) 4 tables (BR only $300 though).

I describe my game in general terms at the bottom. But basically I have really tightened up in the last two weeks. However I can't seem to escape my own bad play, suckouts and bad situations. I recently had a night where I won $80. But there will be days (two in a row now) where I drop two buy-ins pretty quick. I then have to grind it out for a few more hours just to get even (or close).
I can play for 3 hours be up $20 or so and lose it trying to bet someone off of a suspected flush draw only to have the 3rd flush card hit on the river, forcing me to fold when the other player bets (okay I might call a small bet).

It also seems like I'm not winning much. My bankroll is not growing.

Do I just need to buy poker tracker? Will it show me what to fix?

If I move down limits will that help ? Losing sessions will be smaller, but so will winning sessions, right?

I feel I can win if I play SnGs too. Poker prophecy shows I'm ITM 50% in $5+1 and 40% in 10+1. But I don't always have a hour to play. That's why I started playing ring games.

Am I going about this wrong? Do I really need to move to another site with lower limts? Will I get hot and win for weeks straight to make up for all the bad beats?

Any comments are welcome and appreciated (even critisism, not that the people here have a problem giving it.)



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My game in a nutshell:
I raise from any position to $1 with TT - AA, AKs-AJo
late position I might raise with 88+, KQo,ATo. But not every time.
Fold to PFR not in the blinds: anything up to AT
I will fold AJ-AK to any solid reraise. However many people reraise my $1.00 to $1.75 I will fold AJ to that, but call with AK/AQ.
I have begun calling raises with my pocket pairs looking for a set.
I generally bet my middle pairs if the flop is checked to me on the button or sometimes CO. I will call suspected bluffs with AK/AQ on the flop.
I rarely bluff anymore. Mostly into small pots (say less than $4). If I do bet with out a pair mostly I feel I have a good shot at having the best hand, i.e. two pairs on the board no betting and I have an Ace).
I will play my reads though. I will bet someone off of a suspected min/bet draw, depending on how many people are in the hand etc.

Is this too tight?
My decisions are quite a bit easier post flop now. But I feel like I'm playing an "abridged" lower expectation game.

I have worked hard to just fold when I think I'm beat. I MUST be losing money on the river to some repped flushes and straights. But It feels like the losses were greater than the gains calling suspected flush and straight bluffs on the river.

One thing I can speak to is this: you say you don't play SNGs often because you don't always have an hour to spare.

If you can't sit for a couple of hours, it may tend to get frustrating when you don't have a winning session -- since a session for you may tend to be shorter than it ought. As a result, you may feel the need to take unnecessary risks in order to make THIS session a winner.

Seems that you ought not to sit down to play until you have a few hours you can devote to it, IMHO.

Originally Posted by Molinero

One thing I can speak to is this: you say you don't play SNGs often because you don't always have an hour to spare.

If you can't sit for a couple of hours, it may tend to get frustrating when you don't have a winning session -- since a session for you may tend to be shorter than it ought. As a result, you may feel the need to take unnecessary risks in order to make THIS session a winner.

Seems that you ought not to sit down to play until you have a few hours you can devote to it, IMHO.

I have begun to have grind sessions when I have time. I'll sit there and play real tight for 2 - 3 hours. I will usually win doing this. What kills me is when I get caught in a hand when I'm blinded in (since I'm not limping with iffy hands anymore). For example:

