So before everyone just says I suck, I'll explain the types of games I play and how I'm mostly losing.

I play mostly home games with friends, about $20-$200 buyin with blinds ranging from $.10/$.20 to $1-2. Usually anywhere from 5-8 people. I do a lot of poker studying, but theories just haven't seemed to work that well lately. I follow a fairly standard strategy with NL betting %'s (pre- and post-flop), and adjusting my style to the different types of players I play against.

The way I've been losing is by taking too many shots at the pot, usually when I'm in position or through continuation bets. The last 5 times I've played it just seems like cards are not coming/holding up for me (all my unpaired cards don't hit, all my pockets don't hold up). But I'll usually throw out a continuation bet (sometimes 2 if I smell weakness) to find out that I am in fact beat, and the player is willing to commit.

My style is to play fairly aggressive so when I do in fact have a hand, folks call me down and pay me off. The problem is cards have just not been coming and I've been bleeding money away each time... I'm not entirely reckless though, I am fairly selective and opportunistic in the hands I play and bet with, cards have just not been coming after I set myself up with this strategy...

My question is how pros/consistent winners seem to avoid these stretches What's the trick or any tips??

I know in a bigger game, tightening up even more may be a solid option, but in a 5-person game, I'm scared of becoming (or maybe just looking) too passive..

Is pride and fear of being perceived as a WEAK player/person hurting me???

The way I've been losing is by taking too many shots at the pot, usually when I'm in position or through continuation bets

My style is to play fairly aggressive so when I do in fact have a hand, folks call me down and pay me off


5 sessions is not a long bad run by any means . Also , it's impossible to comment accurately w/o knowing your opponent's playing styles/ability BUT it occurs to me that the problem may be you're trying to bluff calling stations and loose (fish?) when you should be sitting back and going for big value with your solid hands and not bluffing at all ?
You say they call you down because of your aggressive style but you might find that they just call down and pay off regardless . So be aggressive with big hands pre and postflop but always be thinking of value and extracting money , rather than thinking you can get opponents off a weak hand with aggression. Get out cheaply when you don't have it and get max value when you do . It can be frustrating if you're having a run of bad cards but you need to sit back and minimise losses rather than trying to force things . Then when you're on a good run of cards you'll prob clean up and log some big winning sessions
Once players have got burnt by you too many times they'll be wary of you in big pots and start folding more thinking "Oh he always has it" and then you can start bluffing again

Frogman, you're exactly right. Reflecting on my play, I am definitely being over-aggressive against Loose Fish and calling stations (no need to c-bet against them with nothing)... Terrible strategy against these types of players in retrospect.

I understand what you're saying about value, but maybe you can help me clarify the best "value" moves in the below example... happened to me in a game yesterday.

• I have KQ, raise preflop in position, 1 other loose fish in the hand
• Flop comes Q-rag-rag w/ 2 spades, I bet about 45% of the pot. He calls and I'm positive he's on a flush draw.
• Turn is a diamond rag - **what's the best move here? I chose to bet about 65% of the pot hoping he'd give up the hand... but as I should've foreseen, he calls**
• River is a spade - he luckily tries to check-raise me and I just check through.. Still he ends up taking down a fairly large pot from me...

SO - on the Turn I know I made it unprofitable for him to call given his pot odds - but knowing that he would DEFINITELY call, is the best move to check through to the River to see if my hand would survive? Maybe a win less, risk less strategy...

Also - what do you do if you bet with A-K and the flop is all low cards, and you're positive you're opponent also has overs but you have him beat. Do you bet expecting him to call since you have him beat at that point? Or do you check through (cuz you don't have much either)? What happens if a Q falls next? These situations were driving me crazy the last couple sessions, cuz I chose to be aggressive most of the time... and it didn't work out so well...

Thanks again!

Honestly assess whether maybe the games you play in are just better than you.

If the answer is "no", then you even posting the OP tells me you won't be losing for long.

if you're not a pro yet . don't go over aggressive since you'll left betting patterns along the way .

bet more on the flop for value, bet the turn for value, good check/back on river

your thinking about it all wrong. if you have TP and they have a FD you want to make turn bet and HOPE THEY CALL. this is how you make money in poker - getting called by worse(value betting).

shift you focus from "taking down the pot" to 1)value betting your strong hands 2) not paying off when you beat