I really dislike the 3x open raise. My raises already get called more than most peoples do. I would be playing every hand 6 ways. Did you see my post a few days ago where I raised $35, $45 and $50 with KK and got called every time?

No idea why I should fold AQ intil LP

I do open limp lots of small to medium pairs and suited broad ways occasionally. Im going to change gears today and play more small pots. More overlimping things like QTs instead of raising. More limping things like KQs in EP to keep hands like KJ / KT in. (although I got a $35 raise called by K9 yesterday and I got a $45 raise called by A9s yesterday). We'll see.

I used to check raise a lot when I played shorter. I used to buy in for $300 and play very aggro until I doubled up and then tone it down. The KQs hand was a similar situation except the villain was short stacked. I tried to make it look like I had a FD by crai. These short stacks never fold TP to me and everyone at the table thought I was on tilt so there's no way hes ever folding TP. I dont think there's anything wrong with that play.

I just keep getting coolered and not hitting any big hands myself.

AK vs JT on AKQ flop
KQ vs AJ on KQT flop
AK vs Q6 on A66 flop (3 bet pot)
QQ vs KT on QJ8A board
AA vs KK all in preflop...lost
KK vs AA all in preflop...lost
77 vs AK on Q74TJ
AA vs 88 on 7448
T7s vs 99 on T7x9
TT vs 32s on 4433

Those are all raised pots and all in the last 60 hours or so. The last 3, I got 2 outted on the turn all in the last 2 days. There are more hands like this. These are just the ones I remember easily.

Of course variance is real. Ive never said it wasnt. What Ive said many times is that no good player should be losing 15-20 buy ins. This losing streak is my second worst ever. Its getting close to my worst ever and its at 8 buy ins.

Whats very important about losing streaks is how much are you adding to the streak with bad play. Anyone who says they dont play badly when they are getting kicked in the face over and over is lying to themselves. I estimate that Ive lost about $750 more than I needed to do during this losing streak. Certain close spots where I would normally fold, Ive called because its impossible to believe that I was beaten again...and of course I was.

The hardest thing for me has been coming in to play with a fresh mind day after day and getting coolered on the first hand I play on multiple days in a row.

I know everyone hates bad beat stories but

I lost KK 6 times in a row (that saw a flop)
I lost my last 2 AA hands including the all in preflop hand
I lost QQ 3 times in a row
I lost my last 3 flopped 2 pair hands in raised pots
I lost my last flopped set.

Yes, I lost about $60 on each of the 1/2 hands. Both villains were short stacked. The stupid thing is that I probably wouldve lost less if they had more money. Both hands were spots where I knew I was probably behind but couldnt fold due to stack sizes and spazz factor of short stacked 1/2 players.

QFT.

Once you've reached a certain level of competence, the mental game becomes a much more important part of one's overall WR. I've encountered some entitlement tilt of my own and I have to remind myself that stuff like AK vs Q6 in a 3b pot is why poker is profitable.

Moreso, I have to bring myself off the ledge as I fold 93o while the rest of the table flings around so much proverbial poo. Otherwise, I wind up getting over aggro, steaming, tilting, etc, which leads to bad play and increased losses.

Folding 93 and J5 for an hour doesnt bother me. What makes me want to throat punch someone is when I get KK 3 times in 30 mins and not one person calls my raise but as soon as I raise Qc9c, I get a limper who calls with Ad9d and then the flop is JdTd9h and I get all in with a short stack and lose another hand after the board bricks out. If the poker world wasnt ganging up on me, this would be one of the 3 times I raised KK and I wouldve won.

Both of the issues you raise above would be resolved with a $15 open

Wait until it happens for 15 hours. Trust me, it's real. I'm still reeling from the insane amount of card-deaddedness I had on my last trip to Winstar.

That said, variance comes in all shapes and sizes. It's insidious. Working on one's mental game is IMO the best way to combat these periods of 'WTF is going on?!".

