I am currently going through an extended downswing in my game. I pretty much play pl08 exclusively. Micro-.10/.25. I do not profess to be a master by any means but all things I being equal I can hold my own against almost everyone I play with as I study everyone I play with.
I try to play 6 max as full ring is a freaking zoo. So, what's going on over the last 700 hands is I am not getting anything playable or I completely whiff otf. End result is I appear too tight or tilted(and I am not), but I will play anything that plays well pre and any good draw post. I watch the reg winners enough to know where I can make money. I almost never limp pre unless I am utg, as I do not like calling double raised pots oop or am looking for the 3 bet monster raise.
Getting back to play, how can I counter my pre/post flop woes short term so when I do smash I can get paid. Should be noted that barring a horrid board a lot of people will call 2 streets and bet the river into you or attempt bluff raises if you cant really have it there. There are enough idiots AND smart players for this so emptying the clip is just flat expensive. Thanks

I should add that I hesitated to write this but after doing a 5 hour stint and seeing nothing but grief I got stacked with aces full vs quads after not seeing quads once in last 3 sessions. It was like "r u f'n kidding me?" It has just been a virtual train wreck. I should know, as I am a retired engineer.

700 hands is a very small sample

Yeah, have to second that 700 hands, especially played online, is really not much of a dramatic down-swing. It sounds like you're playing online based on your terminology, and gotta say that plenty of people do more hands than that in a day, especially if multi-tabling.

Short term, lots of stuff, especially if you're playing at home/online. Take a break and watch a youtube video or something on television (Hell, I only play live and I do that at the casino by walking away and doing it on my phone.) Grab something to eat or drink, or talk to a friend via Skype/Text or whatever for a few minutes. Replay the hand in your mind and think is there something you could have done differently to perhaps win the hand (or maybe minimize your loss?) There are a lot of things you can do that, short term and for a session, can refresh your mind and have you remember that cards are random and they can and will turn around.

The play you're having trouble with (or at least mentioned) can loosely be referred to as a stop and go and is seen a lot in tournaments actually. More often it's used on the flop, but it can see some value on different streets. Obviously, it's pretty effective in cash games too.

But if your notes are detailed on these players, you'll know who's capable of it and who's likely to try it more often. You don't always need to be the flop and turn just because you raised pre-flop. On hands where you have the goods, you can let them bet into you and trap them when they try to make their play. On hands where it might be an issue (since it sounds like you're usually having position on them), it might help to keep the pot small (as opposed to betting both streets as you said you do) so when they try the move, you can now bluff-raise them when they make their move, which will cost less but put more pressure on them.

Obviously, these are situational and sometimes may not apply or be the best moves so you'll have to use poker judgement, texture of the board etc, but it helps when you're playing a cash game online because you do tend to play with a lot of the same players regularly and so can be aware of their tendencies.

As far as the hand you described, yeah same thing happened to me last week and only can describe it as demoralizing. I had three aces on flop, and guy called with a pair of fours and a five-six low draw (I even had a better low draw with my three aces, though not the nut low draw) but went runner-runner for quad 4s. Granted, I play FL and had even re-raised bets to deny him odds (I didn't have the nut low draw and wanted to extract as much as I could if that's the draw he was on), but he went anyway.

Nothing you (or I in this case) can do. Accept the loss, take a break and realize that runner-runner has worked for us as well as against us. (Not sure if runner-runner was in your case, but regardless, that it does happen.) If we were on the other side of the coin (the person with the quads) we'd probably be justifying it to ourselves (perhaps rightfully or wrongfully) and moving on to the next hand. That's poker, and part of the reason, whether we see it or not, that we love the game. We can always "get 'em next time."

700 hands is very small, that can even be one session.

Post some hands. And why do u never limp pre? I watch a lot of the higher stakes games, and limping from time to time seems fine?

Tough session bro...How good does this guy run?

Thanks a bunch for the first responses. As stated, I very much hesitated to post this question as it seems too whiney. I don't like to multi table much although 2 tables I will do. I was on 3 for the nasty beat. I know for a fact that in that particular hand I would not have gotten stacked as played as I am certain that the villain would never have made the play and I would not have played it to get stacked if I wasn't involved with 2 other hands simultaneously. aces full of top pairs of jacks would have smelled bad to me as played.

Likewise I am aware that 700 hands is a small sample for sure. My main concern was appearing too tight when I fold pre or otf 40 hands straight as if I was ONLY playing nut/nut hands to the river. I find my self getting impatient(not tilted), and forcing so-so draws. Finding that balance between steady and loose simultaneously is my primary concern at the table so I don't get run over or over-respected so raises are called when I want and vice versa. But I suppose that's everyone's goal so no news there.

But I really appreciate the input as I love pl08 and am trying to push to that next level with a solid game. Thanks again and all input is gladly accepted.

I do limp sometimes. Usually only after following a limp or utg, occasionally 2nd. I just hate to play multi-way oop in a limp pot. Probably my weakness as a player and a hold over from nlhe, but I like to come in raising, even if it's a min raise. I like those in the cut off with big hands. But I am sure I am not limping enough to be honest. Thanks for the input.

Clearly, he had me on aces and I was distracted. But yeah, it was painful, especially since it was nowhere near the only one and 2 outers that have hit me lately. It has been so bad it's just stupid now how my nut hands have gone scoop the OTHER way otr. I fully realize that shot happens, just trying to figure out how to not lose as much when it happens. Thanks for responding.