I've had an Epiphany

S

stg1969

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Hi all.
Ive been playing poker for about 5 years on and off, and ive always been a SnG and Tourney player, and Ive always lost money at cash. Not every session, but overall. With SnG's, I probably make a slow profit, which i then either piss away on cash, or have a mad evening when ive been drinking and play above my roll.

I used to think I was good, but unlucky, that was in the early days...I thought I was a TAG, but then discovered I was just kidding myself.

Here are some of the things ive done over the last 4 years.

1) Never withdrawn money.

2) Told myself I was a TAG, when really I'm a TAGFISH.

3) Constantly played above my BR.

4) Made every excuse under the sun for losing. Unlucky, Bad Beats, Bad day, Kids put me in bad mood, wife put me in bad mood, cat ran across my path, I wasnt concentrating, I was tired...blah blah blah.

5) Got wound up constantly by idiots, and spent more time talking in the chat box than thinking about poker.

6) Gone to bed with that sickening feeling of having blown my roll...
_______________________________________________________

Now, down to the epiphany (for those of you still reading, thanks).

Cash games...

Cash games have ALWAYS scared me... SnG are easier, you can only blow what youve bought in with..and i'm decent at tourneys too... but every single time I play cash...I do so many things wrong, fold when i shouldnt, bet when i shouldnt, check, call when i shouldnt...the list goes on.

Ive recently opened a Stars account (up until now ive played solely on PKR)...with the sole object of playing cash games only and keeping a record.

This is what has happened to me. Mostly cos of advice from this forum.

I deposited $100, and instead of playing 10NL or even 25NL, I'm playing 2NL..and guess what?????

I'm playing without fear, I'm playing 4 tables, chat is instantly turned off (i dont even say nh, or ul or anything), i'm here to play poker, not make friends...

I'm betting properly, I'm playing proper TAG, I'm 3 betting in position (instead of just calling), i'm folding A7off when someone has already rasied the pot, I'm c-betting the flop (and its mostly working), and importantly, I'm folding things when i think i'm beat, and i'm coming over the top of people when i think they are c-betting with air.

And its working!!

Dont get me wrong, i'm still on the end of some coolers and bad beats, of course, and i'm not suddenly saying I'm Phil Ivey..I'm not that naive...but i'm winning every session, i'm averaging around 25BB per hour, and yeah ok, its 2NL, but i'm really proud of myself. IT just seems so simple, ABC micro poker, 4 tables going, not gettting bored, and grinding slowly upwards.

The key now is not to get creative or arrogant, build my roll up to 40BI for 4NL and try that.

Thankyou for all the advice over the few weeks, especially re BR management.

(PS... when i go back to PKR for SnG, i now actually feel there's more pressure in those...lol)

Cheers

Steve :D
 
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Arjonius

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Good for you. There's never been a shortage of players who IMO get caught up in thinking they're good, which then contributes to trying to do too much. As a result, they display various types of FPS. And when these plays don't lead to increased profitability, they are reluctant to recognize what's happening because it would mean admitting to themselves that they're not as good as they want to think they are. So they find and use every excuse they can.

I can appreciate this; I wouldn't argue with anyone thinking I over-rate myself. But basically, winning poker isn't about being a good player. It's about being better than your opponents. And especially at the micros, "better than" can just mean "not as bad as".
 
acky100

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Good luck, realising we all are bad at poker is a great way to start. Good that you're not playing 25nl or 10nl with a $100 br also, that's just asking to go bust! GL
 
F

fugitive67

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good to hear

i'm gonna contribute part of your recent success to the lack of US poker Sharks on Stars :)
 
Reptar7

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Nice to hear things are clicking for you. I clicked on this thread hoping to learn some extravagant new thing or learn a new idea to consider, but instead I'm taking away just a reminder, keep it simple and focus on basics. Possibly the best advice for the micros (which is where I am playing too).
 
Reptar7

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i'm gonna contribute part of your recent success to the lack of US Poker Sharks on Stars :)

Ha, yeah it is probably easier to win there without having to deal with me sitting at 24 tables playing super TAG. There were a lot of other people doing that too.
 
S

stg1969

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Ha, yeah it is probably easier to win there without having to deal with me sitting at 24 tables playing super TAG. There were a lot of other people doing that too.
24 Tables

Christ, did you not ever find that you sometimes missed things...
 
A

AllInDom

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Hi all.
Ive been playing poker for about 5 years on and off, and ive always been a SnG and Tourney player, and Ive always lost money at cash. Not every session, but overall. With SnG's, I probably make a slow profit, which i then either piss away on cash, or have a mad evening when ive been drinking and play above my roll.

I used to think I was good, but unlucky, that was in the early days...I thought I was a TAG, but then discovered I was just kidding myself.

Here are some of the things ive done over the last 4 years.

1) Never withdrawn money.

