blikbleek
Rock Star
Silver Level
so, after spending some time on this forum and doing A LOT of reading, ive come up with a list of reasons why i think im not winning. however, i have known about these problems for quite some time and simply knowing these problems doesnt seem to help me fix them.
so im going to post them in order of importance, with #1 being the biggest problem. any insight on how to avoid or overcome these problems is appreciated:
1. I dont know everything about poker - when i first began, odds and position meant nothing. i simply played. ive learned a bit since then, but i still dont know every aspect of good play. just recently i learned about push/fold strategy and until then i would limp in with a chunk of my stack late in the game because i was scared to lose. now ive been reading a lot more about pot odds, implied odds, position, and so on. is it possible to list every important aspect in one post?
2. Positive/Negative Tilt - ive noticed a trend with tilting. when i first make a deposit i win a few tournaments because im motivated to play. i usually play at the top of my game after making a deposit. two things happen then: i either go on positive tilt because i feel like im dominating and lose to someone who has a better hand, or i get beat by an underhanded player and go on negative tilt. in either case, once tilting begins i almost always lose the rest of my deposit. i feel like im playing the same but somehow i must be losing my focus. Any ideas? my stats are usually the same, but am i playing more loose in a subtle way? how does tilting affect you?
3. Playing Style - I play tight aggressive because it works better than any other strategy i played with. but im still losing. i fold rags that hit and play big cards that miss. is that just an unfortunate game or am i missing something? if my big cards miss too much for too long i will end up on tilt.
4. Motivation/Patience/Tolerance - this ties in very much with tilting, but i dont always need to be on tilt to lose my motivation or patience. for example im playing well and not tilting. I finally hit my ace pair, and some guy whose been playing overly aggressive keeps shooting at me. i decide to call his bluff and go all in. im confident ill win, but i lose. did i just lose patience? if so, how do i avoid or overcome these situations?
5 Conflicting advice - one site says "hold em isnt a game of all ins". another site says "push/fold strategy is amazingly viable." heres another example: "the flop pretty much determines the outcome of the hand, so fold with nothing. dont be a donkey and chase flush draw". the other advice: "always consider implied odds. call a raise with a flush draw"/
So who is right? i dunno, and sometimes reading all this crap is damn confusing. is there a proper mix of strategies? it seems like every damn player thinks hes amazing and gives advice in absolutes- "always do this, never do that". ughhhhhh
so im going to post them in order of importance, with #1 being the biggest problem. any insight on how to avoid or overcome these problems is appreciated:
1. I dont know everything about poker - when i first began, odds and position meant nothing. i simply played. ive learned a bit since then, but i still dont know every aspect of good play. just recently i learned about push/fold strategy and until then i would limp in with a chunk of my stack late in the game because i was scared to lose. now ive been reading a lot more about pot odds, implied odds, position, and so on. is it possible to list every important aspect in one post?
2. Positive/Negative Tilt - ive noticed a trend with tilting. when i first make a deposit i win a few tournaments because im motivated to play. i usually play at the top of my game after making a deposit. two things happen then: i either go on positive tilt because i feel like im dominating and lose to someone who has a better hand, or i get beat by an underhanded player and go on negative tilt. in either case, once tilting begins i almost always lose the rest of my deposit. i feel like im playing the same but somehow i must be losing my focus. Any ideas? my stats are usually the same, but am i playing more loose in a subtle way? how does tilting affect you?
3. Playing Style - I play tight aggressive because it works better than any other strategy i played with. but im still losing. i fold rags that hit and play big cards that miss. is that just an unfortunate game or am i missing something? if my big cards miss too much for too long i will end up on tilt.
4. Motivation/Patience/Tolerance - this ties in very much with tilting, but i dont always need to be on tilt to lose my motivation or patience. for example im playing well and not tilting. I finally hit my ace pair, and some guy whose been playing overly aggressive keeps shooting at me. i decide to call his bluff and go all in. im confident ill win, but i lose. did i just lose patience? if so, how do i avoid or overcome these situations?
5 Conflicting advice - one site says "hold em isnt a game of all ins". another site says "push/fold strategy is amazingly viable." heres another example: "the flop pretty much determines the outcome of the hand, so fold with nothing. dont be a donkey and chase flush draw". the other advice: "always consider implied odds. call a raise with a flush draw"/
So who is right? i dunno, and sometimes reading all this crap is damn confusing. is there a proper mix of strategies? it seems like every damn player thinks hes amazing and gives advice in absolutes- "always do this, never do that". ughhhhhh