All the regulars..Need some help

As you can tell by my post count I'm new to the board.. Well, to clarify I've lurked forever but i'm new to posting.. Anyhow, I began playing Hold Em a little less than a year ago.. When I take something up I don't half ass it, i'm in it all the way.. I've read countless books about poker, I've played countless hands live and online, and I've thought about strategies towards the game even when i'm not playing.. For a while there I thought I was getting pretty good.. I played a tight-agressive game only playing premium hands and had alot of success on freerolls.. For instance just about a month ago I placed 11th in an Ultimate Bet freeroll with over 3500 people bubbling out of the final table.. I'm not trying to toot my own horn at all, i'm just trying to give some perspective towards what follows in this post.. I would play dozens of freeroll sit and go's a day (single table and multi table) and consistently finished in the top 3-5.. I know some of you will say that freerolls are a crap shoot and not to look into them to much and I somewhat agree however lately I've been having no success in my home cash games either so my issues must be linked.. I know that my major problem is that I play too tight.. I hardly ever get payed off anymore when I have a hand and my opponents know I can be bluffed when I don't.. To sum all of this up I'm losing confidence daily and I can't seem to get out of this rut.. I'm playing scared, always thinking i'm going to get outdrawn.. I've attempted to open up my game a little more playing less than premium hands for instance when I have a read that someone is raising with two paint cards I'll call with pretty much anything in the hopes that they don't connect and I can steal the pot.. But even that hasn't been working out.. I know there are alot of successfull players on here with a ton of information to share and I humbly ask for your help to improve my game.. I will listen to all criticism and all recommendations because I want to get better.. I want to play the best players there are because I know that's the only way to get better.. Any help will be much appreciated.. Thanks ladies and gentleman!

Although I have limited experience in live and home games...I found that rings are a whole different animal compared to Free Rolls and SitnGos. It's still poker, don't get me wrong, but as you've learned, you'll need a different strategy. . .It's all about applying what you've read in the books to the real situations....I'm sure someone can follow up my semi-useless post to help with your confidence.

I would suggest that you take a little break on poker and regroup the mind or if you can do that quickly then better. You need to stop playing scared and have a confident mind frame. If you think you are going to lose, then most likely you will lose. This is the first thing you need to get in check before you even sit at a table. Also you need to get more aggressive. When you have big cards and you think you are being bluffed, then throw in the re-raise to try and push the other player out of the pot. These are the only things I got right now with the information available. hope it will help a little.

i have found myself in the same situation in the recent past. I play a tight-VERY aggressive game, and it's been biting me in the ass recently. I agree with JeeDub in that you should take a break, and just stay away from poker for a few days/a week/ a few weeks - whatever it takes. Confidence is key. Like JD said, if you are having doubful thoughts (been there ) about winning, you shouldn't be playing in that tourney at all. I still feel unconfident some of the time, but when that happens I decide not to play. Just not worth it if I'm feeling uncomfortable the whole game.

It sounds like your problem (again, i share the same problem) with MTTs is that you don't know when to switch gears, or maybe you don't switch to a loose enough gear. I constantly find myself in the middle of a tourney with an above average stack, and for whatever reason kind of sit on it until bubble time comes around. I then take a race, because blinds start to eat me up, and end up losing most of the time and then losing confidence again. It's a vicious cycle
Anyways my advice is to stop playing for a week or so; get your mind off poker, then come back and try to experiement with switching gears in terms of when you do it, and how loose/tight you switch to. I've been doing it recently and it's given me a great perspective as to how the ideal style is.

the home game seems like you have to open up allot, allot allot. i mean in no way should you donk up with 7-2 but definitely find ways to turn over mediocre hands, it'll do good for your image. ROCKS cannot make money in the cash game. your buddies come after your soft spot (low cards on the board) check raise their asses. i promise they slow down fast against you.


th minimal amount of people in a sng you have to basically be able to throw away aces preflop (I'm not asking you to lord know i haven't much) avoiding confrontation is your first goal.someone will eventually make a break for it, be patient and watch fireworks.


with a full table or mtt you have to be creative now it is a skill game. bet correctly always , never a reason to be the first one all in pre-flop. make plays when you can ( IE post flop never check on the button).



take everything you read with a grain of salt, most of them don't play the way they are telling you to play. hell i don't play the way i post. further more the book you read that gives you the edge sold one million copies so how many edges are really out there. don't get me wrong read everything you can. i have read everything from doyls book to, both the new Harrington and skalansky( i know how incorrect spelled that is), even Internet poker for dummies(good book actually). point is you can't take them as the bible.


hope any of this helps and gl in the future

I ran into this recently because my friends in our home game know that I am tight aggressive. Seeing as how they got a read on me, I decided to use the reads that I have against them to my advantage. What tells do you have when someone is bluffing? What tells do you have when someone has a strong hand? If you have a read on these things, this makes the game much easier.

