Don't play poker the next day unless you are 100% sure you WANT to and can play your A game. I've seen it many times (including with myself) where a player will go home and head right back to the casino the next day just because he/she had a winning session. Before you go next time, read some posts on 2+2 or watch some videos to get yourself in the mood to play. Also, constantly think long term with cards. You're not walking out of the card room with 50k playing 1/2 (unless you hit some insane jackpot). Remind yourself that you going in to play today is just part of the big plan. You can do what I do and pretend poker is the stock market. You're investing in certain hands in different positions ONLY if it seems profitable. Hope this helped and goodluck!

LOL, you're absolutely right. I see a lot of "new" regulars because they won a few sessions in the row by pure luck.

Cliffs: No moniez in live low stakes poker, everyone is solid!!!

This is hilarious. Personally, I'd call my poker playing a slightly profitable, enjoyable hobby that allows me another outlet for my competitiveness. I think it's more self-delusional to think that if you can't do it, then surely no one on this earth can possibly profit from the average droolers at 1/2 NL. The ego required to make such a statement is truely remarkable.

PS: Apologies for the hijack. I'm enjoying this thread.

In my experience at $1/$2, I think A7 suited is ahead of a late-position raiser's opening range a decent percentage of the time. Not far ahead, but KQ, KJ, etc., are opening for a raise in that spot in the games I play. I wish I had 3-bet there all-in.

/joke

people who are stuck straddle because they believe it will juice the pot, giving them a better chance of getting unstuck if they hit a big hand.

i agree with never straddling, though i do play the $1/$2/$4 triple blind game when it runs and looks good.

You like? [/QUOTE]

Lol. U lost a bet right?

I think perhaps here is one leak. Forgetting about whether this is true or not, this is not how you want to think about which hands you should play preflop. They take care in NLHT&P to talk about this.

Now that we're on the subject, this is another area of weakness for you. You shouldn't have "I think" in your vocabulary while off the felt. This is easily pokerstoved. Against the top 30% of hands, you're slightly behind. Against the top 50% of hands, you're only a 55/45 favorite and you have to play this oop.

The number of players who are raising this frequently in LP is quite small. Most players prefer to limp anything but big hands pf and see a flop before committing any chips. Therefore against most of LLSNL, this becomes a fold.

If it is a rare person who steals this much (probably a on-line refugee), you want to start thinking about whether raising or calling is more EV. If he's raising 30% of the time, he'll probably fold most of those hands to a 3bet, unless he knows you like to 3bet light. Instead of being neutral EV pf, you win his $12. But what happens if he 4bets? If that's the case, he's doing it with JJ+, AK and you only have 30% equity. However, if you bet $40 with $100 effective stacks, his jam puts the pot at $140 and you have to call $60. Interestingly, you're getting the odds to call then. You've put the villain in the position where you can't make any mistakes and he can. That's how you win at poker.

When people are telling you to work on your game, it is this type of work you need to do for yourself. Books are only the beginning. This forum is the next step along the path, but even here the best the best posters can do for you is to show you how to attack a single problem. To go beyond, you need to do your homework off the tables so that when these situations come up again, you know how to play it. No book or forum can possibly cover every scenario for you.

What makes the great players of today great is that they have done this homework. It looks like durrr is making sick bluffs, but in reality he has simply worked out what the likely FE is, added to it his hand equity and is just making a +EV play. It isn't playing wild, it is actually well controlled logic, every step of the way.

When I moved from 1/2 to 2/5 I played break even poker for about 3 months. I decided to write down EVERY hand I voluntarily put money in the pot. Every action for every street with bet sizing ect. I did this for 6 str8 sessions (yeah I got a lot of snide remarks but it was worth it). What I found is that most of the money lost was from 3 areas.
1) oop
2) vs an unknown (whether I just sat or V just sat)
3) calling river bets that appeared to be a bluff but never were
a 4th could be going to far with TPTK type hands

I used an xl table - pencil in the hand right after it happened - even if I had to walk away from the table and miss a hand.
I would enter it into the computer in the evening which would force me to re-live the hand.

