Time to tilt...

My bankroll is like a sine wave.

I was playing $25nl a couple of days ago. Now I'm in a situation where I'm all but fed up with online poker. I make money in bar tourneys and side games all the time, but this online stuff is killing me. Just when I think I have a new profession, I hit a streak where a few bad beats and a few beers turn my bankroll to mush. Now I'm playing $5 6max with a bunch of calling stations. I'm thinking this is not conducive to rebuilding a bankroll.
I'm pissed... I am pretty good. Sit me down with a bunch of good players and I'll leave with more money than I came in with. Sit me down with a bunch of guys who don't know they hit a straight on the river... and I lose my mind.

So now for the question:
How do you play against these guys?!?
It seems to me that this should be easy money, after all, they don't know how to play! Why is it so difficult, then?

PokerStars Game #2283048524: Hold'em No Limit ($0.01/$0.02) - 2005/08/07 - 11:15:37 (ET)
Table 'Armenia' Seat #4 is the button
Seat 1: devr ($4.60 in chips)
Seat 2: bonbill6969 ($5.70 in chips)
Seat 3: lucifil ($1.96 in chips)
Seat 4: joysboytoy ($5.15 in chips)
Seat 5: jumanni ($1.96 in chips)
Seat 6: dkthedevil ($1.49 in chips)
jumanni: posts small blind $0.01
dkthedevil: posts big blind $0.02
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to devr [2d 2s]
devr: calls $0.02
bonbill6969: calls $0.02
lucifil: folds
joysboytoy: calls $0.02
jumanni: calls $0.01
dkthedevil: checks
*** FLOP *** [7s Ts 2c]
jumanni: checks
dkthedevil: checks
devr: bets $0.10
bonbill6969: calls $0.10
joysboytoy: calls $0.10
jumanni: calls $0.10
dkthedevil: folds
*** TURN *** [7s Ts 2c] [As]
jumanni: checks
devr: bets $0.40
bonbill6969: folds
joysboytoy: raises $0.40 to $0.80
jumanni: calls $0.80
devr: calls $0.40
*** RIVER *** [7s Ts 2c As] [5h]
jumanni: checks
devr: checks
joysboytoy: bets $0.50
jumanni: calls $0.50
devr: calls $0.50
*** SHOW DOWN ***
joysboytoy: shows [5s Ks] (a flush, Ace high)
jumanni: mucks hand
devr: mucks hand
joysboytoy collected $4.20 from pot
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $4.40 | Rake $0.20
Board [7s Ts 2c As 5h]
Seat 1: devr mucked [2d 2s]
Seat 2: bonbill6969 folded on the Turn
Seat 3: lucifil folded before Flop (didn't bet)
Seat 4: joysboytoy (button) showed [5s Ks] and won ($4.20) with a flush, Ace high
Seat 5: jumanni (small blind) mucked [Kc Ah]
Seat 6: dkthedevil (big blind) folded on the Flop

Should I have not bet and folded on the turn?

I was hoping the reraise was a pair of aces and I still have 10 outs for a boat or 4 of a kind, so I figured I would represent the flush and see what they had. That jumanni guy called a pot sized bet with a couple of overs, then called much more with just a pair on a flushed board!

I was going to post another hand from this game, but I'll just summarize: I flopped a four-flush and an open-ender. I bet it, because that seems like the natural move on a good draw, to buy the pot right there, or build it. On this table I should have known all I was doing was building it. The pot ended up being about 200bbs, and a guy won with middle pair.

How do you play against these guys?

Just keep making the correct moves, let them keep making the bad calls.
Don't try anything too smart or fancy and don't bluff. Just play basic abc poker.

You will win!

You might try going to 10 max instead of 6 max. Because lots of peoplea t the micro's just want to play for the sake of playing, they will naturally see a lot of hands. This actuallly gives them somewhat of an advantage in 6max, because they won't know when to fold and will play their pairs and stuff harder than they should. In a full table, you will have more time to wait to set traps and stuff, and even purely camping will work out well.

Originally Posted by dev

Now I'm playing $5 6max with a bunch of calling stations. I'm thinking this is not conducive to rebuilding a bankroll.

Sounds like a GREAT game to me...

Originally Posted by dev

I'm pissed... I am pretty good. Sit me down with a bunch of good players and I'll leave with more money than I came in with. Sit me down with a bunch of guys who don't know they hit a straight on the river... and I lose my mind.

No, you have serious problems with how you look at the game; starting with hubris.

Originally Posted by dev

How do you play against these guys?

Keep pots small and beat the shit out of them with a big edge. Really boring poker. This is how the rocks build the roll for bigger games where the smart aggro guys eat them up alive.

From the tone of your post Dev, it sounds like you underestimate your opponents. You think you are better than them, and you probably are.

But do you ever find yourself calling big bets because you say to yourself "These guys are rubbish, he probably only has TPGK" only to find your 2 pair beaten by a str8?

Maybe it is all about respecting your opponents more

Well, thanks for the slap, Fnord.