I wish I was good at poker

I hear all these stories about how so and so crushed the donks at the micro limits, or how x person is a monster shark in a certain game.

See, I just always thought that the edges in poker are so slim that no one could be that dominate.

Guess I'm missing that secret still.

Seems to me if the player are that bad, then you are reliant on the cards to beat them (and you patience and discipline to wait for them, I guess).

It's just that I have never felt like a crushing force at the table, no matter the level of my competition, even at it's worst. I don't think I really understand poker yet, I guess.

I think the secret is to only post when you're on a roll.

I was sitting patiently waiting for a decent hand for 3 hours in one game Hit bottom pair more than anything else, even when i did get my top pair twice i got beaten by Trip's and 2 pair respectivly. My only other hand i even had a hope of making money on that day was my straight which got done over on the river making everyone else the better straight. I normally can beat the donks but that day i felt like the biggiest Donk at the table.

Remember what Mr Brunson says - even he learns something new each time he plays.

Also poker is a game of information - so therefore if the information you receive is dodgy or misunderstood your own answer/conclusion will be affected

Well, keep trying. Maybe some day you will be a crushing force like me 'cause I understand the power of 72o.

at a table i was at yestday we was talking we agreed 62 is better then 72 lol

don't be so down, your a great looking guy, maybe you should go into the News Caster Field of Work.

Erm... yeah. They don't call 72o the worst hand in poker just to try and make it feel bad - it really is statistically the worst hand you can get.

Except for AA. That loses nine times out of ten. When you learn to fold your aces, and push your hammers, then you'll be well on your way to crushing games

oi i hate AA, prefer 62 over AA any day

I'm wondering if your post is tounge in cheek?

If not, You seem to have the knowledge to be a good poker player, perhaps you need to look for games that give YOU the edge. I am a marginal player at tournaments, usully ITM on S&Gs, but I kick ass at ring games (if I pick the right table) because the style of play is better suited for the way I tend to play my game.

oh, and the first time I saw your name, I thought it was ALL IN Genius

I want to be Phil Ivey good. I want to make good decisions all the time. It drives me nuts that do stupid stuff sometimes. I mean unreal dumb moves that no one with any amount of ability would make, lol. How is that possible still?

Anyway, part of my point is that the edges in poker seem so slight sometimes, that it's hard to think that anyone could be really dominate. Other times (fewer and farther between) of course, you feel invincible.

I'm running bad lately, so of course I feel like the former right now. I guess a second OFC victory today will boost my spirits (hah!)!

Realizing that I have a ton to learn taught me a lot about my game in the first place.

I think we are in the area of emotional control here. The books you read are heavy on the mechanics of the game. (Haven't read all of you suggested reading yet...) Perhaps moving into books that focus on the psychology of poker and mastering yourself as a player would help.

Or, you can just wait 'till you stop running cold and your mood, and play, impoves.

Oh, and yes, if you are playing against player of the same skill level the edge is marginal. But I think I have a huge edge over someone that has never studied the game.

ya i agree with picking the game that suits u best, i am a lot better in sng's than tournies.

aliengenius, I got the same feeling just last week...

i decided to ban myself from online poker for a week and to read my Cardplayer magazines and my books, and I think it will make a turn for the better....

who knows

Like this one?
I have read Phillips' Zen and Tao as well (Zen more than once), as well as Psychology of Poker and Inside the Poker Mind.
I just got Taylor's book so that's high on the list.

A lot of stuff, like bad beats, doesn't really bother me, as long as I am happy with my play, so a lot of the issues these books address I have done pretty good with. I think I may need to put together a pre-poker play routine to get myself mentally ready to play my A game. Sometimes I am too aggressive, and can't get out of "aggro-donk" mode, lol.

It's just a low time, AG.
From what I've seen, your game is good. Way good.
And you are certainly open to studying and improving and that's something that will no doubt continue for always. None of us gets so good that we don't need that, but *not everybody remembers to do it* so you're one up there.

It's just a low time and this too shall pass. Don't worry with it. Don't let it make you second guess. You got what it takes and you are GOOD.

edit to add: You scare me every time you sit at my table!

It must be the way the planets are aligned...or something..!!
I am not one to 'bank' on Horoscopes, or Play the Slots 'cuz my Boi-dex factor is above 10...
I had an unbelievable Bad run of cards on Saturday..and being that it was a freeroll .. Playing Like Annette_15 and playing position...no one is going to FOLD..!!
So rather than donking off my stack I played a patient game for the sake of the Team points ratio.

We all get to a point of thinking that we "must Not be That good"..
And getting discouraged is part of the shelf-life in emotional ranges..it expires at some point!
If I were to factor yesterday's Play into determining the rest of my Poker-Future..I would be DONE with it !

C'mon Man!! You are Top of the CC Leaderboard what gives??
I haven't had the opportunity to play against you, but if I were to wind up at the same tabl..I think I would be somewhat weary.
And that is the WHOLE point, +rep from that status and if you have the respect at each and every table you play at, then the cards become the #2 Factor and the Player and their Chip Stack in crucial position is #1 Factor.

