Particularly small live or micro stakes online.

These are the only games I know and my biggest leak (amongst many others for sure, although smaller and less costly) is calling big bets and raises on the river (hell, not even big, but any).

I just need to understand this. Why do I hate the idea of being bluffed and yet when I call, am always wrong? I've been playing this game for more than a decade (I'm 30) and just haven't learned this concept. I watched this video on red chip poker a while back and the instructor said something like: people are so frequently underbluffing on the river, that it's more profitable just to overfold, even if you know you're likely being bluffed. It's something like that. Do I have that statement correct? That's it's just better to fold unless I beat the majority of the hands they're only representing for value? Do you understand that? Only representing. It's hard to understand for me because, of course, representing might imply they're bluffing which is why they're bluffing and trying to represent it. My brain...

What exactly is the proper math behind this so I can see? Is there a tough example somewhere to really hit it home? Maybe the Tom Dwan vs. Ivey hand on HSP where Ivey folds his pair of sixes for 268k even though he knows he has the best hand because it's durrrr and he's bluffing always, but just folds anyway because of this concept?

Errrr (so frustrating) but what IF they're bluffing? Why can't my mind just accept to be outplayed and move onto the next hand? Is it because I don't think I'll ever have a chance to make money again unless it's on this river? That this tough spot on the river might just be my only spot to make money and I HAVE to be correct or else my win rate will drop? Why does my mind think this way when clearly just folding and losing the pot will actually make me more money in the long run? Do you see my dilemma? My mind can't comprehend that losing a pot actually makes me more money. Please help me. I feel so dumb. Maybe it's because I'm autistic. That has to be it.

Again, this is from over a decade of experience and constant losses at live and microstakes because of this error. I know how to play this game. This is just the big area I lack. I have no problem folding preflop, flop, and turn to big bets and raises (no problem, just no problem) but when it comes to the river NOPE they're always bluffing now for some reason when on any other street where they're MORE likely to be bluffing, I fold.

Please help. I want to win.

Well it used to be a standard rule in lower limit games that a significant majority of players don't bluff much. So you keep an eye out for the exception, then follow the rule against conservative players. Probably not near that simple any more, as the average player in 1-2/3 is way more sophistcated now. Maybe make a rule no paying off on river unless you have some good specific reason, and then only if you are any good at reads. Maybe impulsive and failure to see big picture for the right this second is part of your non-typical status. Remember, good players always fold more winners than bad players.

What the hell. You talking about river streets bluffing as if it is a black and white area where you put the general population into river is over or underbluffed. Maybe there’s many criteria that put into play where villain consist you as a good target because the way you play. A bluff can’t be just pull off for no reasons, and it’s not that easy to excecute.

If you play this game with full respect, I’m sure villains are less likely to take all your chips on the river and that depends on how you play on the previous streets

The logic of that hand in HSP consist of the amount of money in the pot and how likely Tom will be bluffing in thst spot. In iveys recall, dwan is unlikely to pull such scenario, the risk / reward is too much for Ivey to justify to call dwan because Ivey is beating nothing except a bluff

Respectfully, if you have played live low stakes and online micros for 10 years and haven't moved up, and have questions like this, your "I know how to play this game comment isn't super accurate. I don't say this to put you down, I think it's important to readjust your perception of the situation. It isn't you're a great player and there's just something missing preventing you from winning, it's you need to do more work, and work more efficiently, to get better.

If you really have trouble folding to significant action two things you can do:
- do the EV calculation and see how many bluffs they would need to make a call profitable, figure out what reasonable bluff candidates can exist and then ask yourself "would this person bluff all these combos?"
- Just fold to every check raise, every over-bet, and every significant river bet for a week. It is definitely not the optimal strategy but in micros and LLS it is very likely still profitable and you'll be able to see over-folding to nits isn't the end of the world

This is really a know your opponents question. If they don't bluff often fold, if they bluff a lot call. Even not seeing the hands if someone is big betting 50%+ of all rivers they are likely bluffing. If they are big betting one river every 50 hands or so they are likely not bluffing.

One of the biggest reasons for playing micros online is to improve on river calls. You need to learn the proper percentage and hands to make calls with, and it can be improved with a random number generator, and as you know with experience how often they might be bluffing on the river, you will adjust with the generator or in whatever way you want and call less often when you don't think they bluff there often enough; you then pick lets say, 30% of the time calling, if that feels like right to you, or 60%, if that feels like right to you, also considering the bet-size, of course, and so you have good control, and won't be making decisions like call or fold, but instead call a part of the time; whatever you think and feel and see (the board, actions, player, tells) to be proper. You might not be able to fold every time most of the time, but you can sure play the pool and exploit them. The main thing for playing micro is in learning that technique, not in making money by exploits, though you do that also. You will also learn to bluff properly on those same spots plus/minus exploits. That's the kind of thinking and learning that makes micros worth playing, when still learning and if not willing to risk more at higher limits than 10, that's the highest of the micros and so eventually a recommendable limit for many to improve their game, and hope the game is a bit more realistic than at 2 and 5 limits that also serve their purpose, though the fast tables might be too under-bluffing and the pools too large to get a line.

Pretend you are commentating on the hand 3rd person, or streaming!

It sounds like a part of you already knows what to do.

Sounds like inner dialog/belief contradictions.

:P

Maybe you're watching too many of the pros at the high rollers and they're messing with your game at the micros.

I was in a MTT the other day. On the 5 minutes tournament break I watched Dnegs make a great call against a bluff in a final heads up high roller, and next thing I know I'm calling a large bet in a $10 or $20 MTT and busting out... I know what you mean because I struggle with this myself a lot earlier in the past (I started playing Poker in January or February), but not as much.

I like to commentate the next street before I get to it. So I ask myself if this guy bets what will I do? Then I get to the street and sometimes you just gotta smile, and make the fold.

Sometimes when I have a guy and I REALLY want to make this call cause I know this guy MIGHT be bluffing again, I just play with my poker chips (you can get some pretty cheap on ebay) and then after up to 10 seconds (and sometimes a groan) I make the fold. (I'm not saying I don't play back against guys who are VPIPing 50% with WWSP of 99% but you get the point).

What I find works well for my game is I only drink water, and I like to eat once at the end of the day preferably after all my poker, and when I play I make sure I have my chips to play with so I don't get impulsive (its inevitable at times. Rarely, but when it happens and that is when you end of losing A LOT).

Then my mind is clear, and I make more money and get better.

Good luck!

Post these hands and get specific feedback on the spots.