Thought I've improved, but now I feel worse...

[david1bear]

Since I started on CardsChat I feel like I have improved my game. But for about a week or so now I haven't been getting far at all in the tournaments that I play. I don't know if it's because I have been playing too cautious or just the way the game has been going.

For instance today in the Venom tournament I got an AJ unsuited and someone pushed me all in; I didn't call and the people who called really had nothing 10Q at best and I would of won-- 2 As hit the board. In the past I would of called. Another time I small raise a pocket pair of 6s and got pushed all in; I didn't call and again would of won.

Do you think I am playing too cautious or just need to chill for a while cause I feel down about it. I'm starting to question my playing skills. I really have been waiting for the cards when I get them I haven't been pushing all in, I limp with small raises like should I shove all in? I don't know look at me I am talking in circles. Would appreciate feed back if someone could thanks for reading and good luck out there.

 

[Tammy]

Hi! I cleaned up your post a bit and moved it over to Tournament Poker, since you are talking about playing in tournaments. A little advice when starting a topic: break up your points into main ideas, and don't use smilies ( :0) or :0( to punctuate the ends of sentences or thoughts. Makes it easier for us to read and give some feedback if you just use regular punctuation. The smilies can come later.

That being said, I think that you may be being results oriented. There is probably more info that you could provide that would give a more clear picture, but unless I'm shortstacked, I don't think I'm ever getting it all-in with AJ off-suit, or with a pair of 6's preflop. It could be the stakes you're playing, obviously opponent reads is important too. But if you know you made the right play, in the long run it will pay off. Try not to think in terms of, "Oof! I would have won that hand!" It can be dangerous to your play later on. Move on to the next hand. The last hand is irrelevant.

 

[playinggameswithu]

As Chino Rheem for help mate

 

[Luvepoker]

Don't let the game get you down. We all go though time kike this as well. Several weeks ago I was on such a heater it was not funny but then went so bad I could have thought I sucked. When i started to look over my hand history I saw that yes I was recently pushing a few hands I should not have but was truly running bad. Its not always what you are doing although there are many times it could be about your play. I am with Tammy about the hands and would not call an all in with them unless they or I was very short. I would also be careful about being results oriented. Just because your hand would have won it dos not mean it would have been a good play. While someday we see people calling and hitting hand after hand and winning it does not make there plays correct.

 

[57noona]

We all go though ups and downs in poker. This is just a downswing. Keep playing the way your playing and don't think about the hands you would have won had you played. Just try and win the hands you do play. I wish I had the disciple that you have shown. I need to fold more often.

 

[david1bear]

Hi! I cleaned up your post a bit and moved it over to Tournament Poker, since you are talking about playing in tournaments. A little advice when starting a topic: break up your points into main ideas, and don't use smilies ( :0) or :0( to punctuate the ends of sentences or thoughts. Makes it easier for us to read and give some feedback if you just use regular punctuation. The smilies can come later.

That being said, I think that you may be being results oriented. There is probably more info that you could provide that would give a more clear picture, but unless I'm shortstacked, I don't think I'm ever getting it all-in with AJ off-suit, or with a pair of 6's preflop. It could be the stakes you're playing, obviously opponent reads is important too. But if you know you made the right play, in the long run it will pay off. Try not to think in terms of, "Oof! I would have won that hand!" It can be dangerous to your play later on. Move on to the next hand. The last hand is irrelevant.

Appreciate the feed back. Definitely have moved on.

cant keep a player like me down for ever

 

[blueskies]

It's about the situation. Know what you will do if opponent does A B C etc.

Like if you aren't gonna call a 3bet shove with 66, then just limp. With a hand like that you are trying to flop a set, that's it.

It's also about stack size and who's raising. With a big stack, yes fold AJ to aggression. With a small stack and it's big stackers throwing their weight around, then go ahead and try to triple up with AJ.

Obviously, just some examples of things to look for. There's no one rule to apply to every single situation. Poker is about flexibility and situation by situation decisions.

 

[david1bear]

The feed back is well needed and do appreciate all of it. wont let it hold me down I got to keep on moving:0)

 

[david1bear]

As Chino Rheem for help mate

Thumbs down mate

 

[playinggameswithu]

Thumbs down mate

 

[kdawg71]

Since I started on CardsChat I feel like I have improved my game. But for about a week or so now I haven't been getting far at all in the tournaments that I play. I don't know if it's because I have been playing too cautious or just the way the game has been going.

For instance today in the Venom tournament I got an AJ unsuited and someone pushed me all in; I didn't call and the people who called really had nothing 10Q at best and I would of won-- 2 As hit the board. In the past I would of called. Another time I small raise a pocket pair of 6s and got pushed all in; I didn't call and again would of won.

Do you think I am playing too cautious or just need to chill for a while cause I feel down about it. I'm starting to question my playing skills. I really have been waiting for the cards when I get them I haven't been pushing all in, I limp with small raises like should I shove all in? I don't know look at me I am talking in circles. Would appreciate feed back if someone could thanks for reading and good luck out there.

