Posted Tue May 02, 2006 1:33 am GMT by domic1000
I think that in poker my biggest problem is discipline. I have been learning about position, pot size etc... However, for some reason I keep doing things that I shouldn't be doing. Note that this applies to no limit cash games and sitngo tourneys as I play those...
For example, I pick up KQos.... Now for some reason, I think that KQ is really good hand and I even tend to call it after a raise... Like today, I have KQ in early position, I limp in and say to myself if someone raises I will fold, but what happens then, someone raises, and then I say to myself "well, its only a minimum raise and KQ is a decent hand" so I call and then after betting I realise on turn I am beaten and than I fold... I don't know why I do that, I guess discipline is the correct word to use...
Same appllies to KJ, and I sometimes think that's a good hand and get myself into trouble... I guess that when I see two picture cards, I get excited and don't even think whether they are good or not, and not even position matters anymore...
i consider myself a decent player who plays tight, but I just do those sorts of things from time to time, last week i called a raise with 56s....
anyway, my question would be i guess is this something that I have to work on for it to dissappear from my game or what do I do in order to focus on the game and think about the cards... and would lack of discipline be the correct term to use for this problem...
i hope that u can help me...
cheers
Did you know that participating in a poker forum can help you improve your own game? Be it by sharing experiences or simply asking for help, participation in a forum helps you focus and keep 'on topic' which will help you improve your game. You can learn from other players feedback and from their experiences. Why the THP poker forums? We offer one of the best managed texas holdem poker forums available, and the community within is far more friendly than those typicaly found on other sites. We've made a 'lurkers edition' of the poker forum available here on Holdem Poker Online, but we encourage all visitors to register and join in on the conversations on TexasHoldem-Poker.com
Posted Tue May 02, 2006 2:34 am GMT by TxShadow
A lot of it will come with practice, but don't get discouraged because hands like KQ or even medium suited connectors don't connect with a board. There is usually nothing wrong with seeing a cheap flop with most hands like that, and if you get min-raised, call it with confidence. That person just gave you a cheap flop with huge implied odds and if you get a nice flop you'll bust 'em. If you don't improve, just let it go and wait for next time.
Anyway, it's 2:30 AM and I'm rambling. Later.
Posted Tue May 02, 2006 5:22 am GMT by domic1000
Well, I can see your point. Well, lets say the flop come K, 10, 2 and u r holding KQ and u have been raised.... u make a bet and ur opponent calls or raises, u probably have to suppose he has AK... or if a queen comes, he could have AQ... i suppose its how u read ur opponent, but calling KQ could get u into lot of trouble after a raise unless u flop both K and Q.... look, i always say to myself i will fold if someone raises and i hold KQ or KJ, but i always seem to call... the only exception is if the raiser is a maniac, but if a tight or solid player raises, u have to be careful... As far as implied odds, i dont know much about them so i wont argue about those... If u were in the above situation, ie. called KQ after a raise and flop came K, 10, 2 all different suits, what would u be thinking and doing... i guess everyone has different thinking, but i agree that i will become more disciplined as i get more practice, i just hope it is soon....
cheers
Posted Tue May 02, 2006 8:18 am GMT by JewishPete
Position, Position, Position.
Under very few circumstances would I really ever get involved, let alone raise with a hand like KJ or KQ in early position unless I am swinging around a huge stack at the table or if we are extremely short handed at the tail end of a MTT or STT.
You have to look at many factors. Position, Your stack size, your opponents stack, if the table is tight or loose, etc, etc, etc.
These things are very important, and have to help determine your decisions just as much, if not more than the cards you are holding.
For example, if you raise with AK utg, and get 3 re raises all in with a relatively simialar stack size at a pretty tight table, 9 out of 10 times I would let go of that hand. The same goes for AQ, QQ and JJ especially.
Hands like KQ become playable in certain situations. You have to analyze many things before you are willing to throw your chips in with a marginal hand like that
Posted Tue May 02, 2006 8:38 am GMT by UrAteUp
Some of the stuff you talk about is a dicipline issue but most of it is table read or how you read what the other players are playing.
Lets say you sit down at a 9 player ring game and your waiting to post your blind. Watch these hands carefully. You might even want to set out a round just to pick up some pre-entry information that could benefit your game and you chip stack. Learn how players tend to keep betting the same way with cards such as AX. Once you pick up on the betting patterns you can know when not to enter a pot and when to enter a pot. Be sure though that you mix your play and don't fall into these betting patterns yourself. This is one of the truest tells in online poker.
Posted Tue May 02, 2006 9:01 am GMT by JewishPete
Completely agree with everything above.
Last night for example. I sat down at a full table (9 or 10 people), at a 1/2 PL game at stars with $200.
I noticed that their was one person in particular who had a relatively large stack of over $700. After a few minutes of play I realized this guy was betting the pot every hand pre flop, getting a few callers, and than rebetting the pot after every flop scaring away everybody.
This is fine. I sat tight, waited for premium hands and took a good bit of his stack after he realized I could not be pushed around.
That's how you have to play. Take notes on your players...when theres someone who has only got involved in 2 pots out of the last 15, and that guy raises 8x BB UTG, chances are your AK probably is behind, let alone KQ or KJ. On the other hand THe overly loose guy with 5x as many chips as you raising every pot with anything? More hands become playable depending on the situations.
The problem is that people become frustrated when the overly loose person is pushing them around. They tend to go on tilt and push a marginal hand like KQ to the river regardless of the situation hoping it will hold up only to find out that the loose guy actually does have a hand this time (something that people like Gus Hansen do very well). Who cares if this guy stole 5 of your last 6 Big blinds? With an overly loose guy, just sit tight, wait for those good hands and get it all back at the right time
Posted Tue May 02, 2006 9:32 am GMT by tame_deuces
On the other flip of the coin a loose guy means big pots and big pots are good, if a lag fires more barrels on the flop/turn then I won't be needing much of a hand for me to in that pot too.
I won't go into a debate on an optimal playing strategy versus 'loose' players, because the term 'loose' is too generic to be of any value. But personally I would not play tight against 'bad' loose players.
*edit*
So there are some basic moves:
1.) Join 'em. Pot grow, we like that, let's try to get part of the action. Needless to say we nifty hands like suited connectors and PPs, not trash.
2.) Ignore them. Play tight and stick with that. Nothing wrong with this, alot of excellent players play superbly when they play tight.
3.) Punish them with raises/overbets. Takes some guts but it probably gets an annoying lag of your back. After you do it a couple of times, slow down...because the lesson is often learned and the next time he is in there with you he is more likely to actually have a hand. Needless to say you have to play your really strong hands in the same way against him afterwards.
|
|
