what can you do when CARD DEAD

Ok. So i started the tourney Card dead. Usually i can ride it out and the hands start to pick up but not this day. I tried to bluff but every time the flop came someone hit their face card so that wasn't helping and when i would get a face card it would b like j2 q5. What do you really do in that situation? when nothing i going right. Is there even anything you can do?

I don't feel qualified to make any sugestions other than waiting it out. You can't lose what you don't bet.
DuaneK

When luck shuts the door, you've gotta to come in through the window. That's where the skill comes in.

I busted a gut when i heard that one!

Anyways i would say try to pick some good spots, and focus, any extra pots you can pick up without cards is huge. the problem is that you have to be skilled to do this! as doyle so eloquently put it.

like someone said, this is where the skill comes in. I know you said you tried to bluff before and it didn't work but don't be quick to abandon this strategy. Think about it: if you've seen a player throwing away his cards for the past couple of rounds, you're going to think he's a complete nit. This means that when he raises he just has to have something.

use your table image against them

Most of the time if I`m really card dead I`ll try to just kee folding and seeing cheap flops. Theres not alot you can do unless there`s pots you can steal.

I mean if you do that for so long people are bound to pick up on it!
really man you should take the bluffing down a noch.. But back to your
question, the only real thing you can do to win is bluff, and that would be
devilishly hard since people wont believe you due to what i previously
mentioned... I recommend you stop the limping in and bluffing cause
it will come back and hit you no doubt.

I recently realized that when im card dead and tilting (because im so mad from not getting anything) i start being more aggressive and bluffing a lot more and that usually gets me feeling better and gives me some patience to wait for better cards, but if that doesn't work, i will sit out and come back later hopefully with some better luck.

Find some books on How to Bluff.

Try to improve your Bluffing Skills.
Create a Table Image that allows you to pull off some good Bluffs.

Some Thoughts:

Table Image
Position
Read the Players
Find who you can Bluff
Find who you can't Bluff
Who's Folded to others.
Who plays what Cards
Find a week player.
Chip stacks
Timing
Feel the Table.
Play more cheap Flops.
Show your Solid cards if you win a pot.
Use Chat to create what the cards can't.

The list goes on and on and on.

Roller:
Observation is the key.

Hope they move you to another table. I actually like being card dead early in tournaments. It makes me more patient and if I keep folding every hand, when I do bet my rep is I have a great hand. You can steal some pots that way especially if you see someone in a lot of pots who folds to big bets. Biggest thing...be patient.

He shoulda quoted that because Doyle has a commercial that uses that quote

I really wish I had some better advice that waiting and picking your spots.

Use position to you advantage when you can. When I am card dead I will steal from the button or one off if I have first vigorish and the players behind me aren't calling stations.

This usually keeps me afloat long enough to ride out the bad cards.

I try and steal the blinds and Antes when possible if that fails I hit the wall next to me and maybe pull some of my hair out and I curse ALOT LOL.This mighten help you but it helps me.

I try to figure out what other people at the table are playing. That info could be priceless when you do get cards, and at times I feel better about nailing someones hand when I'm not involved than winning one outright.

I fold the bad cards and pray for good ones. Usually when card dead I start observing the table more or happen to start reading news on the internet lolz. I start playing looser like limping in late position with 74s 36s and hope to catch a monster straight or flush draw flop and try and find something profitable.

When card dead use this time to observe your opponents and find out there styles then make a move when you think the time is right.good luck

from a donk (like to say this since I am not qualified):

Online in the past, when I complained about having not gotten a face card for 10 hands, an opponent said to "play well, and the good cards will come."

Another person at that same table said that if one does not bluff and be crafty in order to steal lots of pots by semi-bluffing and bluffing, then he will have to rely on luck when he plays his strong hands.

I've remembered that, though the second piece of advice makes me want to improve my bluffing technique and stealing pot technique (it's weak) However, experience really helps you know when to bluff (which I don't have much of yet in any type of non-donk-level play).

Take down some small pots. Make preflop raises and c-bets. Could it be that you aren't actually card dead, but that you are playing such a narrow range of hands that it would almost always seem to be the case? For example, what do you do if you see 78s? You can play that hand very effectively, maybe even raising with it preflop. You don't have to wait on aces to play a hand.