#Game No : 2874126115
***** Hand History for Game 2874126115 *****
$25 PL Texas Hold'em - Wednesday, November 09, 07:30:43 EDT 2005
Table Table 36563 (Real Money)
Seat 4 is the button
Total number of players : 9
Seat 1: Tibertius ( $9.75 )
Seat 2: MrMamous ( $31.90 )
Seat 3: maverick_72 ( $26.15 )
Seat 4: StartAtForty ( $22.55 )
Seat 5: bac_de_roda ( $34.80 )
Seat 6: frogspjs ( $19.20 )
Seat 7: liang88 ( $4.80 )
Seat 9: garijenkins ( $22.15 )
Seat 8: jtsuji1129 ( $25 ) <----- ME
bac_de_roda posts small blind [$0.10].
frogspjs posts big blind [$0.25].
jtsuji1129 posts big blind [$0.25].
** Dealing down cards **
Dealt to jtsuji1129 [ Qd 4c ]
frogspjs: set J
liang88 calls [$0.25].
jtsuji1129 checks.
garijenkins folds.
bac_de_roda: nh
MrMamous calls [$0.25].
frogspjs: thx
bac_de_roda: QJ
maverick_72 calls [$0.25].
StartAtForty folds.
bac_de_roda folds.
frogspjs checks.
** Dealing Flop ** [ Qc, 4s, Kh ]
frogspjs: that st8 worried me
frogspjs checks.
liang88 checks.
jtsuji1129 bets [$1].
MrMamous calls [$1].
maverick_72 calls [$1].
frogspjs folds.
liang88 folds.
** Dealing Turn ** [ 7s ]
jtsuji1129 bets [$3].
MrMamous raises [$6].
maverick_72 folds.
jtsuji1129 raises [$6].
MrMamous calls [$3].
** Dealing River ** [ Tc ]
>You have options at Table 36688 Table!.
jtsuji1129 bets [$7].
MrMamous calls [$7].
jtsuji1129 shows [ Qd, 4c ] two pairs, queens and fours.
MrMamous shows [ Kc, Qs ] two pairs, kings and queens.
MrMamous wins $34.55 from the main pot with two pairs, kings and queens.

In retrospect I overplayed my hand. I think what threw me off was his weak reraise. I must have got it in my head that he was testing his kicker. I definitely should have checked the river. I was trying to get a showdown for less than 1/2 the pot.

These are the hands I get in trouble with. Crap hands that turn into something, but my opponent has something a little bigger.

What do you guys do about this? Should I mostly slow down, even with two pair to any show of strength? I should have thought maybe he has a set, but why reraise now? The flush draw is on the board WITH the straight draw, so now it's time to protect the hand? Why double? If I'm drawing I have to call THAT raise (3 into 13, 4:1 = Easy call on the draw OESD or flush). Early position limp is an indicator, and I guess with the T river he has to be holding KJ for me to be winning (but what if he has AA). Any thoughts?

Thanks for the advice earlier. I have seen the light in the patience department. It works in SnGs, rings, the turbo MTT's, you name it.

If anything else jumps out at you please tell me. Thanks for even reading.

I think your biggest problem may be the fact that you are playing at Empire. That place is a rock garden, even at 25NL. I would suggest moving your BR to a site with more fish, like Party, Pokerstars, Paradise, etc. Why grind it out with the rocks when you can slaughter the fish at other sites? Bonus whoring will be a big boost to your BR too.

For the Q4 hand, you really have to be cautious when you are raised on the turn. What hand that you beat smooth calls the flop and minraises the turn on a pretty nonthreatening board? I would just call the reraise and check/call a small bet on the river. As a general rule, I play bottom 2 pair about as aggressively as TPTK, and will not hesitate to fold it if there is a lot of aggression. Hope this helps.

Things you might try?

• Play more with a bonus, to pad the swings. This would mean moving your money around to different sites, some. Even if it is back-and-forth with PartyPoker.
  Play at lower limits, to even up the competition. This also mean moving sites.
  You mentioned PT. Do it. It's gotta help.
  Add a table, to even out the swings (caution here.)

Sites to try? Looking for 10NL and small SNG's:

• Pacific $10NL (one table only)
  PStars $10NL
  Paradise $10NL, Paradise $25NL
  Absolute $10NL (always a bonus here)

yeah the don't have an hour to play sngs jumped out at me.
honestly I don't think you'll meet many people who play less than an hour at a time regularly and are winning players.

Originally Posted by drmcboy

yeah the don't have an hour to play sngs jumped out at me.
honestly I don't think you'll meet many people who play less than an hour at a time regularly and are winning players.

Agree. Lacking time to play is likely to lead to an element of desperation in your game. If you don't have time to do it justice, don't play.

Read FTR instead and brush up on your game that way