Bad beat city or what!!! Experienced players please talk!!!

Please support me here guys.

I`m trying to get my head around the last 24 hours. This is an exagirated example of what is happening on a regular basis.

Background.

I`ve been playing poker for about 18 months. Last year I made about $6k profit on the back of a couple of MTT wins and a steady run of SNG`s.

This year. I know a lot more, I understand pot odds, EV, etc, etc. Play better poker...but

Year to date this year I`m about $700 down!!!

A quick run through the beats I have taken in the last 24 hours. If I make a bad or desperate play I accept the beat. Most games are $10/ 20 buy ins.

I reraise a shorter stack when I have KK. He calls. Flop Q,J,8. I think then push. He calls. 1010. hits 9 on river. Money in when about 5/1 fav

77 on button. Short stack has about 5 times bb. he pushes, I call. He shows 75o. He catches set 5`s. Money in when 10/1 fav

SNG. 2 callers, me on bb 10,9s. Flop 10,9,4. sb, similar stack, checks. I raise all in (Just over pot size) immediate call from sb with A10 - u guessed it, A on river. Money in 10/1 fav

A9 on bb. flop 994 rainbow. I raise, other guy with a few more chips than me puts me all in, so obviously I call. he shows A8hearts .runner runner flush for him. Money in 10/1 fav.

I could go on and on, and I probably have

My point, however.

I keep telling myself "as long as I get my money in with the best hand" but eventually u feel like giving up. If u can`t beat `em join `em. Unfortunatly this does not sit well with me. I want to play properly.

I know it might sound stupid, but, in the main I think it was a `Mike the mouth` saying "If it was not for luck I`d be the best player by far"

I feel, taking away the desperate pushes when short stacked, I make the correct play about 90% of the time. This does not, however, reflect the odd time I have say 1010 and I`m pushed out of a pot by a maniac going all in with say A10, where I fold a lot of the time.

I feel good about my play - I now enter most pots with a raise, thanks to the advice of CC members. But I get into a great position, a massive favorite, then all my good work is undone.

Do I just `wait for my time` or what? I`m at a bit of a loss.

By the way, I do not want to take a break - no point in doing that if I`m making the correct plays all of the time

Variance kicked me in the ass.. lost some serious cash just by bad beats. Yesterday I shoulda stopped playing the way the river was flowing. Got my money ahead each time.. bam rivered. Absolutely sickening.

Hey Ron,
I was in this state a while back, also. I was losing big pots and only winning small ones. Well, I did 2 things that helped:

1) I learned to analyze my PokerTracker stats correctly. This helped me find leaks in my game that I otherwise wouldn't have known I had. I thought I was playing solidly, but my PT showed me my hidden weaknesses.

2) I learned how to make my wins bigger and my losses smaller. When you get a big hand, learn to safely milk it since they come so rarely. Also, play to your reads. If you know someone will call no matter what, put them to a decision for their stack when it is safest.

One more thing I did was to get a grip on tilt. Try reading "The Tao Of Poker". It's very helpful with tilt and provides a different perspective. Once you surrender to the fact that AA only wins 80% of the time and KK about 75%, then you'll be on your way to beating tilt.

Most people are going to say "variance!".

My observation of 2 years online poker is that sites are "skewed" towards weaker players, i just accept this now. Short stacks catching miracles to survive against big stacks? I'm more surprised now if they dont win than if they are knocked out. I would say though that if you're completely honest to yourself, you'd know that you cant put all $700 down to bad luck. Are you picking the right games, are you taking notes, are you folding when you haven't got odds to chase? - i know i dont.

I saw from sharkscope you lost $88 yesterday - if you cant afford to play $20 games, then dont, if you can, then dont worry about it.

That was the nice bit, now comes the horrible bit. Your entire posting history seems to consist of these moany whines. I've made a few in my time, but i reckon you've started at least 3 times as many threads as I have with a 5th as many posts. You dont seem to contribute to other peoples threads, just ask for replies to your own all the time. Time to give something back to the site fella!

hey ronald whats happening. eventually the luck will run out for the other guys. if you're getting sucked out on then you're obviously playing the game the right way. it sounds like a bad run to me, but it'll end eventually. i mean you want these guys to call you with the worst hands, thats the name of the game. and on a side note it was hellmuth who said "if it wasnt for luck id win em all" hes cocky, but hes one of the best. phil. dont give up, you'll get it back in the positive

Get PokerTracker. Then you can do fun things like this. Since you will have a recall bias toward remembering the times you lost big hands, having it in black and white might convince you that you are not the unluckiest person ever.

Also, It has gotten a little old.

For a while it seemed like you were turning over a new leaf with posts like this, this, and this, but apparently not.