Should I limp with it (a hand like 78 unsuited) once in a while if I'm just not playing many hands since none of the hands are in my narrow, tight range, and I have sat out consecutive hands? I limp in with 78 and JQ suited, but I haven't tried playing them unsuited much unless the blinds are about to kill me, hence shoving. 78 unsuited I do not know what I would do with it if I hit 8's, or even a set; someone could have a higher kicker when a very low flop that hits your pair comes up.

Fold fold fold til good position and limps or folds behind you. thats when table image may point to you waiting for top hands. Use the fear on your opponents and bluff one pot.

You have to be patient. Bluffing is part of the game but it is only successful if you do it on an occassional basis. You also need to be able to read your opponent and recognise when your bluff is not working. Lots of bluffs can turn into double bluffs where your opponent ends up bluffing you.

Raise in position and C-bet or attack the blinds when you have position. Good cards don`t always win, isolate and play the player not your cards but be selective on who you push around. Find the weak link.

Well usually when my day is going like that I just take the rest of it off,or at least take a little break for a few hours and then go back and see if things change.
In tourneys there have been times where I didnt play a hand in what seemed like forever.
I t is times like that that I try to focus on the other players and there styles of playing and then take advantage of my position.

Patience usually wins out if you wait long enough dont play crap if you can help it.

You just can wait until the cards get better again...
And they will!
You already tried to make some moves. That´s the only thing you really can do....

Depending on the type of players are sat your table, follow silver's advise. I would also include suited gappers down to 86. Hands like these have excellent stack odds.

i usually play very tight in the beginning of tourneys. so i often go long stretches with no playable cards. i just hope my opponants realize this when i got to make a move. if i get down to 12BB's then theres only one move i do thats all in. well i guess sometimes i may complete the small blind if there's a couple of limpers. other than that if stacks are deep i will try to play small ball. raising and cbetting or calling the flop then betting the turn etc. hope this helps gl.

This has pretty much been said in other ways above but....

They way I look at it, you have three major weapons at the table: Your Cards, Your Chips and Your Position. When your card dead, you have to rely on your other weapons a little more.


DonkeyKong

When blinds get to a good level, you can steal some pots. Thats how you would build your stack. The players at your table have to have noticed you folding all those hands, they dont know your card dead. You raise, they say aces, you pick blinds and antes. Good deal.

There's a little something called the art of working for your chips. You bluff.

I'm not sure if I can add too much to what others have said but one thing I occasionally do when I'm card dead is when the action is folded around to me and I'm in decent position (e.g., cutoff or late-middle), I make my standard raise and see what happens. This is assuming I have enough chips to make some moves. Even if an opponent or two calls, at this point, I've gotten fairly confident in my game that I can make the correct decision post-flop to get away from my initial raise if my read is that I'm beat.

I think we also have to consider how we appear to others. Other people may not know that you're card dead when you keep on folding hand after hand. So the few times you enter a pot with a raise, your opponents will have to give you some sort of credit for potentially having a strong starting hand.

Try to wait it out, but if the cards don't improve, just start playing them.

You might as well try rather than get blinded out and your opponents won't hit every time.

While you are constantly folding your cards, try to build up a read on the other players so you may find weaknesses and find a way to bluff some pots.

The cards will turn around eventually, they always do.

card dead for like an hour?????
this is REALLY what i do.....
since EVERYONE seems to be making moves EVERY phreaking hand.....
and ur hand is just garbage......and all u can do is watch
this is what i do
since i'm gonna get blinded out anyways.......
find 2 players going heads up ALL-IN
most likely they got AK against AQ or something like
this is what i do....i jump in there with there ALL-IN
when they're trying to win with Ace High
you might just hit you pair!! and tripple up!!
HEY....you're gonna get blinded out anyways!!!!
take a chance and jump between 2 all in with WHATEVER you have!
.....but do make sure it's suited!!!!
cause it does give u better odds!!!
haha

haha, no offense, but i really hope your joking.
This is just gambling when your not getting cards, whatever happened to skill! You have no cards, use your skill, not your suited 7-4 to win.

First of all i would stop playing how you are playing!! What are you thinking of even playing hands like j 2 and q 7??? No wonder you are losing so much money. If your card dead, you dont go playing those bad hands trying to get back... you keep waiting for the good cards, and if nothing comes, then when low in chips, you do some allin moves. Everyone here will be card dead various times in our lifetimes, so you have to be able to keep it together, otherwise youll lose your bankroll.