When Losing becomes the Norm..

CDNMAN 42

CDNMAN 42

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I know one can't win every hand with a large pocket pair but today as an example, out of 5 tournaments at two poker rooms I got destroyed in each one while holding a large pair , QQ or better am I too passive? too aggressive? or just too unlucky???
 
MAGICUZ

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I know one can't win every hand with a large pocket pair but today as an example, out of 5 tournaments at two poker rooms I got destroyed in each one while holding a large pair , QQ or better am I too passive? too aggressive? or just too unlucky???
If you keep playing like this then you will always lose.I don't think I need to explain your mistakes in this hand, here and so everything is clear
 
nerobs9

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The main thing is not to confuse a bad game with bad luck. You may be on tilt. Take a rest.

And the most important thing. If you are determined to win, go all-in less. By moving chips to the center of the table, you can never be sure that your premium hands should win.
 
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fundiver199

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Preflop and flop
Standard line and fine sizing.

Turn
The K is not the best card for you, since it might sometimes have improved him, and it makes it more difficult to get him to stack off with worse hands. So I think, this is either a check or a small bet.

River
You should not see the river like this, but as played I guess, you have to put the rest in and hope, you still have the best hand. Which unfortunately you did not this time.

Results
Just a standard setup. He flopped middle pair with a flushdraw, which on the flop was just as strong as your overpair. Maybe you could have lost less by checking turn, if he check back, and then check-called a non all-in bet from him on the river. Or perhaps even check-fold river, if you think, he is not bluffing enough or valuebetting a J on this runout.
 
mushthebush

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First of all, getting out of 5 tournaments isn't unusual. It doesn't happen to me often, but I go for ITM first, not first place, before stepping up my target. Once ITM I try to figure out what I can do then with whatever stack I've got left. I'm happy to play with 0.6bb and can get to the final table, which I've done on many occasions.

However, your play may be a bit erratic and you may be a bit overconfident in your play. You only got two cards and you play the hand as you go. Two queens are not a guaranteed win, ever. Even aces aren't an all time winner, that's why aces are better all in preflop because against multiple worse hands connected to the board, they don't stand a chance.

Chill out, critically analyse what you're doing and then you'll have your answers for your past actions and your plan for the future. READ some books if you don't know how to analyse yourself. Books will tell you from other's experience so you can see the faults in others who've already gone thorugh the same journey as you.

Bit of advice, you can play tight or loose, you can be aggressive and you can also be passive and profitable if you're sneaky enough. It's a psychological game of numbers. Master them, and you should win.
 
BetterThanAvgButNotByMuch

BetterThanAvgButNotByMuch

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Turn and River betting are difficult for a lot of folks. Recognizing flop board textures can be difficult but you get used to it.

Getting past the "over pair" confidence and dealing with losing with a big pair will take a lot of people awhile to get over but once you get a good understanding of board textures then it isn't so hard. Understanding how to play the early stage of a tourn can be difficult for some.

There are a lot more starting points to work on here but that should point folks in the right direction.
 
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fundiver199

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First of all, getting out of 5 tournaments isn't unusual.
Not cashing 5 tournaments in a row is completely normal and happen all the time. Even if you play a format like heads-up or DoN, where half the field cashes, this will happen to an average player 3% of the time. And in a format like this, where 7 out of 45 participants get paid, it will happen to an average player 43% of the time. So if you play sessions of 5 at a time, you should be fully prepared to lose your entire $5 investment almost half the time. I think, my record for these "on demand" games is not cashing in 33 in a row :)
 
eetenor

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I know one can't win every hand with a large pocket pair but today as an example, out of 5 tournaments at two poker rooms I got destroyed in each one while holding a large pair , QQ or better am I too passive? too aggressive? or just too unlucky???
There are 2 factors in this hand- yes you got unlucky but you also made a betting mistake on the turn- The SPR for the V is such that they can slow play draws and nut hands on flop and when the K hits we can no longer be sure we are ahead so betting pot allows our V to play perfectly- high equity draws and nuts only call
As we have AK often and AKdd we would not need to bet pot looking for folds at this SPR therefore if we bet the QQ it too would not be for pot
Also few V at these buy-ins when short stacked fold flush draws-as we saw here-that is the unlucky part
If you were thinking about getting max value from the draws we should shove turn not bet pot-based on SPR
Checking turn is also possible as many weak V check behind making our river decision simpler
It also allows for a wider range of bluffs by V on turn as well as value from under pairs that incorrectly turn into bluffs
 
StealTheButton

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The problem with premium pairs is that they rarely make a hand larger than one pair. Villain made loose call preflop, but with middle pair and a flush draw he was not going anywhere. You need to control the size of the pot- you don't want to make pot-sized bets with only one pair. Yes, he is very likely behind you and may be drawing and you don't want him to catch. The bigger pot also gives him better odds to draw.

Looking at the stack sizes I don't think there was much you could have don't to change the outcome. Your bet on the turn was too large, but if he jammed the river if you checked to him you probably could not fold anyway. You should study the hands you played and it is not the outcome you should be most concerned with, but what you could have done to play it better.

Tonight I busted out of like 5 $20 tournaments which is frustrating, but 4 out of 5 of those I got my chips in as a huge favorite either preflop or on the turn, and the villain got lucky and pulled miracle cards. This is the nature of poker and you cannot dwell on the fact that you lost, only that you made sound decisions. If you continue to do this you will be a winning player. Yes I was pissed that I busted out of a bunch of tourneys tonight- I ended the night down about $45 dollars, but I'm up about $350 for the week.
 
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