Adapting your game when you're getting cold cards

Hello,

At our weekly league last night ($5 single-table tourneys) we played two games with 5 players the first game and 6 players the second. I had the worst cold-cards experience of my short poker-life. It was almost comical...no pocket pairs, no two face cards, no suited connectors above 8 7, not even a usable A x from position. I think my best hands all night were things like K 7, Q 8, etc.

A little background info: The crowd at this weekly game tends to be pretty loose, with only a couple players that have any notion of pot odds, available outs, M, etc. Preflop play is quite often limped around, and a bet of 3xBB is often enough to take it down. Play can be pretty erratic after the flop...sometimes a bet of 1/2 or even 1/3 the pot will cause quick folds, other times it'll be quickly called or raised. I've read Harrington on Hold 'Em 1 & 2 and try to play TAG-style ABC poker, so making moves / being aggressive with K 7 and Q 8 is pretty foreign to me. In hindsight, given that we started playing with 5 and 6 players, I wonder if my cards weren't as dead as I thought they were; but rather that I wasn't widening my preflop requirements enough.

My questions are: Do you adapt your game when you're getting cold cards? If so, how? Or is it more a question of knowing your opponents and their styles / starting hands to know which marginal hands might be playable after all? If the table is playing loose, isn't it better to try and play tight? How do you do that when you're getting 'cold cards'? :???:


sleepy

I play games like this a couple times a month and it seems like I'm in this position alot.Our buy ins range from $5 to $20 with anywhere from 4 to 10 people playing.My strategy when the cards get cold is to tighten up and let the fish take eachother out.Limp in position when you can to take down orphan pots.You'll almost always make to the final 2.Now get aggresive headsup and straight outplay your opponent.
I win or at least make the money about 4 outta 5 of these games like this.

Note:When we have 8-10 players we pay the top 3,6-7 top 2,2-5 1st only

2nd note:We play these games purely fun and the cash is an incentive to play better.But mostly we're just gettin' drunk.

Thanks for the reply!

I should've done a search before making this thread, because your advice echoes that which I found elsewhere on the forum...be patient and don't deviate from your gameplan. Just because J 3 is the best hand you've seen all night, doesn't make it a good enough hand to play. ;)

Thanks also for the specific recommendations for low buy-in games such as these.


sleepy

Fold a lot and have the dealer ask for service. Keep your eye out for easy steals as players probably think you're playing too tight.

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Originally Posted by Fnord

have the dealer ask for service.

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I'm assuming this means have them put a new set of cards into play?

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Originally Posted by Fnord

Keep your eye out for easy steals as players probably think you're playing too tight.

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Good call. By the time we realize we're card-dead, the table is probably realizing we're playing extremely tight...might as well take advantage of that image, eh?


sleepy

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Originally Posted by sleepyEDB

I'm assuming this means have them put a new set of cards into play?

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No, that's asking for a new set. You're only allowed to do that if you're Asian ;)

Yeah I played these styles of games for a while... I found that like supa said, just folding and letting everyone else knock each other out apart from prems and then getting more aggro/outplay when get short handed and blinds are up was a really profitable strat

Fnord: thanks for the link and info - its helpful.

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Originally Posted by Fnord

No, that's asking for a new set. You're only allowed to do that if you're Asian ;)

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And only once an hour in Commerce, though you can always scratch the deck and get a new one every 20 minutes too. :)

loosening up out of frustration when you are card dead = TILT.

I have no problem folding C**P hands. I am suprised at how many players have no conception of the number of hands I have folded. You would think that when I finally play a hand that they would automatically fold but many of them follow me to the river. $$$

Last night I had been sitting at the table for about 20 minutes when I picked up AA. I was in middle position and it was folde to me by two playes so I only bet out 15.00. I got 3 callers. The flop was rainbow no flush or straight draw. I bet out 25.00 and got two callers. The turn was nil so I bet 35.00 and got one caller. The river was nothing and I bet 50.00. He folded and quipped, "Thought you might have been bluffing but decided not to take the chance." I usually never show my cards but decided to only turn over one A. He was gunning for me the rest of the night.

I have a new theory. After I go through a about 45.00 in blinds (11 times around) and I dont win a pot or get any cards to play, I leave. If thge cards are running I will stay until I get back on the cycle of 11 rounds with out a winning or playable hand. Since the new casino is 13 minutes from my driveway to sitting at a table this has worked for me.

I do not rebuy---I do not stay in a game with less than 50.00.

I had been running bad the month of July and was down 650.00 playing 1/2 NL and was ready to quit poker. I laid off for two weeks and Saturday I cashed out 742.00 and last night 365.00 so its like every one says "Its just one long session"

Every time I play I seem to learn something so I guess I am on the right track.

I had an interesting hand saturday night. I was BB with K-J spades. Buy the time it was my turn to bet there were five players and the pot was 75.00. I figured that it would cost me 12.00 to win 75.00 so I called. Ther were two spades and a K on the flop. The betting was heavy and even though I didnt make my flush I called an all in bet from a manic figuring I had top pair and a good kicker. I won.

I am working on getting mor aggressive at the right time and so far this has paid off for me

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Originally Posted by stinger

I have a new theory. After I go through a about 45.00 in blinds (11 times around) and I dont win a pot or get any cards to play, I leave. If thge cards are running I will stay until I get back on the cycle of 11 rounds with out a winning or playable hand. Since the new casino is 13 minutes from my driveway to sitting at a table this has worked for me.

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Nah that doesn't work very well. Instead, you have to sit out for one orbit while constantly spinning around in your chair while reciting your favorite limericks.

If it is a fast tournament, focus on blind stealing. Raise from button and cutoff often and c-bet uncoordinated flops. Works really well unless you have a calling station to your left, of which you only c-bet flops that you hit. Flop a pair and a draw, bet for value and get paid. You have to consider that villian in SB or BB (oop) will not have a playable hand a large percent of the time. When villian does have a playable hand, ex. AJ suited he will likely call pre bc he is oop instead of reraise and if flop comes K37 rainbow, your c-bet takes down the blinds and the call from BB. In a fast tournament, this is essential bc shorthanded your going to get blinded out.

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Originally Posted by ChezJ

loosening up out of frustration when you are card dead = TILT.

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This is all you need to remind yourself when you are in the situation of endless cold cards.