Don't get down on yourself. This all but a small part of the learning process that one goes through to help become a better overall player. You hit a snag. No big deal. You just have to tweak your game and start winning more before you get knocked off your horse again. Than you tweak your game again endless times until you find that sweet spot. That's how I relate to it when I have my ups and downs. I hope this has been insightful and helpful towards your endeavors. Good luck!!!

 

[ghOst]

Since I started on CardsChat I feel like I have improved my game. But for about a week or so now I haven't been getting far at all in the tournaments that I play. I don't know if it's because I have been playing too cautious or just the way the game has been going.

For instance today in the Venom tournament I got an AJ unsuited and someone pushed me all in; I didn't call and the people who called really had nothing 10Q at best and I would of won-- 2 As hit the board. In the past I would of called. Another time I small raise a pocket pair of 6s and got pushed all in; I didn't call and again would of won.

Do you think I am playing too cautious or just need to chill for a while cause I feel down about it. I'm starting to question my playing skills. I really have been waiting for the cards when I get them I haven't been pushing all in, I limp with small raises like should I shove all in? I don't know look at me I am talking in circles. Would appreciate feed back if someone could thanks for reading and good luck out there.

if those players have been on your table for a long time and they are known for loose shoves, then yes shame on you lol but if you just showed up then folding AJ is fine. You need to always keep tabs on all of the showdowns. Folding and then hitting up your phone would never work. You have to stay focused.

 

[JekinTar]

Do not give up on each other's hands.This is poker.Here everyone not only wins, but also loses.And it needs to be able to do.Learn to read your opponents.With the highest card I propose to try an aggressive game.Good luck​

 

[ninjareal]

Since I started on CardsChat I feel like I have improved my game. But for about a week or so now I haven't been getting far at all in the tournaments that I play. I don't know if it's because I have been playing too cautious or just the way the game has been going.

For instance today in the Venom tournament I got an AJ unsuited and someone pushed me all in; I didn't call and the people who called really had nothing 10Q at best and I would of won-- 2 As hit the board. In the past I would of called. .

Hi all , I haven't read the whole thread yet , to David, I wouldn't stress about folding AJ ,
just yesterday I folded AQ , short stack shoved for 788 I cold called that and players after me reshoves for 2k or so , I thought about it a bit as his reshove in the face of 2 committed bets was very strong , I suspected QQ/KK/AK/AA obviously, so I let go the chips I already committed ( one third of my stack) and folded, turns out the 3bet had only AJ , the board came AQQ I would have had full house, it stung a bit that I folded in this position, possibly others would call after giving away 33% of chips, however I wanted to win and not stake my whole tournament on a flip , so this is the mental side of poker , more recently I have found more strength mentally as folding won hands is what I call 'self tilting" , these always hurt because you know that it could have propelled your stack upwards and dreams of cashing/winning .... so you have to dig deep and remember that it could have easily gone so bad and then you'd be kicking yourself for a bad call (which you "knew" was risky) , "results orientated" is a good explaination as above posters say , and know that no one knows what you fold except you , there is power in that , choose the safer approach or risk it all depends on how serious you are and what you want to achieve imo, so you will find your game , my 5c is have faith and know that poker is more than one hand or one tournament or even one year , the habits and mindset are more important so good to cultivate these, lol hope my post makes sense

 

[Peppinotom]

Don't let the game get you down. We all go though time kike this as well. Several weeks ago I was on such a heater it was not funny but then went so bad I could have thought I sucked. When i started to look over my hand history I saw that yes I was recently pushing a few hands I should not have but was truly running bad. Its not always what you are doing although there are many times it could be about your play. I am with Tammy about the hands and would not call an all in with them unless they or I was very short. I would also be careful about being results oriented. Just because your hand would have won it dos not mean it would have been a good play. While someday we see people calling and hitting hand after hand and winning it does not make there plays correct.

It's not the quantity of the hands you win, it's the quality
I've been there as well, made up my strategy, my handrange and so on and saw the hands I folded would have won and fell back to my any2cando that I used to play before, just looking out for big pots that are worth to shove my stack in the middle. I might have one some more hands, but in the end there was always this one hand, that took me out (AA usually).
Did I win more? NO!
Did I have more fun? NO!
Did I gain experience? NO!
I have agreed to myself, that whenever I fold a hand, I'm out of this hand and if I had played the hand, there would have come other cards on the board. (Which nobody can proove)
Maybe that helps you too.

 

[damgold]

play without fear, play with confidence and be observant, if the villain went all in with 72nd on the last hand and you have 66 and he goes all in again you call without thinking twice, good luck!

 

[RiverLord90]

Ups and Downs man. Looks like you just took a standard loss is all. We can't get too down on ourselves if we want to make it in the long run. Keep your head up and keep grinding!

 

[TheNutz4You]

tournament poker can be brutal, that's why i play cash games. You can go on a downswing for weeks if not months and you'll question everything you know about poker and your poker strategy ect. But if you are a winning player, you need to just continue grinding through the tough times and the cream will eventually rise to the top as they say.