2) Told myself I was a TAG, when really I'm a TAGFISH.

3) Constantly played above my BR.

4) Made every excuse under the sun for losing. Unlucky, Bad Beats, Bad day, Kids put me in bad mood, wife put me in bad mood, cat ran across my path, I wasnt concentrating, I was tired...blah blah blah.

5) Got wound up constantly by idiots, and spent more time talking in the chat box than thinking about poker.

6) Gone to bed with that sickening feeling of having blown my roll...
_______________________________________________________

Now, down to the epiphany (for those of you still reading, thanks).

Cash games...

Cash games have ALWAYS scared me... SnG are easier, you can only blow what youve bought in with..and i'm decent at tourneys too... but every single time I play cash...I do so many things wrong, fold when i shouldnt, bet when i shouldnt, check, call when i shouldnt...the list goes on.

Ive recently opened a Stars account (up until now ive played solely on PKR)...with the sole object of playing cash games only and keeping a record.

This is what has happened to me. Mostly cos of advice from this forum.

I deposited $100, and instead of playing 10NL or even 25NL, I'm playing 2NL..and guess what?????

I'm playing without fear, I'm playing 4 tables, chat is instantly turned off (i dont even say nh, or ul or anything), i'm here to play poker, not make friends...

I'm betting properly, I'm playing proper TAG, I'm 3 betting in position (instead of just calling), i'm folding A7off when someone has already rasied the pot, I'm c-betting the flop (and its mostly working), and importantly, I'm folding things when i think i'm beat, and i'm coming over the top of people when i think they are c-betting with air.

And its working!!

Dont get me wrong, i'm still on the end of some coolers and bad beats, of course, and i'm not suddenly saying I'm Phil Ivey..I'm not that naive...but i'm winning every session, i'm averaging around 25BB per hour, and yeah ok, its 2NL, but i'm really proud of myself. IT just seems so simple, ABC micro poker, 4 tables going, not gettting bored, and grinding slowly upwards.

The key now is not to get creative or arrogant, build my roll up to 40BI for 4NL and try that.

Thankyou for all the advice over the few weeks, especially re BR management.

(PS... when i go back to PKR for SnG, i now actually feel there's more pressure in those...lol)

Cheers

Steve :D

Congratulation on your change, hope it continues to go well for you. I'm in the same sort of position. I think I need to start making those good folds...
 
individualequal

individualequal

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I used to blame my bad play on 'dreary' software. I didn't realise at that point, that actually, I hadn't learnt enough about poker yet.

I once read a short article on 6-max cash pre-flop raising ranges and bet sizing aimed at micros (including making it 4 BBs (3 BB raise) + 1 BB for every limper. This article alone actually transformed me into a winning 6-max micro cash player. However, i am still not confident enough to play cash due to my poor 'disciplinary record'.

Like you, I also found that turning off chat was extremely helpful. Whenever I'd have the urge to spew expletives, I'd calm down and continue playing as optimally as my skillset allowed me to.

Good luck continuing to succeed.

James
 
Makwa

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Great Steve, carry on, as you were... BRM is the key and u found it... :cool:
 
S

stg1969

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Cheers for all the support guys, ive actually found that 6 tables instead of 4 makes me play tighter too, not sure i could handle any more though.
 
Ezekiel162

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...I'm playing without fear, I'm playing 4 tables, chat is instantly turned off (i dont even say nh, or ul or anything), i'm here to play poker, not make friends...
Now you're in your comfort zone and less prone to mistakes... good stuff/move, Steve...
 
Matt Vaughan

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BUMPS

Bumping threads will not count toward your 65 posts needed to join the freeroll club you know... Lol.


:D Congrats OP!! :D
:congrats:
 
Poker Orifice

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i'm gonna contribute part of your recent success to the lack of US Poker Sharks on Stars :)
pokerstars micro cash tables without a doubt have better players/play than the other sites (including merge where the 'US micro pros' are playing now ;) )

wtg Steve!
Yup.... forget about the money, work on the game > the money will take care of itself!
 
okeedokalee

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I used to blame my bad play on 'dreary' software. I didn't realise at that point, that actually, I hadn't learnt enough about poker yet.

I once read a short article on 6-max cash pre-flop raising ranges and bet sizing aimed at micros (including making it 4 BBs (3 BB raise) + 1 BB for every limper. This article alone actually transformed me into a winning 6-max micro cash player. However, i am still not confident enough to play cash due to my poor 'disciplinary record'.

Like you, I also found that turning off chat was extremely helpful. Whenever I'd have the urge to spew expletives, I'd calm down and continue playing as optimally as my skillset allowed me to.

Good luck continuing to succeed.

Thanks for contri did a search on your first para and found some great information on pre-flop raising ranges and bet sizing:marchmell

James

Thanks for contri did a search on your first para and found some great information on pre-flop raising ranges and bet sizing:marchmell
 
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