i suck hardcore at this game. i need a break.

[journey075]

so i play NL100 for the most part and normally, i do extremely well. i average about 20+/hr (over 4000 hands) and i consider myself better than almost all the opposition...until today at least.

first matchup: AA vs 2-4s.

5 way limp action to me so i raise it 10, not wanting to steal blinds but wanting to take it heads up. mediocre success, 2 callers. flop is 223. first guy bets out 10. second calls. i raise 10. he calls. checker raises 15. i have a bad feeling about this...but im PRAYING hes holding high pockets. i have a huge gut feeling telling me im a dog but i cant fold. he bets 25 on the turn and i call. in fact i become a calling station. river he checks and i follow suit.

at first im blown away that he called 10 preflop with 2-4s, but then it hits me, he knows more about this game than i do. he understands implied odds. he pays 10 at a chance to take my stack....great odds if you ask me. i think hes a fish and he doesnt understand his plays very well, but i must say that at a subconscious level, he knows what hes doing. i dont. end of story. this wasnt a bad beat. most of the money went in when he was ahead, ill get over it. this IS a learning experience though...that i will make sure of.


second matchup: AK vs AJs

$150 each person goes in preflop and he flops 2 suited and a J, turn brings a J and im drawing dead. a bad beat but life goes on.


third matchup: made set vs drawing flush draw.

all money goes in on the flop (150 each) and he catches on the turn. once again, silly beat and in the long term ill win this most of the time. im not complaining, just explaining the hands that forced me to go on tilt.

i couldnt leave, for some reason i had a 'i must remake what i lost' mentality. i was playing like garbage. i started bluffing pots i had no business being in and i had no control of my game. because of this im taking a break and reevaluating. i might switch to PL omaha or LHE when i start again. NL is a game of intense skill and creativity, and ive realized, that despite my winnings (what does that matter...i know pot odds and which hands to play, big deal), im really not good at this game. just today i realized the value of implied odds. starting hand selection makes no sense. the guy with 5-6s has much more to gain by calling a raise preflop against aces than the other way. aces is trying to take it down asap, 5-6 stands to take the guys whole stack assuming he cant lay it down (and trust me, most cant).

for the first time, i see faults with playing tight. maybe its tilt still talking so feel free to ignore me, but i now understand why michael and rippy play the way they do.

ignore my rambling, im giving up this sport for a few weeks.

[Bmxicle]

Bad beats happen, if you feel you need to take a week off to get over them then do that, although eventually you need to be able to not notice them.

If you managed to build a bankroll and make it to 100nl you must've been doing something right. When i moved to 100nl i had lots of trouble, i played too weak and tight, even now i have some issues with my game, but i'm still profitable and i feel like lately i've turned a corner with my play. Succes doesn't come over night, and as long as you aren't losing money i don't think you should just quit NL holdem, you just need to work on your game.

You pretty much have to make use of implied odds to win in Nl holdem. You have to compare the odds of you hitting to the amount of money you think you can seperate from your opponent. Almost exactly the same as pot odds, except you are using future bets. Learn to use them well and you should be much more successfull.

[Vito_Corleone]

It's pretty presumptious to think you're "better than almost all of the opposition" having only played 4000 hands. Just my opinion.

[Greedo017]

vito has a point. if these are the first 4000 hands of your life, honestly and bluntly, you've just begun. take a week off, relax, and go back to playing, you've barely scratched the surface of poker.

[journey075]

It's pretty presumptious to think you're "better than almost all of the opposition" having only played 4000 hands. Just my opinion.

"better than all the opposition" at the place i play at. this isnt online. this isnt at a casino. trust me, every single one of you guys are better than these people too.

[journey075]

vito has a point. if these are the first 4000 hands of your life, honestly and bluntly, you've just begun. take a week off, relax, and go back to playing, you've barely scratched the surface of poker.

ive played something like 20k hands altogether, just 4k happened to be live here.

[koolmoe]

i might switch to PL omaha or LHE when i start again.

Good idea. Those games have neither implied odds nor bad beats.

[Element187]

at first im blown away that he called 10 preflop with 2-4s, but then it hits me, he knows more about this game than i do. he understands implied odds. he pays 10 at a chance to take my stack

welcome to no limit texas holdem.

what i dont understand is why did he check the river, i woulda value bet an amount i think you would call.

[Element187]

i might switch to PL omaha or LHE when i start again.

Good idea. Those games have neither implied odds nor bad beats.

at first i thought you were being serious haha

[Hubris1]

You're not a real poker player until you've put up with a bad run. If three bad beats in a day is enough to put you on tilt enough to want to quit then you really shouldn't be playing. You'll encounter far more bad beats (and even worse beats) and run into far more bullshit if you keep playing.