When playing, use your table image (and theirs) to your advantage. So what they don't pay you off when you have a strong hand? Wait for their tells to indicate weakness, then make a timely bluff with a garbage hand. They'll fold and you'll take some chips that way. When you know you have the top hand, slowplay it (unless the board is threatening). Let them bet into you. If you are merely calling, they won't detect strength (what, no re-raise?), and they will keep betting into you. By the time you hit the river, you should be able to get a call on your re-raise, and you'll take a nice pot that way.

Don't change your style, use it to your advantage. Expand on what you already do well, and keep them guessing. Use your image to steal pots. Use their tells against them. Basically, don't play the cards, play the players.

Thank you all very much for your responses.. I take this game very seriously and I want to be the best that i can possibly be.. I know it's hard to attempt to cram so much information into so little time but I want to absorb as much as possible to speed the learning curve.. I have taken your comments to heart and will work to improve my game using all of your suggestions.. Any more comments would be appreciated.. Any little thing that you have learned that can be of help to an aspiring player would be great..Thanks ladies and fellas!

Harrington says that, somewhat paradoxically, we make the most money when we play the opposite of our usual style. Identify the players at your home game who are actually paying attention and over-respecting your bets, and pick on them. Steal their blinds, bet and c-bet with air, etc. Once you start getting resistance, switch back, and keep alternating, while all the time value betting the loose passive donks to death.

Oh, and stop playing freerolls. If you're getting paranoid about being drawn out on, it makes no sense to play a type of game where draw outs are so common, as it will only feed that paranoia. If the players at your home game are decent, you just need to remember that good players will draw out on you less than bad players (which isn't a good thing generally, but hopefully realising this will soften your paranoia somewhat and help improve your game).

Unless you have bankroll issues I see very little value in playing freerolls. You say that you hardly ever get payed off when you AGGRESSIVELY play big cards but when you loosen up by CALLING with less than premium hands & HOPING they miss the flop you hardly ever win. That isn't tight, aggressive that is tight, here take my money. Breaks are a good idea when you get in a rut. If you are trying to loosen up try picking out a couple of random hands Q7s, J5o, or whatever & play them like you play big cards. You can also post hands here for constructive analysis by some of our more knowledgable members. One final suggestion, you might try participating in some of our regular events, its a good way to see how what you are doing stacks up against some reasonally good players. Good luck.

Kenzie 96 said:

One final suggestion, you might try participating in some of our regular events, its a good way to see how what you are doing stacks up against some reasonally good players. Good luck.

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I would love to do that.. I've noticed that several players on this board play at Titan which I have not downloaded as of yet.. Are there any other sites where everyone meets and plays?

RiverNoHelp said:

I would love to do that.. I've noticed that several players on this board play at Titan which I have not downloaded as of yet.. Are there any other sites where everyone meets and plays?

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Yep, we play Ninety site games a month - Eighty Eight at Titan, and Two at pokerstars (fortnightly on Fridays).

robwhufc said:

Yep, we play Ninety site games a month - Eighty Eight at Titan, and Two at Pokerstars (fortnightly on Fridays).

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Are they all cash tournies?.. I have not deposited any cash on any sites as of yet because I have a young daughter and bills are tight.. I trust that I would be able to do ok in cash games but don't have any type of bankroll to speak of..


EDIT- DISREGARD MY RESPONSE ..I FOUND ALL THE INFO..THANKS!!

I have to disagree with Harrington on his threory that you make more money when you play opposite of your own style. I have tried this a few times. Once in a while it works in my favor. But, the overwhelming majority of the time I fall flat on my face. Sure it may just be that I am terrible playing the opposite of what I normally play. But, it is more likely that I am just getting crappy cards and changing styles isn't gonn make my cards any better. It's just gonna make me lose more in the short run.

At any rate. It is one of the few things I disagree with him about poker. I have been reading his stuff and over all he is dead on the money about most of the stuff he is talking about.

If you all get the chance to buy any of his books, do so. You won't be disappointed.

i wouldnt call my self a regular, but i have someting that may help you, try for 2 or 3 live games to play almost everything without a riase (even try raising rags to switch up your game) yea u may lose yea u may win but when you see them same people thell have a different view on you, chaging your game from game to game will mix the players up and then they dont know what to expect. Put your money in with what you think is the best hand (if you lose you lose) if you dont trust your own poker instincts then you cant call yourself a true poker player i bet everyone on thsi site that plays can agree if you have no confidence youll never WIN!