No, if I opened to $15 with KK, I would get called 4-5 times and would lose a lot of pots and a lot of them are going to be be fairly big.

The pot will be around $75 on the flop. I will have bet $55ish on most flops and my equity vs 4-5 hands is going to be pretty low. I see good players do this all the time and it makes me want to yank my eyelids out. I would much rather raise $20-$30+ depending on limpers and get it HU or 3 ways at most.

Actually there are quite a few times where I make it $35 after 3 limpers and it still goes 5 to the flop.

The other day there was a button straddle. 3 limps. I make it $50 and get called once. Flop Jxx with FD. He leads $25. I shove. He calls off another $130 with AK and rivers an ace.

Same day, 3 limps. I raise $45 or $50 from SB with KK and get 1 MP caller. Flop was JT8 and he had Q9.

Id much rather raise bigger and get these fish to call with hands like this than raise less and get 4-5 callers and lose a high percentage of those pots to hands that outflopped me by correctly calling that small raise.

It was just a coincidence that yesterday nobody called when I had KK but they called with A9s, K9 and other hands when I had things like Q9s and A2s.

Ive also had 4 separate 3 hour periods without winning more than 1 hand during the last 100ish hours. (not counting raising preflop and everyone folding)

Thats not a bad outcome.

Im not sure why people are so terrified of multiway pots and even more terrified of turns/rivers, but opening the second best hand in poker and getting called by five 30% vpiping stations is not a problem.

No, its the opposite

Keep telling yourself that.

Playing KK heads up with shallow stacks is much more +EV than mw with deep stacks.

It's the same reason we 3bet KK. Pure math. Gotta go with Mikestar on this one. In these live games a huge iso is the way to go.

On the flip side, the last few pages have turned into BBV crying. It appears you're on a 9Xth percentile runbad, but it happens. Why I can't stand live poker. Even with a huge edge a 10k hand breakeven is routine. At 40 hands an hour that's 250 hours. No thanks.

I get that you are frustrated but citing 3 hour intervals us incredibly lol as anything meaningful


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Yeah KK's equity 4-5 handed is so significantly diminished that imo it's a pretty big disaster if it goes more than 2-3 handed.

No, its not. Not vs. 30% vpiping villains. Which is who we are interested in keeping in. Or not folding out I should say.

There are a multitude of reasons for a smaller sizing...its not specifically to go 5 ways, but it is definitely profitable, likely the most profitable. I've confirmed this after thinking about it.

There is no education to be had on this. No study. No books, no videos. People coming from an online background are not familair with this specific dynamic of live poker. It is not as clear as many think.

One approach to no fold equity 80bb poker is to play tight face up and go big. It is certainly profitable. I dont think it is the most profitable. Im speaking from 2,200 hours of experience.

So, much of the advice you are getting is poor, and much of your thinking is misguided. (Speaking to meale but applies to both)

You should be wary of advice given to you in an anonymous forum (mine included), and you should disregard blind support when your results are poor.

To paraphrase the guy on the hundred dollar bill, "critics are your true friends."

Nothing I said was wrong. Stove the equity of KK 5 handed. Esp in 80bb poker where you're going to overcommit with top pair.

There's a pretty big difference between AA 4 handed and KK 4 handed.

Wanted to hop on board and wish you luck. I play in similar games and am interested to follow your journey. As others have mentioned, not a lot of great stuff out there on these particular multiway dynamics.

Yes. No avoiding this imo regardless of sizing (unless you want to be the nit who makes it 100 pre, collects the blinds, and proudly shows an uncracked AA).

But a better question to ask might be, "Am I winning more than my fair share of the time?" Think in terms of pot equity in other words (a concept I learned only when I studied LHE). Depending on what ranges you want to assign, KK has 38-42% equity in a fivehanded pot. Yes, you're still losing more than half the time, but you're still winning way more than your 20% share.

