Problems folding when I know I'm beat

Hey guys,

I'm mostly playing MTTSNG's these days, but I like to play 6handed cash games when I don't have a lot of time to play.
Tho, I seem to be losing, while I recently crushed FR 5nl (playing 10nl now, but shouldn't be a difference in skill level right?)
Now today I played live with some friends, and I noticed a big mistake I made 3 times, and after that I noticed I do the same online.
I'll give one of the hands as an example:

I was playing with 2 friends, we each bought in for 40$,
I was sitting on the button, the sb was really fishy and had already rebuyed twice, and the BB is an online MTT reg.
blinds were .20/.40

I made it 1$ with AK
SB folded
BB made it 2.50 (this narrows his range to 22+ AT+ KQ)
I called.

Flop came K75 rainbow, he bet 2$ and I called.
turn came a 9 (still rainbow), he checked, I bet 3$ (here I just knew, If he'd call me, I was beat) and so he did.
river came a Q and he bet 8.50$.
At this point I was sure he had 7's 5's or 9's, I even said it.
Tho, I tanked for like a minute, and decided to call, and yes, he had 7's.

Now I had 2 similar hands later on, which ended the same way.

So yea, my problem is:
I very often have a pretty accurate read, but I still level myself into calling.
Does anyone have any good tips for me? I play 10nl, while my BR is 1150, but I just don't feel comfortable playing higher, because every session, I slowly increase my stack to around 12-15$, and then lose it all in a hand where I know I'm beat.

thanks in advantage!

I have the same problem, but sometimes u have to pay off the value bets to catch the bluffers-in the hand where he had 777, he may have made the same bet with a missed str dr, or KX.

Yes true, but like, when I made the turn bet I already decided I'd fold if he called/re-raised. after he did, I still made the call.
I was 100% sure he had me beat, But I just couldn't resist calling with TPTK.

When you can fold a huge hand when you know your behind is a mark of a great player.

FWIW I used to have this problem. Now, I range the opponent. I make my read and i stick with it - even if it is for my entire stack.

You were dead on with your range, so obviously you are good in that department. Trust your reads. In this specific hand, his range is significantly narrowed by the 3-bet. It is very unlikely he does this with connectors (someone suggested he may bet the same way with missed straight draw).

Trust your reads and have the control to lay down the hand. People don't bluff that often. Your friend probably had a really good read on you also, so he knew you may call with top/top.

Well, this is what changed for me and made me make those tough folds: got tired of loosing, especially when I knew I was beat. Took a long time tho.

Just an idea I have had - might help you. Perhaps say aloud every 2card combination that beats your hand. The fact you have not finished saying them all by the time the clock runs down, should make it blindingly obvious that TPTK is often a fold when faced with a big bet.

You are my favorite type of player, because you are paying off for me to get more information on both of you. When you get a strong enough read, and you feel you are on it, stop paying off. Not only do you save your money, but you also stop feeding everyone else information about yourself and the other player.

It's sometimes better to fold an occassional winning hand than it is to pay to see 100 that beat you. Cheaper too.

when you know your beat its easy to fold, esp when you know they caught up i like showing my fold to let him know i knew i was ahead then he caught up and i was able to lay my hand down knowing it will make me money in the future against him or other players. not knowing if your ahead is what gets a little tricky esp when im deepstack say at a $1/$2 cash game and im $500+ or so I can afford to look him up either if hes ahead or if hes not then makes other players notice I can make hero nice calls and tends to show other players not to try and bluff me.

BvBrMTW you have to start trusting your read. You can't play poker by Math alone. It seems like you have some good instincts, start trusting them!

Ya sometimes you just have to trust your read and stick with it because if you second guess yourself then thats where the problem starts happening! Sometimes I still second guess myself so its just natur but ull have to learn to control it because it only help you in the end!

My tip is take a deep breath put the mouse cursor on the fold button close your eyes and click it

xrhstos said:

My tip is take a deep breath put the mouse cursor on the fold button close your eyes and click it

Click to expand...

Good tip , easier said than done tho lol

dude i have the same issue, but im working on it. bottom line for me is it is pride, one that im beat and i know it so its almost like i pay to prove that im right or i pay because im pissed i got sucked out on. neither makes any sense at all so i just have to stop being a tard and start getting paid. thats just me. you are correct when you say easier said than done though ....gl

I have had much the same problem. I started at 4NL 6max and used to pay people off left, right and centre.

I defo agree with the posts that say stick with your read once you've made it because once you have folded you will have forgotten about the hand as soon as the next one is dealt. When you do decide to call and you knew you were beaten it is one of the most tilting things ever and it ruins your game.

Part of the problem was that playing 6max, and probably FR, it can sometimes feels as if when you do make a big fold that everyone will pick up on it and immediately start to bluff you to hell but you are just leveling yourself.

It's defo not the easiest thing to do but it is so much less frustrating.

its hard for me too at times but i try to take notes on players but yes some times you have to see a hand to get some helpful notes on players to see if they are bluffing etc.or they may think they can scare you out of they hand and constantly will try to out play you...just a thought

steveiam said:

When you can fold a huge hand when you know your behind is a mark of a great player.

Click to expand...

This. Sadly is so hard to do bc it kills your ego, even tho you know u lost, you still will never TRULY know :?

One of the things that impresses me most about my favorite poker players is their incredible reading ability. That is probably the single most valuable skill that a poker player can have. But what good is it if we don't trust it? I have been known, on certain sites, for making incredible calls to pick off bluffs. We're talking about calling an all-in bet on the river with bottom pair on a terrifying board because the way the hand played out didn't make sense to me. I made my read and stuck with it. I tell people that comment on it that I am probably wrong just as often as I am right. Of the times that I am wrong, half of that again is times when I decided I just simply didn't believe my opponent and was wrong. And that's okay. The problem is that the other half of that half is times when I felt I was probably beat, but talked myself into calling anyway.

So, reading ability is one of the the most valuable skills that a poker play can have. Another one is the ability to make hard laydowns. In fact, this is often the difference between good players and great ones. Apparently, we are all still searching for greatness.

Play Omaha, you will learn to make some hard laydowns.

I'm calling to keep 'em honest!

Arrogance (or self-confidence, however you wanna call it) goes a long way here. If you have a read just assume it's correct and act on it, because you're just awesome and your reads never fail.

Over the long run, if your reads ARE correct, your winrate will reflect that.

darkassassin89 said:

This. Sadly is so hard to do bc it kills your ego, even tho you know u lost, you still will never TRULY know :?

Click to expand...

Go with your initial gut feeling its rarely wrong.If you think you are beat you will be right more often than wrong and that is +EV..

steveiam said:

Go with your initial gut feeling its rarely wrong.If you think you are beat you will be right more often than wrong and that is +EV..

Click to expand...

very few micro players bet all 3 streets
tip of the day

Maybe is a question of pride, happens with me all the time, and is exactly my biggest problem right now. I am playing micro-stacks on pokerstars and sometimes i fold with the best hand when a bet or raise is too large because i dont want give my money to the other players just for i am being stupid and proud.
But sometimes i find opponents that make a huge bet with middle pairs or poor hands and its the right moment to make a call.
But for me the problem is the over pairs, when you have some, just do not forget that you opponent can have one bigger than yours or maybe 3 of a kind, its hard
I agree it is hard make a fold but the most importante thing is, are you ready to risk all your money to prove if you are right or not?