Q: I Have A Problem Folding Second Best Hands... |
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Posted Wed Dec 01, 2004 11:07 am GMT by bcauldwell
So I've been playing alittle over a month and a half now. I've read Sklanskys book, Hellmuth's book, Phil Gordon's book, and now just recently Lee Jones book. Jones book is by far my personal favorite and I re-read it everyday while commuting to work.
My game has improved greatly, but I seem to be only breaking even after every few hours of play. I'm doing everything by the book, but somewhere I'm lacking, and that is laying my hand down when my gut tells me I have the second best hand.
I'll be head to head with someone with a great hand, my gut tells me I've got the second best hand but still my pride swells with a look at the pot, and I toss in my big bets to the river and lose.
It seems as if I could only lay them down more often when my gut tells me I have second best I would be up alot more money.
Any advice from anyone?
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Posted Wed Dec 01, 2004 11:50 am GMT by galderon
That's poker in a nutshell. Being able to lay down a big hand is what seperates the men from the boys. I think the key is knowing your opponent...sometimes when you're holding a monster hand, you're focusing on your hand, and you're already thinking the pot is yours, and you completely miss information your opponent is giving you.
I was chasing the nut flush in a tournament once, and I finally hit it on the river, so when my opponent bet big against me, I immediately called and I was beat by a full house. The big bet should have been a warning sign (the pair on the board should have been one too), but I read the guy as a fish, so I was ready to call any bet he made.
Once you make the read that you're beat, I can't offer any advice other than "just do it". Stick with your plan and don't go on tilt if after a big laydown the other guy shows you he didn't have it and that your read was wrong. You might lay down the best hand every once and a while, but you'll save lots of chips on the times you make the correct read.
Posted Wed Dec 01, 2004 12:33 pm GMT by snoogins47
My simple answer:
In No Limit, a bad call is a disaster.
In Fixed Limit, a bad FOLD is a disaster.
That being said, I don't know which you play, and either way, if you're very certain you are beat, just lay it down ;P
The only advice I got to you is to just keep at it. With more experience, you will see your hand reading skills get better, and typically when this happens, you'll get more confident in them, and start to react more strongly.
Posted Wed Dec 29, 2004 11:18 pm GMT by Zig
all i can add is - trust the gut/intuition - it really does make a difference
sometimes you'll pickup the vibe they might be bluffing without seeing any tells that lets you KNOW it....and sometimes your instinct tells you they have the nuts....either way go with what it tells you, the more you use it the better it helps your game.
Early on I've played hands where my guts are screaming I'm not going to win it - and they were never wrong - now I can fold KK or AA quite easily if I sense a beat, after all - they're only just 2 good STARTING cards, not some invincible winning ticket that some believe they are.
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