The 2 things that helped my game (at this time) were 1) the above and 2) sweating a "great" 5/10 player for like 5 str8 hours.

best of luck to you
hang in and you'll figure it out

In my experience there are about 70-80% of LLSNL players that are not positionally aware, meaning no matter what they limp with KJ, kq, etc, and ONLY raise 99+ and AJ+ regardless of position. The motto is " I have a $2 hand" to a lot of 1/2 players.

There are about 20% that will raise wider IP

being ahead of the range doesn't account for the fact you're OOP. Reverse implied odds, learn about them.

This is extremely well said.

Regarding the above.

I know what he is driving at but using an example where we shovel in so many chips that we are priced in to call (but the opponent might make a mistake by folding) is not the way to beat the game at all.

If we open to 99% of out stack with the top 50% of our range pre our opponent might make mistakes in has calling range in some hands and we can't. I don't think it will win us money.

I think smoking robot having played with you might have the best advice ITT. Other than that... Man.. take my advice here, if you are only having fun when you are winning then you aren't having fun playing poker and if you aren't doing this as a job then you are going to lose at the table and in life. The two will begin to overlap and it's a damn rut. Venice touched up on all that up above.

Just recently I got back to the basics man. I started over from the beginning. Playing smaller stakes that don't hurt when I lose, which helps losing not hurt so much. Playing with friends. These guys are generally decent poker players, but we can all sit around and drink a beer and crack on each other for taking a horrible beat or w/e. When I do win I don't put the money into a pipe dream fund but rather go spend it and have some fun with it.

So your OP was I'm a losing player and want to change that. The obvious answer is you need to change somethings, but to be perfectly honest, IME, you can't change anything until you get through the poker depression. Get your head right and if that means taking a crap ton of time off then do it. I did it and poker rocks again. Hell I even jumped into the mixed games which I hated in the past. It got me thinking about poker in a completely different way and it's fun.

Last, as much honesty as you posted here it sounds like there is still some stuff your don't want to fully admit to. You know it, but you don't want to come out right and say it. These statements here got me thinking that.

"I don't know. Maybe it's just variance but it sure would be nice to be on the right end of it for a few days in a row to get some confidence back.

I feel like I generally play well ... Yes, there are nights when I've spewed and been too aggressive, bluffing at all the wrong times, but that happens, right? That's easy to fix - cut down on bluffing for a few sessions. "

"If I could just be on the right end" may never come. You have to come to terms with that. "I feel like I generally play well... but I've spewed...." Then your first statement is a half truth. Go find some soft home games where they play small stakes (.25/.50, .5/1, w/e). Try to feed off that atmosphere and take in how those guys feel. Just a bunch a guys sitting around a card table having fun and drinking a beer. Book your win there and screw getting your confidence back (this just may mislead you even more), instead get your poker is fun and feels good back.


p.s. I want to add.. It takes balls to admit that you are losing at this game and need help. I wasn't calling you out or anything in my last statement, but rather you need to take it a step further and really analyze everything again and come clean with it all.

[QUOTE=yodachoda;30232288]

Perhaps the biggest tip is always consider fold equity. You'd be surprised how often people fold.../QUOTE]

Funny, I'm always surprised by how often people call, and how light they'll do it. Live rec players didn't get in their car, drive an hour or more to the casino, just so they can fold. Games like $1/2 and $2/5 can be beaten like a drum without ever having to consider fold equity. If you're trying to win by pushing people out of pots at these stakes, you'd better know what you're doing.

Well of course not.

However, poker advice is villain and situation specific. In this case, a loose villain and short stacks. Against a typical tight player and 150BB, this is a losing play.

I'm not always explicit that I rarely (try for never) give general advice that should be used against all villains in all situations at all times.

just two quick comments on this post:

1) never played with smoking robot. he was thinking of someone else.

2) i feel like i generally do play well, but when i saw i spew, it seems to come in sessions ... i took 10 days off recently. came back and won $800 in the first three nights. then, in the next two nights, lost $1100. the second of those losing nights, i literally gave it away, bluffing at all of the wrong times, etc. so yeah, i feel like can make both of those statements.

thanks to everyone who responded.

i am looking to plug some of these leaks and am starting to realize them right after they happened, or before they happen.