Ego Problems...

So recently I've been playing a ton of 10$NL 6 max. And one of the things I've noticed is that players *really* let their ego get involved. I usually play a very loose & aggressive style since my opponents are so passive. And one thing that I've noticed is that as soon as they get a decent hand, they are going to "show me who's boss".

For example, I had been pushing this guy around a lot all day, and now that he flops a mediocre hand, he's gonna "teach me a thing or two" as he put it in the chat box.
===========================================
chuyin80 is at seat 0 with $8.86.
Hero is at seat 4 with $11.87.
The button is at seat 5.

chuyin80 posts the small blind of $.05.
Islandbreeze posts the big blind of $.10.

Hero:

Pre-flop:

bonvivant85 folds. Hero raises to $.35. arod513
folds. chuyin80 calls. Islandbreeze folds.

Flop (board: ):

chuyin80 bets $.80. Hero raises to $3.45.
chuyin80 goes all-in for $8.51. Hero calls.

Turn (board: ):

(no action in this round)


River (board: ):

(no action in this round)




Showdown:

chuyin80 shows .
chuyin80 has : a pair of sixes.
Hero shows .
Hero has : two pair, threes and deuces.


Hand #53823410-37015 Summary:

$.89 is raked from a pot of $17.82.
Hero wins $16.93 with two pair, threes and deuces.
===========================================

So villain played this hand about as horribly as he possibly could've. He doesn't fold preflop, he bloats the pot out of position with a weak hand, and loses bets from hands I might bluff with.

All this just because his ego got in the way.

So yeah, I guess there's just 2 things I want you guys to take away from this:

1) Poker is not a game of "being the best table bully". Sure, sometimes it might be good to bully the table, but you don't beat other bullies by letting your ego get involved.

2) Whether you're playing loose, or you've been on a good run of hands, your image affects what other players think they need to beat you... a LOT. So if you've just won 20 pots in a row without showdown, a weak overpair or bottom two pair start to look pretty good to stack off with.

Prediction:

Next time you play your rags and flop two pairs, it gets counterfeited and you post a rigged thread

Too late...

In all seriousness, bottom two is probably one of my most winning hands.

lol, I'm reverse psychic. I can predict the past!

I can't help but to laugh at the irony. You're talking about how villain let his EGO play his hand for him, yet you don't realize YOU'RE the one playing w/ it!!!

I totally agree w/ you: Ego has no place on the table!

But when you learn to live your own statement, you'll understand why posting this SCREAMS EGO!

I highly recommend turning off player chat when your grinding.

Why? They're giving you information about their state of mind/image. I don't see how its all that detrimental to your game.

And I suppose you could think that raising 32os is an "ego" play, but 2 things:

1) These guys offer huge implied odds. They stack off with any top pair.
2) They usually just lay down and offer me their blinds. If they don't, they fold to a flop bet ~90% of the time. So I can seriously raise pretty much any 2, and its profitable against these particular players.

I just find it can be distracting and misleading, when there are more important things to be focusing on,