Was I just unlucky? Micro-stakes advice needed either way!

Ok this is my first post, so Hi guys! Sorry if this sounds nooby or whatever!


So today I started on Micro-stakes 6-max cash games after doing pretty well with play chips over the past few months since I started. Im not gonna go into detail as im sure you get this a lot from new nooby players . Nearly always leave session with a healthy profit, made it to final tables and won tourneys etc. So today I dont know if ive just ran bad, been really unlucky, or if theres major flaws in my play??

So onto the three notable bad beats I suffered today.


1) Dealt QQ, I put in a decent sized raise pre-flop, I get 1 caller the rest fold, heads up.


Flop comes 6J5 rainbow. my stack is around $5, his is around $2


I bet big again, he calls again. Turn is another blank, so shove him in and of course, he calls with Jacks.



2) Similar to the first one, pocket Queens again. I raise im called by one guy. His stack is about 1/4 of mine this time, hes the short stack at the table.

Flop: 2,10,7 Rainbow. I shove him in. He shows AK. Im like, Ok I got him.

Turn: 4, River: K.


3) My stack is $12, opponents is $4.

I look down at Pocket 10s, 3x BB raise pre-flop, one caller, again.

Flop: 10,A,K Rainbow. I dont go crazy with the next bet even though I have a set as im aware of the over cards and draws, and he calls. At this stage im putting him on AQ-Ace rag.

Turn: 8. Another value bet by me and he calls.

River: K. A full house for me, I bet again, he re-raises all in and I snap call.

He show K8 suited for the better full-house.

Needless to say im pretty disappointed with today as poker has been hugely fun since I started playing and I seemed to have been doing well, today however hasnt.

Any advice or opinions are welcomed guys, I just want to improve.

Thanks

I've had plenty of days like that when it seemed that no matter how good my hand was, the other guy's was better. Looks like just a bad day really. Don't let it get you down. Variance will swing your way once again.

Would need to see your sizing and have villain stats etc to know if your play was ok.... Based on use of the term "decent sized bet pre flop" it was probably way bigger than if should be and discouraged action, can't be sure though.

Don't think you played bad...just bad luck, nothing you can do.

First hand though, I've seen a lot of players in micro stakes overplay their overpairs a lot. Too many players are willing to see flops with rags and can easily outflop you even when it doesn't seem like it. Usually I'll still bet my overpairs, but I'll start pot controlling if they keep calling and it feels like they hit two pair or something.

But then again, villain only had 2$, so even with just a single jack he would've probably shipped it regardless.

Thanks for the responses guys.

Been back playing Micro-stakes today for a few hours and in the end I had to just call it quits with my stack right where it started at the beginning of play and I left really tilted.

Micro-stakes just seems such bad poker! Im usually quite loose and aggressive, but have taken on board advice about tightening up my play for these types of games because of the calling stations you find there, so I played very tight today.

Twice today Ive had to lay down trips on the river because two idiots have hit runners for their straight, its sick shit guys, Im actually calling out the cards I dont want to see, and they are just appearing in front of me. The fish in micro-stakes just dont fold, its ridiculous. My bets were at least half the size of the pot. I hear people say about betting big so they dont hit runners, thats true, but when i flop trips I want SOME value dont I? otherwise whats the point of even playing if you make no money when you pick up big hands?

To cap it all off I picked up Queens, yes, pocket Queens again.
Flop came J35 (2 clubs)
I 3x BB pre-flop I bet half the pot on the flop, then 3/4 on the turn, he flat calls all of them, turn is a blank, then the river is the Q of clubs.

I bet again, putting him on AJ (or any Jack the way this fool has been playing) and he 2x raises my bet, and I call and he shows J10 clubs.

Am I really expected to lay down trips again, Queens this time with no straight draws, no overcards??

Is it best to just avoid these micro-stakes?, I see no benefit of playing in them.

akaRobbo said:

Thanks for the responses guys.

Been back playing Micro-stakes today for a few hours and in the end I had to just call it quits with my stack right where it started at the beginning of play and I left really tilted.

Micro-stakes just seems such bad poker! Im usually quite loose and aggressive, but have taken on board advice about tightening up my play for these types of games because of the calling stations you find there, so I played very tight today.

Twice today Ive had to lay down trips on the river because two idiots have hit runners for their straight, its sick shit guys, Im actually calling out the cards I dont want to see, and they are just appearing in front of me. The fish in micro-stakes just dont fold, its ridiculous. My bets were at least half the size of the pot. I hear people say about betting big so they dont hit runners, thats true, but when i flop trips I want SOME value dont I? otherwise whats the point of even playing if you make no money when you pick up big hands?

To cap it all off I picked up Queens, yes, pocket Queens again.
Flop came J35 (2 clubs)
I 3x BB pre-flop I bet half the pot on the flop, then 3/4 on the turn, he flat calls all of them, turn is a blank, then the river is the Q of clubs.

I bet again, putting him on AJ (or any Jack the way this fool has been playing) and he 2x raises my bet, and I call and he shows J10 clubs.

Am I really expected to lay down trips again, Queens this time with no straight draws, no overcards??

Is it best to just avoid these micro-stakes?, I see no benefit of playing in them.

Click to expand...

Want a tissue?

Yes you get morons who do this and call with shit and go boo ya and then proceed to rub it in your face.

Stop half potting, bet near pot all the damn time! They may fold the first few times, but as you keep pummeling them with big fat value bets, they will in the end even more wrongly try to call you to draw out, cause passive fish being passive fish, don't have any other plays in their playbook and resort to that one last option once they think you are full of shit - call your huge value bet with a draw. Heck, slow roll overshove the river with the nuts (or near nuts) after you have been doublebarreling strongly twice, they like to think you're bluffing.

