Don't even know if this is the right forum for this ...

I'm in for my fourth buy-in in my normal lol $40 fixed buy-in 1/2 NL game. I'm UTG with black jacks. I raise 5X. I'm nitty tight but the players are so bad I still always get action. Folded to BB who calls. Hmmm ... what's this - not much action.

BB has been at the table for about 20 minutes. He seems very weak. Fit or fold type.

Flop comes AK7

He checks, I bet $10 into a $17 pot. He calls.

Turn is 8.

He checks, I check behind.

River is 2 putting 4 to a flush on board.

He checks, I check behind.

He shows AJ (no heart). I muck, pick-up and leave.

Right away I was annoyed with myself. WTF?!? Why didn't I bet the river? Why didn't I have a plan when I checked the turn? Why the **** do I play this game if I'm just going to continue to play bad? F - F - F!

I know I understand the application of math to poker better than most. Why am I emotionally derailed all the ****ing time? This is a ****ing 1/2 $40 buy-in game ... I'm easily rolled to play much higher. And I'm an emotional wreck over a $40 buy-in game.

Should I just kick the bucket and stop playing? Should I only play when I've slept 9 hours two days in a row and feel like I'm at the top of my well-being?

WTF? I hate this game!

Two years ago, I was in your shoes. I still remember getting really frustrated on the car rides home because some fish stacked me again. Now, I'm profiting around $50/hr at $1/$3 for a few reasons.

1. I stopped caring about the money. This was the hardest thing for me to comprehend, since at the time I had a minimum wage job and losing $200 was like losing four days wages. Once I began thinking about making the best decision every hand, losing sessions hurt a lot less since I knew that in the long run, I would profit with my play.
2. I also made sure the I didn't misplay any hands that I was involved in. Did I c-bet into a loose-passive on a J-9-7 board? Did I try another unprofitable triple barrel bluff into a calling station because I was frustrated about not flopping a pair?
3. Make sure to avoid bluffing too often at these stakes and to value bet a lot more. Make sure that when you flop top pair or better, you size your bets so that you can get the maximum with your big hands.
4. Always continue to improve your game. Eventually, when you become better postflop, raise a wider range such as A-Jo+, 9-9+, and all suited Broadway's and your bottom-line will soar

You seem to be more upset than when I'm in for 4 buy-ins at $200 a piece.

Something you need to work on. You have to not get so emotionally attached to hands. I'm not sure how you do this. For me it was from playing 100s of thousands of hands online.

You also need to stop cbetting JJ in position in AKx boards.

You've come to the right place.

Stop worrying about money won/money lost.

I was in your shoes 2 months ago. You can find my thread in The Las Vegas Lifestyles forum.

I was running bad and playing bad poker. When I decided to stop being results oriented and just make sure I am making the correct poker play in each situation...things changed for me.

I still do get upset sometimes, but that's only when I think back on my last poker session and determine I leaked out $100.00 limping too much from first few positions or trying some stupid triple barrel bluff or calling old man nits $40.00 preflop raise with 6/7 suited to play him heads up so I can try to crack his aces....

Lately, I been trying to leave the casino as soon as I feel as tho I've made a bad poker play or two...its like once you make that first bad play the whole session can go to **** if you're not careful.

Just get your mind back on point, sponge all the great info here and challenge yourself to go play a flawless 3 hour session. Where you leave and say "**** yeah, I made no dumb plays today." The next time you go back try to play flawless for 4 hours, then onto 5 hours....etc...

Brick by brick, wall by wall man....

Good luck.

Is there anywhere close by you can actually play a $200 buyin game? I mean, $1/$2 with a $40 buyin is kind of chump change and you are going to get called light a lot because of that.

I'd just move to a different game. 20 BBs isn't poker. It's like playing a turbo tournament. Just shove preflop for the $40 whenever you pick up a hand you are going to play.

+1

ffs buy in for 100bb unless its out of your br

as stated above 20bb is a higher variance game. its just goina be shove fold.

your saying the players are bad, but your raising 25% of your stack with JJ.

just shove dude especially if your utg. youll deff get called by worse from the rest of the table if its loose.

1/2 40$ game is unbeatable long term with a 4 dollar rake.

3/5 200$ gm can be beat for about 20$+

5/10 400$ gm can be beat for 40$+.

Quit 1/2 40$ run as far as you can from that game.

$40 max 1/2? Thats not even poker. Dont cbet JJ on an AKx board when you only have $40 stacks

Cbetting with these stacks and your hand does nothing. Fish likely wont fold an A, K, or FD, and when he calls you have no idea what to do on turn.

With these stacks Id honestly just shove JJ Ai preflop...

Find a new pokerroom though thats a joke.

I don't understand your comment in your OP about how you thought you misplayed the hand. Why in the world would you wonder why you didn't bet the river? Betting river here would be awful. I get that he's weak but you are rarely getting him to fold anything that is beating you.

because with 4 hearts out there he thinks he reps the heart with a bet.

Eh c'mon, he's got $20 left in his stack and it's $40 max 1/2 NL live, he probably isn't folding out Ax, might not fold out Kx, and who's to say Villain doesn't have a heart anyway? OP would be out of his mind to think that he'd correct his hand mistakes by trying to bluff the river.

Learn to limp with an entire range and play post-flop =).

interesting thought. just setmine with everything but AA, KK, maybe QQ?

If the game is played passively like most LLSNL games, yes, or simply shove, never raise.

Actually, think of it as a donkament. Limp/shove with strong hands in EP/MP and shove over limps in LP.

Limping is not profitable in high rake games. Say its 2 limpers to you in the bb. Once the flop hits the pot 3$ in a multiway pot. You need a lot of limpers in capped games like 4/5+.

You should be raising for the reason Pokah mentioned. We want to make sure the pots we win are raised ones where the rake has proportionally less effect. We don't want to play our strong hands in such a way that 1/2 the pot gets raked away.

Learn to adapt...or don't play the game.