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Server Time: 9/4/2008 9:08:53 PM PACIFIC |
 Rough night!, Schuster, 11. Sep 2003 20:07 | ||
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| Every once in a while, when I feel my game has evolved and my bankroll is near sufficient, I'll take a stab at the next limit game to get a feel for it. Every single time I've done so, I've had a god awful night and tonight was no exception! I usually play the 2/4 or 3/6 on Party, but decided to take a stab at the 5/10 tonight. I was feeling great when I sat down and was ready to stick to my game. Unfortunately I didn't actually listen to myself. Every time I take a stab at the higher limit for the first time, I play backwards for the first hour or two, thinking that it's a higher limit so everyone must be making advanced plays. I start thinking on all kinds of different levels and how I should react to them. I start doing way too much checkraising with way too little and way too many semibluff raises on the turn. I call people down way too much with weak hands thinking they are just making a play at me. The cards weren't running so well tonight either, and I dropped a good 19 big bets. I actually impressed myself with my play on the last pot, raising and betting when I should have, but the river is a fickle lady. I won't bore you with the details, you've all been there. ;) I wasn't mad about it losing the pots while I was playing, and I'm still not "mad" other than mad at myself for the way I played. But it is going to be a little while before I give it another shot, so that I can get a bit of a buffer in case I do have another bad session when I try again and prepare myself mentally to play my A game and not the ass backwards version. I kept thinking to myself, this game looks pretty good. The guy 2 to my left was raising it up with small pairs early, made it 3 bets with 77 and up, and played any suited face card in any position. Had a few playing A-rag offsuit when it wasn't worth playing at all, which is of course rarely. There was another guy who was very weak tight and would fold to very little heat. Yep, the game was good, and you know what happens when you're in a really good game! Oh well, next time. Hopefully you won't make the same mistake I consistently make and lose your game just because the limits are higher. On the bright side, if the past is any indicator, I usually do better once I'm past the initial beating. How does everyone else handle taking a shot at the higher limit? Anyone else had the same experience I have, and how did you deal with it? Lee | ||
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| Re: Rough night!, mroban, 11. Sep 2003 20:22 | ||
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| Lee, I have been there too. Recently, I have been playing a lot more Omaha8 and have been winning consistently at the $1-2 Omaha8 game at UB. I decided I really knew my stuff now and played $2-4. No real difference in the game, but there were a few good players there that really understood the game. I don't think I played badly at all, but kept getting the kind of hands where I had the best hand on the flop and turn, but nomatter what you bet, other players had good calling hands and I was consistently getting housed on the river. UgggLee. Wow. I lost $120 in about 1 1/2 hours. I went crawling back to $1-2 Holdem and promptly dropped another $25. Point is, you just have to shrug it off and move on. I think every time I do this that it is a signal that I should keep getting better at the limits I play well at and I should stay there for the time being. But in Limit Holdem, I have played $5-10 live (never online) and generally just play my regular game. I have done really well in the live games because I can get better reads on players. Also, I am more uptight about preserving my online account cash for some reason and am less uptight about my real life bankroll (go figure). So I didn't play scared (where online I would be terrified of losing my hard won bankroll in an hour or so playing the higher limit dropping $500 live isnt going to break me). Anyway, unlike you, I generally play TOO tight at the higher limits and thats where I run into problems. I get run off of hands a little too quickly. I think good players have picked up that I am a bit tentative playing with really good players and they feel they can run me over. But still, I have held my own in the live games (and truthfully, if you go to the Taj on a Saturday Night, the 5-10 game is no more difficult than the average $2-4 game any given night on UB). Im right there with you Schuster. Hang in there. | ||
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| Re: Rough night!, 4 POKER, 11. Sep 2003 21:50 | ||
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| Hey Lee, The most important thing you have to have (along with bankroll) when taking "a shot" at a higher limit is, that you'll feel comfortable with that limit (regardless of the limit it may be) so you'll be able to play with confidence;.....the same confidence that you possessed in your usual limit of choice. 'The confidence that allows you to make clear decisions, and ones that can be used effectively against different types of opponents. I remember when I went from playing $5-10 to $10-20 at the Taj, and the first time I played, I thought that everyone was just 'makin' moves' against me because they were betting so much money! Isn't that silly....of course they were betting 20 and 40 dollars, the limits WERE $10-20! LOL. But ya know what Lee?.....that type of (crazy, yet understandable) mindset will pass because the more you play at a certain limit, and play in the type of games that best suit your style, you yourself will eventually feel good about being there as well. If you pick your spots wisely and chose to play against weaker opponents.........as long as your bankroll will not suffer too much from a string of a few bad sessions, so you can still feel (emotionally) in control for when you play your *next* session at that limit.....then you'll be fine. That's how I feel about it anyway. Hang in there Lee and play to win......always! (what I mean is)......just play your best!!! Dave | ||
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| Re: Rough night!, NiceFella, 18. Sep 2003 15:10 | ||
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| What an excellent post! Very well said, and I can empathize completely. I play mostly in B&M games, so this advice might not be useful to you: whenever I take a stab at a higher limit table, the most important thing is the quality of the opponents. Because I recognize almost everyone at my local card room, I know if the players at the higher-limit table are any good or not. I never swim with the sharks, only the guppies. I need whatever edge of confidence I can get. One of the things I have observed about players who are much better than I am is that they are always playing more straightforwardly than I think. I always suspect that they are putting the moves on me (especially because I am so tight), but sure enough, they are usually just doing what the book says to do. My fear of getting outplayed leads to me doing what the book says NOT to do. Some players will also advertise it when they have bluffed you, making you even more paranoid. It can be very tough to let go of your ego in this situation. Winning poker is a battle of making the fewest mistakes. Excellent players beat good players because they make fewer mistakes, not because they are constantly running tricky moves. Yes, there's a lot more theft going on as you move up in levels, but pot odds are still pot odds. Solid, fundamental book play is still the best strategy -- the difference at a higher limit game is that now more people are playing "correctly". Players who are constantly bluffing and raising with weak hands will ultimately pay the price, so you can't constantly be afraid of this. When I'm in doubt on the flop or the turn, I raise or fold. When an aggressive player bets out on the flop, it's easy to call, call, call all the way because you're not sure what's going on. But if you change your mindset to raise, raise, raise you'll find a world of joy -- you get to drive, and the other player has to start guessing. You'll find out right away whether you should fold or continue playing, you'll win a few pots you might not have, and players will be less inclined to mess with you. On the other hand, keep in mind that 5/10 is still very low limit poker in the big scheme, and few poker rock stars are playing there. Don't be afraid, grasshopper! | ||
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