The honing of 'your' game is measured by increments of small sucesses.
Every hand you Win and every Pot you take down has it's 'own uniqueness'..given the circumstances of 'Soooo' many Variables.
So if you begin to pattern the Sucesses and take the confidence too far..it stings when the Formula fails you.
The Failures are the 'Key' to improving, and the Psychology of the game has to be accepted as a 'modality' or a 'tone/texture'.
Although that should not be discounted, consider when that mental-negation happens and revive a "NEW HAND, NEW EMOTION" mentality.

Final note...and for the sake of ('Jesus' Ferguson) having to repeat this,
The Full Tilt Commercial that he is in...where he says.."There's always another Hand"

~Apology for the Length everyone, I had to write this for myself too~

*Remember the last thing in Pandora's Box that was kept inside..was HOPE

FYP

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

(tough love -- that'll fix 'im )

oooh oooh! I'm a Regular! Come on AG, you gonna let me get away with this crappy post for my first as a CC Regular?

Here's my advice, play A2o, OOp, ASAP. It'll put paid to the debt you owe the poker gods. There's also the bit about handing over your first born, but don't worry with that for now.

Funny you should mention A2o:

FullTiltPoker Game #3715628933: Cardschat.com $100 Added (25992636), Table 3 - 40/80 - No Limit Hold'em - 12:45:59 ET - 2007/09/30
Seat 1: cjroc (1,815)
Seat 2: TrentsMomm (325)
Seat 3: bubbasbestbabe (2,340)
Seat 4: njpokerhoney (1,620)
Seat 5: Kenzie 96 (1,830)
Seat 6: flophappy65 (2,740)
Seat 7: bobbyjoeblue (1,080)
Seat 8: LoDog33 (750)
Seat 9: aliengenius (1,940)
njpokerhoney posts the small blind of 40
Kenzie 96 posts the big blind of 80
The button is in seat #3
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to aliengenius J♣ J♦
aliengenius: playing?
flophappy65 folds
bobbyjoeblue folds
LoDog33 folds
bubbasbestbabe: yeppa
aliengenius raises to 200
cjroc folds
TrentsMomm folds
bubbasbestbabe: and winning too
aliengenius: gl
bubbasbestbabe has 15 seconds left to act
bubbasbestbabe calls 200
njpokerhoney folds
aliengenius: ull have to beat me again
Kenzie 96 folds
*** FLOP *** 2♠ 8♠ J♠
aliengenius checks
bubbasbestbabe bets 520
aliengenius raises to 1,740, and is all in
bubbasbestbabe: np
bubbasbestbabe calls 1,220
aliengenius shows J♣ J♦
bubbasbestbabe shows 2♣ A♠
*** TURN *** 2♠ 8♠ J♠ 5♥
*** RIVER *** 2♠ 8♠ J♠ 5♥ Q♠
aliengenius shows three of a kind, Jacks
bubbasbestbabe shows a flush, Ace high
bubbasbestbabe wins the pot (4,000) with a flush, Ace high
aliengenius stands up
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot 4,000 | Rake 0
Board: 2♠ 8♠ J♠ 5♥ Q♠
Seat 1: cjroc didn't bet (folded)
Seat 2: TrentsMomm didn't bet (folded)
Seat 3: bubbasbestbabe (button) showed 2♣ A♠ and won (4,000) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 4: njpokerhoney (small blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: Kenzie 96 (big blind) folded before the Flop
Seat 6: flophappy65 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 7: bobbyjoeblue didn't bet (folded)
Seat 8: LoDog33 didn't bet (folded)
Seat 9: aliengenius showed J♣ J♦ and lost with three of a kind, Jacks

```

I know, AG. I was there (bobbyjoeblue). Onward and upward, BIG GUY :thumbsup:

But to be fair, exclude the OOP part of my advice w/r to the above hand
(but the first-born part still stands!)

You know you're a good player AG, so I assume you are really asking, will the losing streaks ever stop happening?

I don't think anyone crushes games in the "losing streaks don't happen" sense.

I think that there are people who are able to consistently win and whose losing streaks are just a product of the variance that comes with what you correctly identify as a very small winning edge.

The Phil Ivey's of this world win with great publicity and lose on the quiet more often than not, not to say they are not winning and great players, just that crushing games as a matter of course doesn't happen.


However...

I do think that it's possible to get to a point where skill is a sufficiently big factor that losing streaks are unlikely to be crippling. In part this is due to being better than the opposition (and give me donks any day) but it's also a product of playing a style of game that gives the skill element the opportunity to show itself. In part this is playing post-flop poker (which is probably an oversimplification) but increasingly I think that every aspect of the game can be thought of in these terms (can't be more coherent than that yet I'm afraid).


That said I've had a lovely bad streak for a month or two which I've started to turn round in the last couple of weeks with some good results. Tricky part is sticking to your game while it's happening.