Long streaks of nothing

M

MDJ

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So as a beginner from reading around, the sound advice seems to start with ABC poker, keep it simple, choose your hands and play aggressively when they come. That's fine, simple advice to follow.

But I would say my biggest weakness is patience, I don't suffer too badly, if at all, from tilt (maybe when the stakes start going up that will change!) and not much else tends to bother me, however after looooong periods of time folding hand after hand when all I get is absolute trash I get tempted into marginal hands, check/folding from the BB often hoping to catch a flop or calling cheap raises with nothing, even ABC poker becomes a challenge for me when it gets like this.

So what should I do, just rigidly stick to my guns or are there times/positions/hands I could be playing? or other tactics I can employ?
 
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CactusCat

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Long string of nothing is better than a downswing, right? :D

You can play marginal hands from hijack to button if it isn't complete trash. Sometimes the perfect storm will come out of nowhere.

But you can always be productive, by profiling the other players at the table. What they show up at showdown when they limp, when they raise, or call a raise, how they reacted to certain turns and rivers with those hands, do they slowplay, etc.

You want to target the fit-or-fold players - there's always a few at a full ring table, who limp call raises with hands like Q8 suited.

You're playing the odds that they miss, didn't have an overpair, and even if they don't miss, their hand isn't strong enough given the pressure you're putting on them. In that sense, the odds are with you.

Note that you're targeting fit-or-fold players, not calling stations who can't fold top pair with a 6 kicker. Or calling with Ace high not trying to catch a pair.

Last week I had exactly the kind of session you had, even slightly worse, and wound up running a triple-barrel bluff in a limped pot when I realized I could get it through. The player in the big blind bet out on a 9-high flop with two of a suit, I called as I had 36 suited from the button and had bottom pair. The turn is an overcard, a Jack, he checked, then I suddenly ramp up the aggression, bet pot-sized, he called, then I shoved the blanked river.

Four factors I considered were that 1.) I had a tight image, and had shown down the nuts with overbets and all-ins when called before. I'd also been playing my draws passively and taking free cards in position. 2.) The player had had a great session, doubling up in each of the previous two orbits, and I didn't think he wanted to play for my stack and risk denting his profit with a non-nutted hand. 3.) He was in the blinds and I was in the button, so positional advantage. 4.) The board runout and his betting patterns.

I put him on a 9x hand or a flush draw, and with the way the board ran out, with the jack as an overcard and the flush missing, I decided he couldn't call. I didn't want to take the freeshowdown in case he had a 9, or if he just randomly rivered a middling pair with his flush draw. But it was because of my earlier observations that he had always bet out with strong hands like two pairs and sets that I thought I could make a move. With a set he would bet out to shut me out of a flush draw, or checkraise, and that gave me enough information about his hand.

Players who hero call on tough runouts are also not good.
 
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nygmen2007

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I always love watching players win for a long time and then go cold for a long time.. I always wondered how that happens, that the same players usually cash.. I have streaks for long lengths both ways... Playing styles play no role in it... sorry to say..
 
IntenseHeat

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If you have, indeed, been playing tight/aggressive poker, than you should have built up a tight/aggressive image among your opponents. During the period when you aren't getting many strong hands, you can take advantage of your tight image to take down an occasional pot with the type of hand that you might be tempted to play from time to time. As long as you don't get carried away with it, you can occasionally put a raise in with less than a premium hand. Your tight image will frequently allow you to take down a pot with a pre-flop raise and a post-flop continuation bet, whether you connect or not. Just don't be like some players who turn a simple bluff into a complete spew by feeling the need to make a bigger bluff and eventually bluff off their entire stack if their initial C-bet doesn't work.
 
Danjwarburton

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If you play cash, table select better!

Remember, poker really is in the longterm... you have to think in "Months" not "Days"
 
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benspocket

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long streaks of nothing

well I have a lot of them and I blame myself for most of them for 2 reasons
1st I have no patience
2nd playing multi tables I cant consintrate on the hands sometimes I go allin on the wrong table,lol
 
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RamdeeBen

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Your question can't really get a correct answer because there are so many variables.

Hands you play really really just is dependant on your table and of course position is huge.

For example; If you have a hand like T9s in the BB and someone who is aggressive opens in MP or LP you should ALWAYS defend this hands and if you're just snap folding regardless of who's opening and from where you're making mistakes. Not sure if you're playing basically your hands and from certain positions have a set range of hands but you really need to adjust your hand ranges to the players who are opening the action.

