Looking for a little newby advice.

[Crotalusatrox]

I know to move if all the weak players leave, or worse they leave and get replaced by good players. What I found myself wondering today though was "Should I leave since tha cards have been cold the whole time I have been at this table?" I had decent position, had a fairly loose/aggressive player to my right, guy to my left I was kinda unsure about, seemed tight, but not very aggressive. Most hands(50% or more) 3+ players would limp in. Several habitual chasers at the table. I was playing my best tight/aggressive game, only saw about 15% of the flops. I was getting lots of mediochre hands when out of position(Kx suited, low suited connecters, etc) I was getting downright crap, or mediochre hands on the button, or in the blinds. Every flop that I did see was missing by a mile. My best hand(post-flop) was pocket 6s.(will get into what happened there later) Anyways, my gut instinct was that I was at a table with potential, I just needed to stick it out and wait for the good hands. Was this the right decision or is looking for a table that will give me better cards an option once I am down 20% of what I brought to the table?

Now that pocket 6 hand went badly, I think I played it right, and just got beat, but would like confirmation, or advice if I played it wrong. I got 6s6h, I was on the button, and everyone up to me except one very loose/aggressive, proven chaser folds. The loose chaser limps inrest of table folds to me so I raise 3xbb. The blinds fold, chaser calls so it's just him and me. Flop a set, 6h, 8s, 7s. I bet the pot he calls as expected at this point I am thinking he has crap and is chasing since he has not raised. Turn is 2s. At this point I realize that a flush draw is a possibility, a straight slighly less so. I bet the pot again thinking if he has the flush/straight he will raise, and i will get out, and that if he is 1 off of the flush/straight he will either fold or call hoping to hit the flush on the river. He calls again. River comes up 4c, thinking he missed his flush, and that it was unlikely he would stay in this far on a straight draw, I raise AI. I lost to an A high flush. He had AsQs.

Any constructive input would be greatly appreciated.

TIA

[EricE]

The odds of getting better cards don’t change with the table. If the players at the table were good to play against then stay and wait for cards.

Your 66 hand. Don’t bet the river so much that only better hands call you. A flush was possible as was the straight by only holding a 5. A call is the right play here (depending on how big his bet was).

[Irisheyes]

is looking for a table that will give me better cards an option

Think about this. There is absolutely no possible way that moving table will affect the cards you are dealt.

The way I see it there are two reasons for changing tables due to cards:

1) If you think that folding for so long has affected your table image so much that if/when you do get a hand you will get no action.

2) If a cold run of cards is frustrating you or causing you to tilt then changing table may help you psychalogicaly because you are detatching yourself from the table 'where you get bad cards'. To be honest you shouldn't be thinking like this, try to look past it.



About the hand, don't raise 66 preflop with limpers, just call to set. On the river all thats going to call an all in is a hand that beats yours and with this co-ordinated board theres a chance he has one. You did right not to give him odds on flop and turn.

[Crotalusatrox]

So basically I did the right thing on flop and turn, but should have been a litle less aggressive pre-flop, and on the river?

I keep a chart by my computer that I got from this site, of starting hand groupings/ranking, and pot odds. For starting hands it has the following.

Group 0:AA KK
Group 1:QQ JJ AKs
Group 2: TT AK AQs AJs KQs
Group 3:AQ 99 ATs KJs QJs KTs
Group 4:88 AJ KQ QTs A9s JTs AT A8s
Group 5:KJ 77 QJ KT QT JT A7s K9s Q9s 79s J9s
Group 6:66 55 44 33 22 A5s A6s A4s A3s A2s
Group 7:A9 K9 98s 87s 76s Kxs T8s 97s 86s 54s

What do you think should be the break point as to where I should raise pre-flop against limpers, and where I should just limp in myself? I have been going with the thinking that if I am going in at all I am raising unless I am on the blinds. On the blinds if I have a group 0-3 hand I will raise, otherwise am wanting to see the flop for free, or by calling the small blind. I almost never just call on the button unless the blinds have a a history of just calling/checking, or folding.

PS EricE, hope you don't mind that I stole your sig. If you look at my mantra thats from my most recent directions at improving my game. In the past I have had a tendency to play looser than I probably should, I got impatient on cold streaks alot, and tried to slow play too many good hands.

[Irisheyes]

It depends on loads of things like number of limpers, what their likely actions will be to my raise, my position, table dynamic, the players in the blinds, the table buy-in etc etc,

The most general answer I can give is I raise down to and including AQ, but i don't raise JJ TT in EP, I fold KQs in EP and other things. Your question is too general, playing experience and doing some thinking will help you. If you are going to raise, think 'why am I raising?' (Isolation, aggresion etc.), decide wheather or not you will achieve these goals and re-evaluate.

[Xanadu]

Depending on the table you are giving up a lot of equity by not limping in speculative hands with position.

[JeffreyGB]

I don't mind the preflop raise from late position against one limper. If you can get it to the two of you, you're favored to win the hand, and even more so to be ahead on the flop. Add that to the chances that he misses and allows you to rep a hand, and it seems like a good play to me.

Postflop, I slow down on the turn. There's no way to tell which draw he's on and he could well be slowplaying a made straight. Definitely don't push the river. Check/fold at this point. Every draw imaginable has hit. Your set is no good against a chasing player.