Been doing pretty well at 1/3NL and decided to take a shot a 2/5 this week. I tripled my stack early on and then everything imploded. In 2 hours, I lost top 2 pair to sets 3 times (eg called all in shove 100 to a 250 pot) and my evening was capped off by the following hand:

I had been tracking this LAG who was starting to get restless and open raising way too wide pf. So I started 3b him and opening my value range.

2/5 NL
EP limp
Villain MP raise to $25 (600 behind)
I 3b in cutoff to $80 with KQo (250 behind)
Both call
Flop Qd5c3c ($240)
MP bets 125
I jam 170 he calls
He shows QhJc
Turn 8c
River Kc


How do you guys deal with variance and tilt? I really wanted to stay at the table for this one LAG (who had built up a nice juicy pot now from yours truly and also sucking out a few hands before) but I felt the tilt I was on was just too much to handle. Do you guys stick around or do you think I should just get up and walk away?

Play poker within your BR. $250 at 2/5 is pocket change.

Personally, it sounds like you aren't ready for 2/5 yet. You seem to be wildly overvaluing TP and 2P hands.

If losing 1/2 of a buy in sends you on tilt, you need to move back down to your regular stakes.

I'll let this stay open for a while, but it is veering close to BBV territory.

Just take a break, it's not like you need to reload and start playing again right away. Lock up your seat, clear your head, have a smoke, etc. that's what I do anyway. Then there are those really rough sessions where nothing goes your way and it's best to just get up and leave if you feel like you're on tilt. Doesn't matter how juicy a game is tilt leads to bad decisions. If I can overcome the tilt though than it's definitely best to stay in a game where I have a clear skill advantage.

First off, I was stuck for over 3 buyins at a 300 max game. Second, how am I overvaluing tp 2p hands? when short stacks shove on wet boards it is a no brainer to call especially at when I am getting 3:1 on calls.Assuming these guys have sets is no way to play. This is not a question of if I am ready for 2/5, but how to deal with tilt at higher stakes.

im not sure what you want us to say

if you 3b KQ short like this you are never folding post once you hit TP, so this hand has no point of discussion

the only takeaway here is getting 3outed for 50bbs shouldnt even register on your mind, its actually a blessing to run bad on such little pots, man up and stop crying

Ya not trying to turn this into a bad beat post, it was more of the fact that I had that guy exactly where I wanted him in a perfect situation and he sucked out on me for like the 3rd time in a few hours. Plus he was talking a lot so I decided to walk away, but feel like I should have stayed and cleaned him out. And when did $600 pots become "little pots"? When max buyin is 300 this is about as big as it gets heads up most of the time..

walking away is fine esp if you are emotionally upset by the loss. this happens to me too. unless the guy is going all-in blind preflop or playing similarly bad you can leave the table and come back later. there always gonna be another night and another bad player. sometimes you just gotta lose that money man. that's poker. keep playing and keep building your BR. if you go broke get a job and pour every extra dime into poker trying to build a BR.

Play some PLO. Then when you return to hold'em, you'll appreciate how often your hands hold up.

Seriously, what you experienced is no big deal. You're just upset that you ran bad on a shot take. Hope you run better next time, but there's no guarantee.

$300 Max buy in at 2/5 sounds terrible...

ive played 200 max buy-in 2/5 its not that bad. you just gotta play lol tight.

being stuck 3 buy-ins is nothing out or the ordinary. Didn't you think this was possible? It sounds like your either playing with money you can't afford to lose, or you're playing with too high % of your bankroll in play.

This is something you have to work on. You can't hold grudges, especially when you got your money in good and you got sucked out on. This can lead to you playing bad against him, just for the chance of wiping him out. You need to be patient and continue to play smart, no matter who you're in the pot with.

I was in for 3500 at 5/5 yesterday and got out. Win some lose some.

If you are going to continue play poker and want to be a consistent winning player, your mental game is going to need to continue to improve. Some recommendations are below.

1) Play within your bankroll. Most important rule to any serious poker player.
2) Embrace Variance - Realize that it's extremely rare that a player gets All-In drawing 100%, and as such there will be times where you lose as a big favorite (and win as an underdog). It's just part of the game and it's why people love to play. If the best player/hand won every time, poker would be 10% of what it is today.
3) Measure in terms of BB's & Buy-Ins not $$. You're either playing a 60 BB max Buy-In game or you are choosing to buy in each time at 60 BB's. Either way, that is not a lot of BB's and normal poker variance can lead to down swings of 180+ BB's fairly easily. A lot of 2/5 games have a max buy-in of $1,000 which is 200 BB's. Get Ace's cracked by Kings and you are already stuck 200 BB's for the day.
4) Form a habit that you utilize every time you lose a pot. I forget the Pro Poker player (I think DNegs or J Little), but every time they lose a pot they say "That was unfortunate". For myself, I say "Wow, Nice Hand" and will offer a fist bump if the person is seated in close proximity. Making a verbal statement like this or having another habit that you utilize will help to relieve the tension/stress of losing in key/big spots and will help you remain less stressed at the table and more focused.
5) Don't use "even" as a measurement for when you should stop playing poker for the day. Stop playing poker for the day when you are no longer able to play your best poker or you just simply don't want to play any longer. I've had session's where I have been down 2k+, get back to within a 100 - 200 of being even, and then get right back down to that 2k+ spot by trying to "get even." Trying to hit some arbitrary # to cash out on can often lead to players trying to force action. Forcing anything in poker is never part of a poker players best playing.

Great stuff man! Really appreciate the advice.

In this instance, I wasn't trying to get back to even...I tripled my stack early on the session then proceeded to experience some of the worst run bad of my life. So if it makes me sound like any less of a whiny baby who can't take a 100BB loss...it ended up being a 2k swing for me in a few hours time...

Good learning experience regardless. Thanks for the responses!

im sorry, i like your post but if someone does this after i win a hand vs them i am cashing out and paying security to escort me to my car LOL

Yea, it's really cheesy, I know haha. Helps me stay relaxed and in a positive mindset though. It's really hard to tilt after first bumping

this is another one of those, "you think long you think wrong" type of situations.

if you are torn between two different decisions and cannot decide, you are most likely not going to be happy with the result of either decision. so what to do?

gotta get up from the table and get your mind somewhere else. go for a run. dive into some netflix. anything.

but when you are running bad, but you know the table is really really good, you have to be completely committed to playing your best game and not worry about taking chances. unfortunately, playing timid poker will almost always get you in trouble

One of the most underrated skilz in poker is learning to take a beat like a champ and not be a little ***** about it. I don't know if it can even be taught, though I think experience kinda numbs a player to the sting a bit.

sometimes you gotta rage. it happens.

Based on this, TTHRIC.

Locked.