LUCK IN POKER!

Hey u card sharks what do u all think of 'luck in poker hold'em'...lately I've been getting beaten by all the donks whom defy the odds at all times!!
I have AA vs 66, the dude hits set on the river! I've got AA in a tourney going against 3 dudes, one dude hits a straight flush on the flop....!!!!!! What do u guys do when you lose with the odds....some call it luck other call it having the 'poker edge'........well I certainly don't have the 'edge' lately and I am wondering what some of u do when you lose it!!!!!

Study more. Read the strategy and hand analysis forums here at CC. Read some books, for example those recommended here.

I believe you will find your "luck" will improve.

Tks Egon...but I don't know many dudes whom will fold in an 'all in' situation with AA. It's about having the 'poker edge' u either have or don't!

I didn`t even read your example, m8, sorry. I take the view that bad beats are part of the scenery and of no real interest or concern. Those things even out in the long run and the best schooled and practiced players win. Hence my advice about studying.

Again many tks for ur reply and I have read a few books and they basically repeat the same thing with certain exceptions....! However I have been playing for a few years and it always boils down to having the edge or not!!! If u have it, play the odds you'll win...if u don't, you wind up getting beaten by the donks...my post is about this 'edge' which few dudes talk about and give their opinions!!!

Do not take it personal.
Poker is not spitting in your face.
You are not owed a win for getting it in with the best hand.
You are supposed to lose a percentage of the time with the best hand.

A/A is supposed to lose to 6/6 a fifth of the time. Just play it the way you are supposed to (IE, don't let people see a cheap flop because you don't want people in with weird/unpredictable draws. And for post flop when your overpair can't be good) and let the cards come how they may. Letting more than one person see the flop significantly decreases your chances of being sucked out on.

You don't have to like it, but it's the nature of the game. The more you internalize the bad beat, the more poisonous to your game they become.

Pokerstars tourney Dopitz...like the nightly $80G...almost got to the final table a couple of days ago, then everyone started going all in at every hand, the blinds get so high that u have to follow suit. All-in...a flip of the dices and u hope ur going to make it! This is where getting that 'edge' or luck comes in, with me it's on and off like a switch toggle...I really think that other players karma affect yours at any given time...for I am doing well on one table, get switched and bingo..nothing, no cards, no hits. The edge...how to keep it!!!!!

You need luck to win at poker and luck will always be there, whether it's on your side or not. But luck is a factor you cannot control. It's bad that you get beat time after time because of bad luck, but you can get better at poker by studying and then beating the system. Learn to be patient, learn to be relaxed. There are many ways to learning better poker on the internet and in real life. Skills and experience can help you defy the odds.

Luck in Poker = Consistently getting yourself in underdog situations or making calls you shouldn't but winning (short term) anyway

Skill in Poker = Reducing the number of times you're getting yourself in underdog situations, reducing the number of players in a hand against you when you have good cards PF, knowing when to throw a very good hand that got killed on the flop, throwing away the occasional winner due to a bad read/over cautious read on an opponent, getting maximum value from your very good hands, playing your stack size, table image, and position to your advantage, biding your time when in low 'M' situations to give you the best possible chance of success.... and recognizing when the other players (as IRexes likes to say) "start playing for second".

if you're not familiar with the concept of 'M' ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M-ratio ) you should be...

That was very instructive PokerPete...been doing the M ratio without really knowing about it and when I get a low M I have a tendency to panick!! Tks to you I now more understand the factors into play and will certainly apply more diligently!! Many thanks PokerPete, I am vry glad and fortunate I posted this blog!!!!!

Hey Pete thats a really helpfull site for all. They also have links to the Harrington volumes as well as a great exp. of M. Thanks again, I cant beleive how much this site has improved my game the last few weeks.

Almost any hand, Royal Flush exception, can lose at any time. A lot of it depends on the people at the table. A lot of the donks don't play the cards or odds, they'll just stay and play to the end, losing most of the time due to not catching anything fishing. Unfortunately it only takes that one catch to keep them doing it.

Before joining CC, my play could be summed up as:

...yep...that was me

.. and for those who haven't found it yet...
articles_tab.JPG

i find switching games really usefull, if your playing holdem, try switching to omaha this is what i always do and it seems to work

Folding Pocket A's

Not an issue
Just a Pair
Nothing more
Nothing less

Do you know how many times pocket A's will win a pot.
Please watch each hand next time you play.
If you had pocket A's every time how often would you have won.

Good Luck


Roller:
Position yourself with a large enough chip stack to survive the donks who defy the odds and get lucky on you.

please don't fold AA. AA will win heads up 85+% of the time - played to the river. Obviously this % goes down with a larger number of callers, but in the first example here against 3 other callers you're still somewhere between 65%-70% favourite to win the hand statistically.

Unless you're in a tournament and you've got a very very good reason to avoid a situation like this (which happens about never) you're always going to be getting your money in.

