Hi,
New user here... Just ran into a pretty frustrating situation. I play online NLHE and am playing strictly .01/.02 cash games until I know that I can win at this level consistently (whether this means playing it for a month or a couple of years). I am focused on improving my poker knowledge and understand that my profits (if any) will be minimal. With that being said, I ran into a pretty frustrating situation earlier. I might have played it completely wrong, but that is why I'm here trying to learn in the first place
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Here was my situation:
I had AT off suit and was on the button. The guy to my right was playing pretty loose and I had seen him even raise with some terrible hands earlier in the game. He raised to $.04 and so I re-raised to $.14 and everybody but him folded. He went all in with a bigger stack than mine (the frustrating part). I understand I may have played this hand completely wrong up to this point but I truly felt like I had the better hand since he raised about $.10 preflop most hands before the current.
My mindset:
I wanted to call because I really felt like he was trying to steal my bet. This guy wasn't playing smart at all and kept losing his buy ins and rebuying. I really felt like I had the better hand considering the way he had been playing. On the other hand, I don't play for the money in .01/.02 games. I play for the experience, and leaving my entire stack up to what could be a coin flip against a wild player does not really help me become a better player.
The flop:
Sure enough, I call, and he shows a 75 off suit. He pairs his 7 on the flop and the rest is history. I lose my stack. I only lost a couple dollars but this was in no way about the money.
So I was pretty frustrated but it really got me wondering a couple things.
1. For a guy like myself just trying to gain experience and knowledge, should I avoid moves like this and just let him take my $.14 bet and wait to take his stack with something better than AT offsuit?
2. In a game where money is more of a factor for me (like a 1/2 live game) should I call or fold given the situation and player is the same.
3. Should I avoid .01/.02 games all together if I am trying to learn the game technically? I play .01/.02 because it suits my bankroll but I sometimes feel like the competition doesn't help me learn the game that I want to play down the road.
4. Lastly, while I'm here, I figured I would ask some of the more experienced guys what their best learning tools were early in their poker careers. I'm a college student in NJ (I can play online and in AC) and have a ton of time to learn the game technically rather than just messing around with friends.
Sorry this is such a long post. It was such a silly play on my part and out of character for me but I was really trying to "play the players not the cards" a bit more. I was glad I was able to spot his bluff but it frustrated me that I lost the pot.
Thank you so much for your time everybody.
Last edited by ryanh1863; 08-08-2017 at 06:03 PM.