I played 7 events at the WSOP this year. And I've played 15 tourneys in the previous 6 months. At WSOP, I missed the cash by less than 50 players THREE times and within 100 three times. My other live tourneys, I've missed the bubble by 10% of the field 9 times. I've min cashed 3 times, but not at WSOP.
I seem to go card dead for long periods, blinding me down. When I take a necessary stand, I get called with either a blockbuster or a "what the heck" hand. Either way, luck does not seem on my side. Is there any specific tactic that will improve my chances? Is there some point, when you have a decent stack, to just fold every hand, even big pairs?
Not looking to extend anyone's stand-up comedy career. Seriously asking for advice.
Thanks!

Do u think that u can reconstruct say 5 of the 7 complete Hand Histories* from ur recent WSOP events from memory? If so, can you format them into a text file that PT4 recognizes...I would be happy to take a look.

*need blinds; antes; stacks; positions and actions that include exact bet sizings on each street for every hand (including your preflop folds.) Reads would help too but prob aren't necessary.

I'm most interested in the polarized calling range that you're facing in crucial spots. I'm also a little unclear on the definition of the "what the heck" hand range.

RE: your question about 'folding into the money'...gonna have to research it a bit more but pretty sure that it's not the most profitable strategy. For some reason there doesn't seem to be much written on it and I couldn't find any videos on the training site which I belong to.

A few things:

1) 7 tournaments is nowhere near enough of a sample to determine whether you legitimately have a problem with your play near the bubble. If you had just cashed one of those tournaments, you'd be cashing at a pretty average rate, so to go 0 for 7 isn't particularly bad, even if you were Phil Ivey.

2) Just based on the way you're framing this post makes me think that you don't understand poker at a very sophisticated level. When I see you say something like...

I don't mean to sound rude, but the fact that you think that's even a legitimate question suggests that your fundamental understanding of poker is completely out of whack.

It's hard to come up with specific suggestions for you because you haven't mentioned any hand specifics at all. If I had to guess, you're probably playing way too tight, but I'd also guess that's one of many leaks you have rather than the only one.

I don't think there's any "specific tactic" that's going to solve your problem. You're looking for a magic bullet, when what you probably need is serious studying and self-reflection to identify and correct your game in a more holistic manner.

Suggest you spend some time reading the posts in this forum to get a sense of how players who really think critically about the game analyze hands.

Hey cool post.

Hope the whole sarcastic ******* thing is helping to cover up for the emotional void you almost certainly have. Just an FYI, most people I know have better results with therapy than trolling people who are genuinely asking for help.

he just wants to crunch some pio numbers and abrv some more wrds we all spk nrmlly

not too surprised that you know/hang out with some messed up people (misery likes company, etc)...but what is the sample size RE: those who have experienced > positive results with therapy? If you can show me a decent sample size I might be down to contact some of your peeps for a referral.

btw...ru an amateur psychologist and professional poker player...or vice-versa?

apologies for my misuse/overuse/creation of abbreviations...didn't mean to offend...wish I had infinite time on my hands. Who knows, maybe I could then write 8100+ worthless posts (all the while eschewing the use of abbreviations.)

someday...

in before you complain about my failure to capitalize "i" and "u."

My bad. You totally sound like a super well-adjusted person who doesn’t have any issues at all. I take it back

tyty...and no need to retract anything...I'm all about self-improvement, so if you ever care to recommend a good therapist, I wouldn't be too proud to accept.

I'm actually considering the pursuit of self-actualization* (as a longer-term endeavor) so if you have any thoughts or advice on the fulfillment of my talents and potentialities, please continue in the spirit of generosity and don't hesitate to share.

*this may be related to the 'void' that you mentioned

P.S. I don't mean to be presumptuous...but do you think that...maybe...someday...we could be friends?

erc007 pls don't give up weird abbreviations and *** thing! It's really cool!

Who hurt you erc?

the ITT.

Missing by 50 and 100 is hardly what I call 'just missing the bubble.' Even in larger field multi-day events, that is still a decent number of spots away.

When I saw the thread title, I really thought it might be like what I went through late last year into the first month or so this year where I was getting within two or three spots of the bubble before going completely card-dead or losing a flip. Some were WSOP-C and some were other events elsewhere...

To consistently bust 50-100 from the money suggests there may be other leaks that need to be plugged. We've all had them. There are many that can exist, so what I had to work on may not be the same as what you were encountering.

To OP: look at fixing leaks in your mid-to-deep stack game. Are you defending properly? Are you opening with appropriate ranges? Are you overfolding post-flop to aggression? Most of the time the issue isn't sub-20BB play (which is often fairly straightforward) but how you're playing your stack before you get to that point.

To erc007 and poloplaya1414: don't ever change.

Not quite ready to disclose that yet...although I will acknowledge that my dysfunction can be attributed to the pain that has resulted from it.

That said...my offer of friendship will stand in perpetuity...you have truly inspired me to be more positive and optimistic.

Our friendship is win-win imo...I will become more mature and grounded and you will get better at poker....

