The little man in your head

I dont really know what I want to ask so I am just gonna ramble for a bit. How often do you trust your instincts when you play? A lot of times I have a tough decision to make I will get a feeling that I know what he has or I know what I should do but I have a hard time trusting it. For example I was in a STT earlier today and we were down to 5 people. I was pretty short stacked so I was just looking for a spot to move all in. I don't remember what position I was in but I picked up AJs. The big stack with about 5k raised in front of me. Under most circumstances this is an immediate shove, but his VPIP was 8 and his VPR was even less than that so as I was about to move in I hesitated. I thought this guy rarely plays a hand let alone raises so hes gotta have me beat. About then my brain kicked in. I thought that maybe he is starting to open up since we just recently got down to 5 handed so he is starting to bully. This one little thought was all that I had to think for me to agree with it, so I go all in and sure enough he turns over KK. How long did it take for you to start trusting yourself when you play? I really dont know what I want to ask, any advice on this topic would be greatly appreciated.

Don`t listen to the voice in your head, especially if it tells you to kill people.


No, seriously, I make this error too occasionally, despite the fact that I have played zillions of hands and should certainly know better. I think most of us do it sometimes. Logic tells you that you are beat and should fold, but then you figure that you could be wrong and should maybe see a showdown.

Go with your first thought. It`s usually correct, if you are a reasonably experienced player.

its actually true that your first thought is the best...just took a psychology class last semester which showed that when ppl second guess themselves its usually wrong and they were right the first time.

if you want to become a good poker player, you don't have to listen that voice because often that voice didn't help you... you have to base on facts and on history versus the other players!!

I've come up across similar cases like the one you just said about his VP$IP. I've reluctantly called sometimes and was right about his holding and other times I've folded. It would be so dependant on others stacks here but if you're shorstacked and you think he could be raising with a pair then you have to risk it. You might well not get a better hand at this point.

If that was a cash game then it's an obvious fold but with dwindling stacks A,J 5handed is a shoving hand even if your instincts are right you have to take a gamble now or risk busting out in 5th regardless when you have to call or shove a much worse hand. At least with A,J you have many potential hands to bust him. Even with his Kings you can still catch an Ace..

I think you did well to call even though your instincts was correct for all the above reasons. I'd sooner bust with A,J with a short stack with potential of a double up as opposed to folding A,J and pushing with a marginal hand where you will most likely get 1 or two callers if you have blinded down so low.

I often go with gut instinct - the voices are never paying much attention

I know what you mean. I have done similar things and said to my self "I know he has xx but I need to make a move soon and am gonna do it any way" and sure enough he has xx. As well I was in a game last night and a guy 3 bet me on a wet flop after I had led out PF, I had KK and a BDSD, but an A J 9 and a FD showing I started thinking "na, hes bluffing, he is making a move here representing a number of hands that will dominate me, but his 3-bet will cost me so much that I have to shove over the top if I am gonna play and he has me covered. and I can survive with my still healthy stack if I fold, and he just might have it" and I folded and the clown showed his bluff. SO its hard to say. In both these cases my instincts were right, but upon dry reflection, I am not sure the decision I made was wrong either.

IMO this is one thing that will get easier with experience. I am at about 1500 games, maybe 1/2 those MTTs and the rest SnGs. I dont know how many hands, since I lost a majority of my HH due to a PC crash, and a lot of games are at PKR and they dont send you HH if you lose them. But I am starting to get a small amount of hands under my belt, and I still am not anywhere near experienced enough to think my decision making in these spot is as developed as much as I want it to be. I find myself thinking "bluff" when he has ze nutz and thinking "fold" when he has air more than I like.

So so get back to OP's question, I just try to listen to my instincts, and then try to figure out if the info I have coincides with my instincts. I am trying to prioritize my instincts under any info I may have.

But this may all change....

I believe the more you play and learn,the better your instincts will get.I go with mine alot,but its a good debate.