Everyone struggles with the concept of variance; I know I certainly do. However, not everyone struggles as publicly as you (I guess that's a nice way to say it). Time to take your problems with understanding the role of 'luck' in poker private. Ban yourself from posting anymore bad beats or threads on the topic (please?).

Here are some books for you to read on psychology in poker:

1. Zen and the Art of Poker by Larry Phillips.
2. The Poker Mind Set, by Ian Taylor and Matt Hilger.
3. Tao of Poker, by Larry Phillips.
4. Your Worst Poker Enemy by Alan Schoonmaker.
5. Inside the Poker Mind by John Feeney.

After you have read all of the above (twice each), and have played 30,000 hands of tracked poker you can post another bad beat... but hopefully you wont want to by then. And if you do still want to post one after that, poker is probably not for you.

gl.

Thank you.
And you are correct.
3 main reasons for this and the points made by aliengenius.(Both of you have made very valid observations.)

1. Apart from this forum, I am not a member of any other forums and new to all this, so the `way to work or use` these things is another weakness -
2. I have said before, I don`t have any friends that have an interest in poker. Therefore I admit I have been using the site in the same way as you would chat to a friend. The "You never guess what happened to me" conversation. I take it this is not what the forum is about?
3. I do like to think that from time to time I contribute to other peoples posts. However, I don`t know if I have the experience or skill to make a telling contribution.

Thanks for your feedback fellas

Most of us who play regularly go through these bad streaks. We tend to forget the times when we are running really hot. Eventually it will even out. Whenever I'm running bad, suckouts etc., I take a break for a week or two. Luck is just one of those things outside of our control.

1. It is fine to use the forum to help you work on your weaknesses. So, I gave you some advice. Will you follow it? Will you even read one of those books? Will you get PT? The point is, you can't ask someone a question ("how do you deal with stuff like this?"), get an answer, then come back and ask the question over and over again.

2. If you did have poker friends believe me, you would get sick of them telling you bad beat stories. And they wouldn't want to hear yours either. Same with your friends on this forum .

3. Yes, not all your posts are on this topic, but most are. Why not go learn something new, then come back and share it with the forum? The actual knowledge you gain doesn't even have to be that exciting or complex (it could be something as simple but necessary as pot odds, for example). You could talk about the epistemology/pedagogy, process by which you learned; you might give someone who is thinking of exploring the same topic some hints that would help them learn the material better.

Hope that all made sense.

smile when you take a bad beat. means you're most likely going to stack them again later. i move a lot of chips in ring games to get as accurate a read as i can so i can better stack opponents in the future. taking one bad beat in order to stack them & have them reload a few times to stack off to you again and again is well worth it. try to think more in terms of meta game.

So Ron, while you are deciding how best to apply the good portions of advice you were given above, also remember that your membership here carries the same posting rights as any other active member.

So do keep on posting and stay active. Doesn't matter at all whether it is hand analysis, strategy, the occassional bad beat, or even in the players' lounge to let off some steam. If you have questions, ask. If you want feedback, ask. If someone doesn't want to reply, they can skip the thread. But this is a poker forum and you play poker. If you're looking to improve then stay active and be involved. Take a little comfort in looking at it this way...when you make your threads and replies, at least you don't come off sounding like an arrogant ass. Stick with it. Your game will come along.

Thanks m8

I think this is great advice.

And also this.

Hey Ron, just a thought but are you still playing the same level and type of games that you did last year when your profit was $6k?

Or have you moved up in the levels because bank roll can now take it?

Are you playing at more sites then last year etc?

Are you multi-tabling now but never used to etc?

It can be difficult to give advise on topics like this Ronald, experience is the only way forward. Getting in good and continually losing is an awful experience but a good player faces this more than a bad one, and in essance the getting in good part of it should be enough. It rarely is.

I know this isnt what you want to hear, but variance is something that every poker player NEEDS to experience and needs to be able to handle. Ive come close to quitting the game many many times, I see weak tight players raking in massive pots against me time and time again, and wonder why i bother. Its a tough game but someone has to win, and it wont always be you. Remember that 1 out hits 2% of the time as well.

Interesting question!!!

• When I play MTT I have actually moved down!!! Last year I would play $25 - $100 buy in MTT. Now I play $3-10 with the occassional $25.
• Last year I only played Ladbrokes. I liked the community and I became relativley well known - not for being a superstar, more for being a good player with a good attitude.
• I only multi table with ring games. In a way it helps my game. Less variance and working to pot odds - maths is my strength, so I can calculate my odds v my live out quickly. So I play a little like a robot on Limit holdem!!!

So Mojo, I suppose I have changed a bit.

Anyone think this could be a reason?