This (for me) is unprecedented and I can't believe that I'm actually doing this, but I'm going to issue a sincere apology to OP for the...what do the kids call it...troll.

It (my reply) began as a constructive effort to answer OP's primary question...then the wheels came off. It could be the hurt...which led to the void, or vice versa...or who knows.

Another plausible explanation which hasn't yet been discussed is the fact that I may have been 'hurt' in the past by Gamboneee (who was someone that I really respected and looked up to) clowning my Pio SSs.

In my defense, there is a subtext to my reply that is very relevant if you look at the (information) that was omitted from the OP. Enough hints...

OP...this is a strategy forum, so posts that deal with specific, or even general questions regarding strategy will always be better received. It is very difficult if not impossible, for even the most experienced players to provide sound strategic advice when you dont give any examples of strategies that you are currently employing. In this vein, the best info to provide would be a recent HH.

To me...when someone begins a post by listing and/or detailing their recent runbad/bad results that indicates that they somehow feel "entitled" to win $. Consequently, the lamenting of poor results can come across as whining.

None if us are entitled to win...for most of us (other than RWE) the process of becoming a winning player takes quite a bit of time and requires a lot if effort.

Trust me...we've all been there...bubbling the money, or bubbling the money bubble isn't fun. My advice would be to try to evaluate your game from a more holistic perspective. Do look for strategic adjustments that you can make as you approach the money but dont necessarily focus on that stage because it will hurt your overall development as a player, along with your results.

Post some hands...listen to the replies and ask questions...one good question leads to another etc...

Be preoccupied with getting better and acquiring knowledge and the results will come (at least that's what I've been told.)

Anyways...sorry and glgl

I'll be both of your friends and you can both make me better at poker

You found a way to craft a pretty damn sincere apology while still being a huge troll. A+ work my friend* and genuine kudos to you.

*Don’t interpret that word literally.

This has the makings of an epic 2+2 thread -- thanks erc007! -- and I hate to distract the meta conversation by getting back to OP's initial question. But just so we get that covered, too . . .

I play once a year in a fun, high-ego MTT staged locally in a rich guy's home. For at least four years in a row, I missed the final table by a few seats through the following -- always with a halfway decent, mid-sized stack until the hand of doom.
- shove 88 in the SB when it's folded to me; run into 99.
- square off with AKo vs. QQ for most of my chips; lose the flip
- square off with AQs vs. JJ; lose the flip
- some other atrocity that I can't remember.

Come back in year 5, and suddenly everything works
- flop two pair from the BB vs. a flush draw; chips fly into the middle; my hand holds up.
- My AJ vs. A7 for a ton of chips at the final table; my hand is good.
- And a couple more where being a 70/30 favorite actually held up.

I'd been telling myself -- don't tear apart your whole game because you're losing flips. But there are moments when frustration can tempt you into fundamentally dumb overhauls of your game. Ride it out.

Keep playing intelligent poker. Enter enough tournaments, at stakes you can manage, so that eventually the luck evens out.

Softie

im gonna go out on a limb and say ive done about nothing to you ever, cool i could help you at any point but yeah you are a pio bot these days, so "in the past" seems incorrect. nothing wrong with that, but its better kept to yourself and friends instead of answering people with such absolutes in a strategy that takes forever to realize completely.

8100 posts of trolling takes practice. i try to add a bit of comic relief, not too much content, but a bit of truths.


oh, and if my caps are correct it just meant i was on my phone.

But if you really feel I've done something to you I'd love to know. No hard feelings, just a bit annoying. It can't be easier to make up words that to type real ones

I'm gonna consider Captain Kirk and Gambo as friends going forward...

(And I promise to continue to work on myself and be more introspective...this has truly been an eye-opening experience that has opened a new door and possibly a new chapter in my life.)

feel like when you appoint yourself to a trolling position, gambonee is what you get. not funny and zero useful content to boot.

at least a troll like cicakman (where is that guy btw? ) had a shtick and would stick to it.

btw thread should be renamed "msmtt/hsmtt forum trolls unofficial slugfest" (if OP doesn't mind, ofc ).


edit: oh and, sorry...just had to wade in here...excuse me

In one of the greatest ironies in the history of 2p2, one of the most outspoken critics of GTO (and anyone who dares to reference it) has become perfectly ‘balanced.’

gamboneee operates in a parallel universe (which may or may not be inhabited by beings other than himself) ~50% of the time. This represents his “value,” which is actually realized by the balance of the earth’s inhabitants (who are spared the displeasure of having to deal with him.) It may help to think of his contribution or “value” as the result of “addition by subtraction.”

The other ~50% of his time is spent on the fringe of our universe (unfortunately) as he attempts to “bluff” his way through life while dealing with various psychological maladies along with what is very likely borderline personality disorder. To date, there has been no explanation as to why he has chosen 2p2 as a destination, so it may suffice to just conclude that we have just been unlucky.

His being perfectly 'balanced' has made me indifferent with respect to whether or not I want to respond to his questions and comments?

#vacillating #ambivalent #owned

gg

*disclaimer: I don't recall having ever read any of his 8100+ posts which I previously referenced

at least you two make a cute couple