With tournaments it's all about volume. Even the best pro's go through downswings, but they continue to put in the volume necessary for them to realize the skill edge they have over most of the field, as over the short term mtt poker can kill ya with variance.

 

[fishfood80]

Since I started on CardsChat I feel like I have improved my game. But for about a week or so now I haven't been getting far at all in the tournaments that I play. I don't know if it's because I have been playing too cautious or just the way the game has been going.

For instance today in the Venom tournament I got an AJ unsuited and someone pushed me all in; I didn't call and the people who called really had nothing 10Q at best and I would of won-- 2 As hit the board. In the past I would of called. Another time I small raise a pocket pair of 6s and got pushed all in; I didn't call and again would of won.

Do you think I am playing too cautious or just need to chill for a while cause I feel down about it. I'm starting to question my playing skills. I really have been waiting for the cards when I get them I haven't been pushing all in, I limp with small raises like should I shove all in? I don't know look at me I am talking in circles. Would appreciate feed back if someone could thanks for reading and good luck out there.

I just think sometimes it feels like that. We would have won hands we decided were too risky and get it in ahead only to get a horrible river that costs us a tourney. I don't think that results are an accurate portrayal of our poker skill. All we can do is make the best decisions we can with the info provided. If folding that AJ was the optimal decision don't worry about what the result could have been. I know it's hard not too feel bad when a decision we make doesn't go our way but keep playing the best poker you can and the results will show long term. It's hard for all of us to think that way but if your playing top notch poker let that be your deciding factor of your skill level not what might have been.

 

[fishfood80]

Since I started on CardsChat I feel like I have improved my game. But for about a week or so now I haven't been getting far at all in the tournaments that I play. I don't know if it's because I have been playing too cautious or just the way the game has been going.

For instance today in the Venom tournament I got an AJ unsuited and someone pushed me all in; I didn't call and the people who called really had nothing 10Q at best and I would of won-- 2 As hit the board. In the past I would of called. Another time I small raise a pocket pair of 6s and got pushed all in; I didn't call and again would of won.

Do you think I am playing too cautious or just need to chill for a while cause I feel down about it. I'm starting to question my playing skills. I really have been waiting for the cards when I get them I haven't been pushing all in, I limp with small raises like should I shove all in? I don't know look at me I am talking in circles. Would appreciate feed back if someone could thanks for reading and good luck out there.

Another thing that guy who calls the all in with Q 10 off might get the immediate satisfaction of hitting a big pot but you'll seldom see those guys winning it all or even making the FT. Variance hits the super loose agro players a lot harder than straight up patient grinders. And unless they were super short or some other reason (not knowing the specifics) calling that all in with Q 10 off is not what we are looking for (in my opinion) just keep grinding and making the decisions that make sense to you> Good luck at the tables.

 

[FerC182]

is normal, do not get annoyed with this, in poker will always have these situations, when you have a relatively good hand and is forced to drop do not get bored because their actions will determine their outcome, but of course we can not leave leaving Any hand, if you have position and cards for the action, enter into the hand and do not be afraid.

 

[david1bear]

Hi all , I haven't read the whole thread yet , to David, I wouldn't stress about folding AJ ,
just yesterday I folded AQ , short stack shoved for 788 I cold called that and players after me reshoves for 2k or so , I thought about it a bit as his reshove in the face of 2 committed bets was very strong , I suspected QQ/KK/AK/AA obviously, so I let go the chips I already committed ( one third of my stack) and folded, turns out the 3bet had only AJ , the board came AQQ I would have had full house, it stung a bit that I folded in this position, possibly others would call after giving away 33% of chips, however I wanted to win and not stake my whole tournament on a flip , so this is the mental side of poker , more recently I have found more strength mentally as folding won hands is what I call 'self tilting" , these always hurt because you know that it could have propelled your stack upwards and dreams of cashing/winning .... so you have to dig deep and remember that it could have easily gone so bad and then you'd be kicking yourself for a bad call (which you "knew" was risky) , "results orientated" is a good explaination as above posters say , and know that no one knows what you fold except you , there is power in that , choose the safer approach or risk it all depends on how serious you are and what you want to achieve imo, so you will find your game , my 5c is have faith and know that poker is more than one hand or one tournament or even one year , the habits and mindset are more important so good to cultivate these, lol hope my post makes sense

It makes good sense and thanks for putting them all in.

Will take the advice.

good luck out there

 

[david1bear]

Ups and Downs man. Looks like you just took a standard loss is all. We can't get too down on ourselves if we want to make it in the long run. Keep your head up and keep grinding!

Thanks man and I think I will grind on

 

[jbear54321]

Don't evaluate the hand as "I would have won." That always gets me into trouble because I play marginal hands thinking that the same hand will win again. Poker is tough - sometimes you feel like you're playing well and other times you think you're terrible.

 

[Pickat]

It sounds like you have good strategy . I wouldn't want to shove all my chips with either of those 2 hands . You should work on reading your opponents range . That will help you make those tough decisions . And as far as the fact that you would have won those hands you can't dwell on that stuff . Forget about it and play on . Good luck .