Thinking this way might help your mental game more than anything else. At best, you'll be more comfortable losing most of the time, knowing that you're still printing money in the long run. You could also remove some hands that play poorly in multiway pots.

Guess I'm +1ing this

GL Mike!

I realize that completely, but I am allowed to cry in my own thread right?

Ive posted before that the Isle in Pompano Beach is the toughest 2/5 game in the US. Is it really? I dont know. I havent played 2/5 room in the US, but Ive played in quite a few of them. I do know for sure that it is the toughest in S. Florida. Its not the toughest in that there are tons of tricky creative players who put you in tough spots.

Its tough because its full of nitty OMC reg types that rarely play a big pot without a huge hand so youre rarely going to win a big pot unless you happen to cooler someone. So its tough to have a high win rate. Its the opposite of some loose deep games you hear about. Of course you can still beat those guys but you have to do it in lots of small pots.

I mention this because I decided to go to Palm Beach Kennel Club today. Im going to post a few hands to show how bad some of these guys are in contrast to the guys Im used to.

1) Some guy sits down UTG and straddles. Its obvious he doesnt know all the rules of straddling because he put in $5 to straddle in a $2/$5 game. Someone tells him he can straddle from anywhere and they play the hand.

3 hands later hes OTB and doesnt straddle. Thats already a little strange. MP limps. This guy on the button limps. 4 to the flop

Flop ($20) Ks8c4d. MP bets $15. Button raises to $40. BB cold calls and MP folds.
Turn ($100) 9h. BB checks. Button bets $40. BB crai to about $225. Button calls.

Button has AA
BB has K9.

So the button overlimped AA OTB preflop
The BB cold called a bet and raise on the flop with TP weak kicker.

2) 4 limps including me. Cutoff also limps. The SB makes it $20. 3 calls. I fold. The cutoff now reraises to $150. SB calls HU

Flop ($370ish) 864. SB shoves $125 or so. Cutoff calls.

Cutoff has AA....he overlimped in the cutoff after 4 other limpers.
SB has 64 off suit. WTF?

3) Limped pot. 4 to the flop.
Flop ($20) Q74. BB bets $20. MP raises to $65. Folds back to the BB who shoves $360 with Q8. MP snaps him off with 44.

There's more of this trash but you get the point. The stories you hear about S. Florida being so soft are stories from places like this. Unfortunately its about a 45 minute drive for me but Im going to have to start making that drive at least twice a week. Probably Tue/Thur at least during the summer when the games at the Isle absolutely suck balls.

So how did I do at PBKC? I booked a $900 win in 3 hours and got the hell outta there. Its amazing how great a player I am when they cards cooperate.

1) I limp 77 in EP. We go 6 to the flop
Flop ($30) Qd8h7h. Checked to me. I check. Next guy bets $20. He gets 2 calls. I check raise to $95. The flop bettor shoves $400. It folds back to me and I call.

He immediately shows 6h5h.

Turn 4s. Seriously?

There's a guy across the table from me that pretty much everyone hates. He's the most annoying player Ive ever encountered. Dozens of people refer to him as Dueshbag Mike. He used to be a reg in the Isle 2/5 games but Im pretty sure he went broke because he slowly started buying in for $400, then $300 then $250. Then he stopped playing 2/5 and was seen at a nearby casino playing 1/2 for months. Apparently hes a reg now in the PBKC 2/5 games, but hes still buying in for $250. This guy used to berate everyone whether he won the hand or lost the hand which is where he got his nickname from.

Honestly I think hes on some kind of medication now because hes like a totally different person. He rarely speaks. He doesnt spazz chips all over the place like he used to. Dont get me wrong. He still tilts me just looking at him. He wears the same black V-neck tshirt and jeans every single day.

So anyway, after the turn card he says "Q on the river. I know how good you run". The dealer tables a Q on the river and I actually win a big hand!! I wanted to kick Mike in the nuts for that.... You run so good... comment though. By the way, it was Mike that the guy with Q8 dumped a stack to in hand #4 in the above post...and I run good? LOL

2) 2 EP limps. I raise to $30 with AhAd and get 5 calls.....uh no, I dont think I need to lower my raise sizes.