The same goes for opening hands, you adjust your opening range to who's left behind. If you have fish in the blinds and even have a marginal hand you would normally fold, you should always open this etc etc.

I really just get the sense that from your post you literally have a set strategy for opening/calling ranges based on your position alone where as this should never be the case.
 
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Teofealter

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Luck really plays a very important role in playing poker. It negates any variable or any strategic game play. Even trash becomes a monster when lucky.
 
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hffjd2000

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Patience is very important in poker.

Consider hand and position when calling or playing.

Lastly, there are many poker tactics out there, i.e. bluffing.
 
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badalhoco345

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It's weel tinking when you say that you have to follow the ABC of poker: play hands defined, keep it simple... But you also can watch your opponents skills and focus on there style of play. That could be important when you are in the Bottom or in the SB in your decision to raise for exemple with marginal hands if you note that your opponents are not very agressive. However, yes, you have to keep the calm and have a lot of patience. Read your opponents as much as you can and your decisions will be much easier to be taken. Don't be your own "enemy" in the game.
 
KUN_AGUERO_KROOS

KUN_AGUERO_KROOS

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Lol. Everyone knows how to play a monster pre flop. So when u raise with aces, ur not playing poker, ur playing your cards. I mean, ur just asking us how to play poker.
 
Sil3ntness

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Yeah if you're going to play marginal or trash hands... play them LATE position if it's an unopened raised pot!

This is if you're DEEP stacked (cash games & early levels of tournaments) If this is a hyper turbo or the bubble of a turbo tournament you probably shouldn't be limping/raising with garbage from late position because the cutoff/dealer/blinds are probably just itching to 3 bet or shove it all in if short stacked to steal the blinds, antes and possibly double up.

Now if your stack to pot size is GOOD then you can play heads up with some garbage cards if the pot odds allow it. Cross your fingers and pray you hit a hail mary gutshot straight draw or something. Then when you hit your nuts straight on a rainbow board get ready to take the nitty TAG player's stack. :D
 
thetick33

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well I have a lot of them and I blame myself for most of them for 2 reasons
1st I have no patience
2nd playing multi tables I cant consintrate on the hands sometimes I go allin on the wrong table,lol

ive played you I believe ben on multiple sites and I do take notes and have you as a good player.

I have three days of almost dreadful cards lol and when cards picked up today was bad ugliness when did get some hands lol.

We all go through it.

Patience is the biggest key to poker winning imho. Going all in on wrong hands? I doubt that has happened to me 5 times in life. I have hit wrong buttons a few more times lol but not saying ohhh aa go all in and do it in a wrong room lmao.

again your a pretty solid player take your time I ill say if you dont have patience and playing 3-4 rooms online live tournaments will destroy you. IS SOOOOOO SLOW LOL
 
thetick33

thetick33

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Luck really plays a very important role in playing poker. It negates any variable or any strategic game play. Even trash becomes a monster when lucky.

we have played online in past correct? Your name looks familiar.

Luck is everything give me a boatload

the one note to OP is look at whats going on you have to see swings of cards.

You can have a minor 5 minute swing and if your not paying attention you could miss it and miss your entire winnings for a night:)

Am sure is some will disagree with this statement but sometimes rushes are very short honestly.

I had a tournament earlier took chip lead and got dead carded for over two straight hours.

I take notes on players,,,, I also watch the waive of cards even though play multi rooms 4 at a time most of the time. I am paying attention to if hitting garbage cause if I am hitting I have to adjust my game to take advantage.

I am usually pretty tight but aggressive with hands. Yet if 6-9 is gonna flop a boat or straight if can be limping in I need to be in as many hands as possible.

I usually do not play that way though.

I usually just wait but if hitting?
Got to push cause usually will not last all night:)
 
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BullWink

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One suggestion when getting a long string of nothing hands, would be to openup more tables and multi-table. This will increase your odds of actually hitting one of your range of hands that you should be playing. This makes it much harder to watch the other players, so I usually try to focus on the players on one table, and just mechanically play my cards on the other table(s). I should also note that I play very small stakes (so lower skill players), so with patience and playing smart, it is usually still profitable on the tables I'm not studying players.
 
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