I wouldn't even consider losing with AA in a 4-way all-in pot to be a bad beat.. you're only expecting to win here 6-7 times out of ten. You're a decent favourite, but it's hardly the same as someone spiking a 2 outer on the river to nut you.

The reality with online poker is you're going to be dealt so many hands that this sort of thing will happen frequently. You just have to get used to it and be happy that you played the hand correctly. Poker is a game of small edges.

Play 10 or 20,000 hands then go back over your results and you'll see that the statistics on hands winning will be a lot truer. What you're suffering from is short term variance, not luck. In the long run this evens out!

Folding AA is never ok vs 1,2 opps preflop should usually raise or trap with a call. at the long run aces will not disapoint you.

poker is the only game you can do everything right and lose, or do everything wrong and win. fun huh?

All sports involve little luck... Think about it...

That player that shoots from way down town in basketball at the buzzer and makes it involves luck. If it was skill he/she would be able to make it 8-9 times out of 10 and its not like that so therefore they have to get lucky too.

Same with football, when qbs trow a hail marry and it actually gets cought its luck. Even though the opposing team has 3-4 defenders that ball gets through them and gets cought.. thats luck. The defenders had AA and got sucked out on by 2-7 same things.

Once I get beat with my Prime hands, i usually know its just
not my day to be playing poker. So i usually just sit out for
a few minutes and cool off until im in the mood to play again
or else I will just go Nuts and Loose it all. But with your question
that wouldnt happen so much if you played at the Casino because
these poker sites have a rake advantage to keep the action going
hope this helps
goodluck and hope to see you on the felt soon

Well Roller I guess folding AA...is a nono...I wud never fold AA preflop for I agree with the percentages...I see this has an opportunity to gain but when it blows in ur face, it's very frustrating...!!! I did a google on winning at holde'm and found a site which talks about having the 'edge'. It states more or less that 'once a player recognizes that he/she has the edge, it's now time to play hand after hand and take advantage of this edge! At first I did not understand this edge for I thought he meant luck but later understood what he meant was having the edge at the table...somedays you try to win and no matter what you do u get beaten..on other days everything seems to pass go, sometime only King high or a ten!!! That's having the'edge'

Everything is Situational.
Everything

Are you all telling me you can't get away from pocket A's.

LOL
Nice
AA is just a pair.
Chances of improving your pocket A's?
Oh wait you may hit a set
Well most likely not since at least one of the callers has an A x
LOL
Stick with your pairs.
I will stick with your chips.

All in Fun .....

But I still hope I make my point that A A is not the killer hand many think.
It's mainly a preflop hand and if you see the Flop many times you will not be so excited with Pocket A's.
Other times you will notice that everyone folds on you and you make very little profit with pocket A's. (you have two A's > only two left > others like to call you with A x > No Callers at times)

You have Nothing but A's.
Example:
Flop a small pair comes up. (oooops could they have a set of 3's) lol
Flop a large pair comes up. (two callers you know one of them has it)
Flop any pair (here we go again two pair kicking those A's)
Flop three of a suit come up. (ouch flush fear!)
Flop two of a suit comes up (He bets big into me hmmmm Flush draw)
Flop three connectors (that straight is taken down my A's)
Flop gapped connectors (He re-raises me straight ?)

Must I go on.
I know the Odds.
I also know reality.
lol
Of course this thread is all in fun.

My point:
Many players are so happy to get pocket A's and get caught in a trap. Many cant Fold pocket A's.

Please tell the truth:
How many times have you got busted out of a tourney with Pocket A's.

Well the start of this thread coolubet lists 2 times he gets his A's cracked.
Please tell me your stories of pocket A's getting cracked.

Nice Thread !



Roller:
You must find the strength to FOLD Pocket A's.

While u may have a point Roller...percentages don't lie...ask any pro!! AA if played right in cash games remains the strongest hand in poker KK being the second! How many times did I see AA beat KK...it's unfair to the bearer. But your point may be applied in tourney when after you've raised u have a lot of other players re-raise you for when more then two dudes are in, ur odds a greatly reduced. Another thing to consider and many will tell me 'it's bull', is that 'edge' I was talking about, if ur hitting ur flops and know you've got the edge, then in a tourney I wud not hesitate to go all in! On the other hand if you've not been hitting ur flops and there is more then 2 dudes..umm u shud not go all in for ur chance of getting knocked out are very good!!!

Percentages

lol

So many more things come into play that percentages are just not an over riding factor.

The odds of something happening is great to know and should be the base of your foundation while playing Hold em.
But it's just the Base.

There are so many layers built on top that base that everything must be considered and weighted appropriately.
Everything is built on the concept of odds averages and probability.
Then you build from there.


Percentages are such a very small variable in my decision making.


Roller:
If we all based or play overwhelmingly on percentages then we would all play the same and Luck would be the only Factor in who Wins.


What a sad day that would be for poker.