Been up and down on ACR, it’s different than the 2000s Wild West. The stories of twoplustwo of the poker boom make me hate “pros” back then.
In "Confessions of a Winning Poker Player," Jack King said, "Few players recall big pots they have won, strange as it seems, but every player can remember with remarkable accuracy the outstanding tough beats of his career." It seems true to me, cause walking in here, I can hardly remember how I built my bankroll, but I can't stop thinking of how I lost it.
First time playing in a while. Jumped in a small bounty tourney that was $50+$25. 66 total entrants ended up chopping 4 ways for $433 each plus I won my entry in bounties. One of those runs where seemingly made nearly all the right moves. Got to about chip leader with 2 tables left and then get dealt KK under the gun. I min raise and get 4 bet all in by UTG +1. BB shoves and really had no clue how to play. After I call he shows J9 suited. Other guy had Aces. Crippled my stack to about 50k from 150. J9 actually hit his straight too. I get moved to another table and first hand at 4k/8k in big blind I get A3 suited and try to steal but guy wakes up with QQ Down to $11k in chips I go on a tear. Doubled up twice and then bluffed a guy that was in for half his stack to fold. Slow and steady built a monster stack. We really shouldn’t have chopped. Two smaller stacks were good players. Chip leader had me with about 550k to my 400k but he admittedly never plays and just kept waking up with monster hands. Still got 2nd place money but I just hate chopping. 1st place would have been $750ish. Not too mad. Quick 4 hours to make $500. Would do again.
Nice lil late night sesh in Columbus, OH, $400 buy in for 1/2 cashed out $783. Down early, kept grinding, cards came and a lady to my right kept feeding me chips. No awesome huge hands or anything, just felt like I mostly made the right plays all night long ...
Busted my online account (only a few dollars so no big deal) on ACR tonight. Nice combo of villains hitting sets against top pair or two pair (happened 3 times) and gutshot straight draws hitting as well (3 more of those). All you can do is laugh.
Need a pep talk poker bros. I’m on an ultimate bad luck streak. Haven’t had winning session in a while. I’ve been making the right reads and getting it in ahead vast majority of the time...just ending up on the losing side. Getting dealt good cards and missing flops constantly. My psyche is shot. Just not feeling confident in my play. I’m torn on if i should just ride it out or take an extended break. Or possibly drop down stakes so if I’m running bad the losses won’t sting as much. I’m going to have some dead time over the holidays so I can’t decide if I should stay away until the new year.
I'd drop down stakes and ride it out. As long as you can sit back and say you made the right play more often than not, eventually it'll turn. I go through the same shit at work. If I look up mid month and my numbers are down, I pull back and make sure I'm doing the same thing I always do. If I am, I know the numbers will eventually turn around. With cards, you're talking a small sample size. Shit happens. If Mike Trout has a rough 100 at bat stretch, does anyone freak? No, they know he'll hit. Just pull back and be honest with yourself. If you're making the right plays and your opponents are just getting slapped with the deck, eventually it'll turn back your way.
I agree. I could never do this professionally with all the emotional swings this game puts you through.
I just always try to keep this in context. It's not my profession and I am able to set a budget for myself when I do play. If I bust that for whatever reason (good play or not) I wont sweat it ...
Yea the sample sizes can be brutal. The hard part is being honest with yourself bc you can justify anything to yourself if you really want to. When I used to play several times a week, I'd seek out a couple guys I respected and played with regular and would ask their opinion of my play during a previous session. We knew each other well so they usually were able to remember the majority of the hands, which always amazed me. I have a hard time remembering all of my hands, much less hands I'm not involved in.
When I hit a streak like that I play online. Usually some lower limit MTTs. Between $10-$30 and usually bounties just for revenge. Low risk high reward and you see a ton more hands. I do find it helps me bring a different part of my game live again since it’s a completely different stragety. Also in live games I find myself not overplaying “good starting hands”. Change up your continuation bets at times. Where I play, people will fold to a min bet as much as a pot bet post flop if they miss. That’s one of my new plays. It’s entertaining watching people fold post flop to a min bet after calling a huge preflop raise.