Just fold one pair type hands to aggression mostly though, or slowdown at least if say you find a fish who likes to minraise toppair any kicker.

I know what you mean, I am on a table right now with a complete fish, he must be learning. As of this moemnt, he is:

PFR:90
PR:0

He is cleaning up cos he just checks to the river and gets his lucky river card nearly every hand. he must think poker is a piece of cake, he is cleaning up.

There are some decent regs on the table we are all waiting for a decent hand to take him on, but not once has anyone caught a flop - 2 pr is the best, take that to the river and the fish just gets his card.

It's frustrating but you just have to wait it out, maybe you get a hand to attack with, but in my experience you just have to sit there with hand after hand of rubbish when you know that one decent flop you would clean up.

The killer is when someone new joins the table and gets him all in first hand and takes his stack, after I wait over an hour. Not one hand, sheesh, this is just the variance, sometimes you run good, sometimes you run bad....

I agree though, I would rather play at the lowest level where this doesn't go on - yeah you can win money but it's not good poker.

This guy is absolutely on fire, unbelievable.... (as I fold 6 10 off)

akaRobbo said:

Thanks for the responses guys.

Been back playing Micro-stakes today for a few hours and in the end I had to just call it quits with my stack right where it started at the beginning of play and I left really tilted.

Micro-stakes just seems such bad poker! Im usually quite loose and aggressive, but have taken on board advice about tightening up my play for these types of games because of the calling stations you find there, so I played very tight today.

Twice today Ive had to lay down trips on the river because two idiots have hit runners for their straight, its sick shit guys, Im actually calling out the cards I dont want to see, and they are just appearing in front of me. The fish in micro-stakes just dont fold, its ridiculous. My bets were at least half the size of the pot. I hear people say about betting big so they dont hit runners, thats true, but when i flop trips I want SOME value dont I? otherwise whats the point of even playing if you make no money when you pick up big hands?

To cap it all off I picked up Queens, yes, pocket Queens again.
Flop came J35 (2 clubs)
I 3x BB pre-flop I bet half the pot on the flop, then 3/4 on the turn, he flat calls all of them, turn is a blank, then the river is the Q of clubs.

I bet again, putting him on AJ (or any Jack the way this fool has been playing) and he 2x raises my bet, and I call and he shows J10 clubs.

Am I really expected to lay down trips again, Queens this time with no straight draws, no overcards??

Is it best to just avoid these micro-stakes?, I see no benefit of playing in them.

Click to expand...

Once a week there is a post like this from someone.
First of all , I, NorwayNewman, am a losing online poker player.
Second, I have made posts like this myself in the beginning.
At first it seems like its everyone else who is so lucky, or the software is against me.
Then after a couple days its: I am better than these stakes, obviously, I mean how can I expect myself to play such micro trash stakes, this aint poker.
You'll read this thread, check our responses, and STILL take a shot at 25NL or 50NL, you'll lose like half a buyin, just half, and tilt... Then proceed to blow your roll and wonder what happend.
Encouragement: Give yourself the chance to find out if you suck or not. You need a larger sample size than just a few days, a week. There is indeed a possibility that you're a profitable player, yet you could stress yourself out to the point you quit before you give yourself a chance to see.
Conclusion: bankroll management, play 50000 hands of same stake you're rolled for, post hands in discussion forum you feel were tricky. Try not to embarrass yourself on forums like I have. Read the gigabytes of posts already on forums.
lykker til

It seems I was too hasty and probably just looking for answers too quickly as to why I started off with some losses. Probably because I saw myself as an OK player then I start off in real cash games and next minute im losing money fast! As yesterday I pretty much made back everything I lost on the first day and now sit just a few dollars away from profit, and as a result my confidence and play is much better too.

Ill take your advice NorwayNewman and stick to Microstakes, your reply made perfect sense.

See you later guys

From reading your examples I see a pattern that many losing players have. They often over value one pair. You have been getting your money all in with one pair and going broke. Pocket QQs are a good hand but on the river they are still only one pair and one pair is still a small hand at the river. Next time just take a minute to think if you are willing to risk an entire buy in on just one pair. Also one other thing is that when you are posting online about hand histories the details matter very much. Having you been playing tight? Your opponents playing style? Table dynamics and stack sizes. Be as specific as possible. With that said I do think that you have just gotten a little unlucky. QQ vs JJ you are a 4 to 1 favorite. The villain flopping a set is just unlucky but this is compounded by your willingness to go broke with one pair. QQ vs K8 boat over boat is just another unlucky hand but the way you need to see it is that you made the correct decisions. An important aspect of a quality player is that he is not results oriented but decision oriented. Many people cry and complain when they lose to garbage hands but I welcome it. Bad players making bad decisions means you will make money in the long run. If bad players didn't make bad plays then nobody would make any money. The trip Q's hand a leak you made was only betting half pot on the flop with two clubs. If your opponent does indeed have a flush draw betting half pot gives them the exact odds he needs to call. Try betting a little more than half pot and less than full pot. Say 60 to 75%.

Some days are just like that. Sometimes the other guy will call u down with 22 and hit a runner runner flush on the river.

In the first hand, effective stack only $2. All in anyway.

3rd hand, bet biiiiigggggggg on the flop. Chances are he has a piece of the board. Extract value.

Have you tried playing single table sit n gos instead of micro cash games?