Flop ($180) Ks8c8d. SB leads $35 with $100 behind. It folds to me. Kind of a ****ty spot. Im not sure if I should be raising here or not. I dont guess I really need to since the board is dry as a bone, but if I call I may look weak to these clowns and could get raised by KQ and not just an 8. Anyway, I raised to $105 and everyone folded.

3) Warning....unorthodox line alert!

EP limps. I raise to $25 AA. He calls HU.
Flop ($55) 953. He checks I check back.
Turn ($55) K. He leads $25. I call
River ($105) 5. He leads $40. I raise to $120. He calls, looks shocked and mucks.

I assume he had a King and my flop check made me some good extra money this time, but yes it can cost me money sometimes also.

4) 2 limps. I complete Ac3c in SB. BB raises to $20 and everyone calls.
Flop ($80) KcQcTd. I check. BB bets $55 with $80 behind. MP calls with $100 behind.

I could crai here but I really dont think I have any FE on this flop so I just called.

Turn ($245) 5s. BB shoves $80. MP tanks and tank and finally calls. I call
River ($485) 4c. I put MP all in and he calls a with a smaller flush.

Like I said at the beginning, its amazing how great a player you suddenly are when the cards fall your way once in a while. Even with MP having 2 clubs, I still had 24% equity to call the turn bet and I needed only 16.5% equity not counting the extra $20 I made on the river. Its the correct call on my part. I feel like Ive been playing pretty well this whole time. The cards have just been against me for 2 weeks. Hopefully this is the start of a new winning streak.

I won $615 more than my equity in the 2 all in hands. Ive got a ways to go, but that's a start.

God you cannot be this dense.

Also you should not speak of other players in threads imo. Bad form. Even someone like Mike.

Also outing good locations for poker must do heaps for your wr.

Here's a funny story concerning D-Bag Mike from back when we played together a lot.

I dont remember the exact action because this was at least 9 months ago, but he limps and calls my $25 raise. I had AsKs

I believe the flop was TsTd5s. Something like that. A spade FD and two Tens. It went check/check although I should probably bet that flop.

Turn is a brick and he bets $25. I min raised him to $50. He stared at me trying to read my soul which was pretty disturbing actually. He finally called. The river was a brick and it went check/check and his 88 was good. He started his normal berating routine and I had enough and it got a little heated. He finally asked me why I would min raise that turn. I told him I did it so he wouldnt bet the river which worked, but that was only one reason. I knew he most likely didnt have a T. I had knew I had at least some amount of FE with the min raise and I also probably had 15 outs on the river.

So its the very next hand. A guy raises to $20. I reraise to $75 with AA. it folds back around to Mike who folds and then Mike starts telling the guy "Felt this guy. Felt this guy!" The guy shoves all in for $500 and I bust him.

The poor guy rebuys $350 this time and the very next hand he opens to $20. I call with 44. We end up HU

Flop comes 743 with a FD. The guy bets $30. This guy is sitting directly between me and Mike and heard the entire "min raise" conversation probably a lot louder than he wanted to hear.

I intentionally min raised the flop to $60 to mimic a FD and he insta shoves his $350 with 99 and I bust him again. All due to the conversation with Mike and Mikes prodding him to bust me. Good times!

Everyone in S. Florida knows about these poker rooms. How many S. Florida players do you think are reading this and are gonna run really fast to PBKC because I wrote this? Come on Man!

Maybe if all the good players at the Isle read it, they will go to PBKC and I can play at the Isle with nothing but fish?

I was laughing so hard my stomach hurt about DB Mike.

Wp for felting DB Mike, not sure if V Necks are common in the states but that alone tilted me enough to want you to stack him! Good to see the tides are turning for you!