As other user said, just be honest with your plays post-session. Go over the big pots you lost and ask yourself if you were +EV or not. If you were, you have nothing to be down about...those are just the breaks. Did you play scared? Getting it in good suggests not and you can never relent in these spots. If you think about protecting your stack in +EV spots too much, you are playing stakes above what you should be playing. Downswings are a real thing and they do suck. If you're getting dealt good hands and missing flops, what are your opponents calling you with? Why are they calling you? You should be raising and reraising with good cards relentlessly when possible (and with proper sizing to make your opponents respect you). Depending on where you play, you should probably take a break over the holiday. Tables are usually filled with good players/regulars during this time and it will be tougher to get easy wins, so it's a good time to take a break and think about your game and what you can do to improve.
Thanks for all the advice and talk. I’ve been regularly playing since the boom in the mid 2000’s and know the ups and downs. Just never been on a run like this. Just getting sucked out on constantly with the few exceptions of me chasing and not hitting. Aces full of queens getting beat to a straight flush gutterball on the turn, constant getting set against big poker pairs, etc. I have felt my bet sizing should have been different in various hands to avoid some of those. It’s all learning each session. Just going to ride it out and keep playing my game that I know will leave me up in the long run. Just hope I can get back in the upswing soon.
tigr2ndbase downsize that new floor plan and le you better catch that upswing with the new house...I vote for digital poker room instead of oversized walk in closet btw
Keep your head up! I am having a similar run at the sportsbook running into just insanely bad beats over the last few weeks. If you know you’re a good player, and it seems like you are, you have to fight that instinct to change what has worked for you for this long. Don’t chase, and dont play scared. Keep playing good cards and do your best not to piss off the gambling gods
I get that but moving up when you're doubting your game and most likely to not raise with confidence sounds like a nightmare to me. You're in a slump? BET MORE!!! Na man, not me.
Will say I am anticipating my first 2-5 experience after the holidays, hopefully via fantasy football winnings
You sound like someone who doesn't know when to hold them and perhaps even someone who doesn't know when to fold them. I get it, though. Sometimes the game gets to the point where you have to just walk away... if not run away.
Why are you trying to make it about me? This isn't about me at all. The guy literally came here questioning his game. I personally feel like moving up when you don't have confidence in your game is a recipe for disaster. You're already questioning your game and now you're playing bigger pots than you ever have? Yea I'm sure that will go well. He'll get run over quickly.
I think his biggest issue is it seems like he forgot you never count your money when you're sittin' at the table. There'll be time enough for countin' when the dealin's done. People forget that.
From my session a couple weeks ago in Columbus, guy to my right kept trying to pick on me cause I was "stuck" $200 (bought in for $400). I was like "dude I dont know what you're talking about. You're not stuck until you leave the table" (IMO). Accused me of trying to "make plays" and was all "I'll just wait to get you in a hand," which was humorous to me since he was on my right ... He ended up leaving after a couple lost hands (not to me) while I stayed around and doubled my stack to about $800
Threw some money on Ignition tonight. Within 30 mins get dealt aces on the button playing 1/2. I raise, small blind pops it up to $35, I come back over the top for $100, they shove and have m covered. Put in my remaining $135. AA vs QQ...Q on the flop. Man this is a terrible run. Entering a $50 tourney just to relax for a little.
Sorry for the online recommendation. I spread my money around and play multiple tables for the volume. Play premium starting hands. I could have given a referral for ignition. Damn
Ignition casino. Just google it and it will take you to the site. Ask NDfanPSUgrad for a referral code.
I’ve been on since the old bodog then bovada days. Always liked the interface. They took some features away but added others. I don’t play on line as much as I’m waiting for PA to legalize but I did cash in the thousandaire maker the other week after winning an entry with a $7 ticket. Cashed out and the check cleared. Can’t ask for much more. They did disconnect the sports betting from when it was bovada. It was always nice having everything in one place.
Maybe the upswing has started. Took my last $85 and sat down 1/2 on ignition. Finally had some hands hold up and won some flips. Logged off last night with $465 in my account.
All this poker talk I had to get out and play today. Show up to my home room. 1 fucking table. Waitlisted. I should have drove 15 more minutes to a better casino with more tables. Traffic is always a wildcard though. Will report back on later.
First hand at just opened table. I straddle. Small blind raise. Lost to pocket AA. Down 1/4 of my stack already.