"Derail"

My mom gave me a t-shirt which I love, and it says "I hear voices......and they dont like YOU!"

playing online has made me develop a more organic style of play. there is a definite benefit to studying the numbers and statistics. however, i am generally playing against opponents who do not consider such factors when betting. therefore, they can sometimes be much more dangerous than the calculated player who weighs the odds and acts in his or her best interest. i am often faced with the dilemma of deciding whether an opponent is being maniacal or brilliant, and usually it is the former.
also, laboriously poring over the odds seems to hinder my performance. so i say develop your instincts through research and practice, and then trust them.

I just let my gut tell me whether or not to listen to my head.

always follow the math!

Math is kind of irrelevant when you're short stacked and on the bubble as it's push/fold mode. You will often be getting it in with A,rag and we know the math on that isn't good early on and it's an easy put down but late on and short stacked, it's simply a push if the timing and position is right.

fyp.

Never do what your gut or instinct tells you, but always pay attention when they want to speak. Then stop and analyze what is going on that would cause you to have your feeling to react a certain way. If it all syncs up then make your action. If it doesn't, then you have to decide if you are going to follow what you know or what you feel.
Mark that hand and start collecting data on your gut - then you will know better if it knows how to play poker better than your head

I say go with your gut instinct more often than not you are right, this was a hard poistion you found your self in though i would have pushed too with AJ it looked like a bully raise when you wer so near to the bubble. This time the instinct was the incorrect choice

Use the math and player info as tools.

Using good judgement, common sense, experience and instinct makes poker more exciting and rewarding. Winning helps too.

I do it all the time, considering all the other factors/stats as well. You know what sucks even more? Trusting your instincts, realizing you made the right choice and still lose.

I know inside that I played better, but is a horrible feeling nevertheless.

almost like the man in the mirror,huh? i to often trust my instincs to lose or get lucky on a suckout and make the same mistake again.like above knowing i made the right decision only to lose. it happens but the man in my head says do it. grrrrrr

I used to listen to the voice inside my head but it turned out he thought we were playing go fish

inti

LOL, worthy rambling, I do have to say.

The little man in my head is normally right the first time.

The little man in my head would of said "FOLD", and so would of my gut feeling, and that thing at the top of my head, that i very seldonly use, my brain, I think it would of even said fold.

All I can say is go with your first instinct, stick with the decision, and if you look back at your percentages, Id have to say that you would of made the right decision in 90% of the time.

Big-Jamo

A quick quote from a Seinfeld episode

Kramer: What does your little man tell you?
George C: My little man is an idiot!

But seriously, I do like to play on instinct.

Ex: Someone bets just under half the pot on the flop when checked to and you have 2nd pair
- You decide to call as you sense weakness in his bet

Ex: You missed your draw on the river and your opponent makes a blocking bet
- You decide to bluff big based on his attempt to get to a cheap showdown

As I play more, I find balancing the little man with your guts is the way to go. But I find if you use more guts, you make out pretty well. My $.02 fwiw.

Sometimes I listen to my instincts and I'm usually right especially if I can focus only one tournament.

Sometimes i listen. Not too often. But sometimes my reads are good and cold call or reraise. Of course i do this when i have outs too. Like when I call a raise with AK flop is J75 and my opponent cbet. If i know he is somehow loose and cbets all the time even when he misses the flop i will put him all in. I do not try to take down a huge pot bluffing with 72. Never. I made a good call i remember at CC Carbon freeroll 2 weeks ago calling all in with JJ and a flop Q94 or something like this. My reads were good, the opponent had AK and i took him out doubleing up. But this feeling have some reads and logic behind them. There is not reason for someone to try to throw you out of the pot if he hits the flop, only if he's desperate in has over 1/2 of his stack there.

I never try to bluff blocking blocks because my opponent might call or might been slowplaying. If the pot is small there is no reason for me to bluff. If the pot is big i do not think i will try to see the river with garbage in my hand .