Hi All,

Ive been playing a strategy a I think I know where Im going wrong.

I play tight, no marginal hands.

I try to keep the pots small in NLHE,

I dont play out of position.

I think Im doin ok at reading the other guy.

My problem is Im waiting so long for a good hand when it comes it gets frustrating not to hit. From this I do all my losing. I might have pocket aces or AK suited and I raise accordingly, but when the flop comes out poor for me, it always seems that the other bloke will have the straight draw, or the flush at the exact time I have AA etc. Then I find it hard to lay it down as it happens so frequently. Lately I have been gtting done only through these good hands gone bad.

How does everyone be patient enough to fold against an outside chance (ie river flush etc)????

Is the solution to fold or to be more aggressive early on in the betting ie bigger raise preflop / flop / turn? when I think they have the str8 draw or flush draw??

cheers

The first thing you have to realize is that, most of the time, you are not playing your hand. You are playing the other player.

People will catch on to your strategy real quick and exploit it for a profit. The main things to consider on each hand is not only what you're holding or position (although they are important), but how many other players have called already.

You dont need the nuts to win a hand. Sometimes a continuation bet will push people to fold a draw or middle/low pair.

My suggestion is to maybe loosen up your game a bit, but be cautious to raises and extremely cautious to re-raises.

Hope this helps.



http://pokernaut.blogspot.com/

I too used to play like this and would become extremely frustrated once I could not catch, getting beat by these marginal hands. Try going to a site like Dragthebar.com and do a free trial membership. You get full access to their site for a week for free as long as you cancel before the week is up. After watching videos that pertain to my limits and game types, I have a new look at how profitable players play and although I do not follow their plays exactly 100% of the time, they can give you a better idea of how to play from different positions.
Like I said, I use to play exactly like you and would become extremely frustrated, so give the videos a try and see how things change.

Originally Posted by o0thenerd0o

The first thing you have to realize is that, most of the time, you are not playing your hand. You are playing the other player.

People will catch on to your strategy real quick and exploit it for a profit. The main things to consider on each hand is not only what you're holding or position (although they are important), but how many other players have called already.

You dont need the nuts to win a hand. Sometimes a continuation bet will push people to fold a draw or middle/low pair.

My suggestion is to maybe loosen up your game a bit, but be cautious to raises and extremely cautious to re-raises.

Hope this helps.



http://pokernaut.blogspot.com/

I was just about to suggest this , lol ...
I aggree with the :loosening up" idea ....expand your range of hands
connectors/semi-connectors/suited-nonsuited/any-high-card with suited/
etc....
but imo most of the way we play is determined by the table(opponents)
if the table is loose,maybe tighten up a bit, if its tight then loosen up a bit,
You get the idea, format is also a large factor in how one plays...so
consider the implications all the while every hand ....
also try and get a sense of the players in general, which are loose
which are tight, which like bluffing plays ,which are solid but loose,
etc... and all this time try to betray your style of play ...

I give an example , I'm quite a tight player generally , however in an
easier format (say cash game with 50bb+) I can easily mix up my
play , even to the point of "investment bluffing" ...lol just made it up
basically its a bluff play which the whole intent is to be called or pushed
of the hand = and lose ...intersperse this play with conventional raises
and check raises (with a made hand) and the table should fail to place
your style accurately ... ha ha ha poker is really fun :-)

One thing you can do to ease the boredom is add more tables. Be careful with this though, add tables one at a time over a long period so you know you are playing well.

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to me it depends on who ur betting against. I generally play live with the same people so I pretty much know how they play and what kinds of hands capable to playing with. I generally have better luck pulling off a bluff against of aggressive bettor with a wide range of hands. The tight people generally have top pair good kickers and close to the nuts if they're calling big raises from ya.

If your not sure about the hand you should just fold. Makes it easier

Agreed with darkxsagex make it simpler and easier.

I'm new to poker and I'm still learning, but when I first started playing I played the same, waitinh and waiting on high cards. And it seemed when I did get the cards, they never made the river. So I tried something else. In the midst of waiting, play a hand here and there. Fold fold fold, play. Fold fold fold play. It helps you stay in the game and actually gives you a chance at winning a hand with low cards without loosing a ton of money, so as long as your mostly folding and not playing all these hands. Also I like to use my big and small blinds as a chance to play my small hands. Dunno, sitting and waiting on K's and A's causes bad things. I play a few hands here and there as I'm waiting, and sometimes the river brings strength to those hands.
Just don't loose a lot of money with these hands. They are just an option as you patiently wait for what you want.

Go read Daniel Negraneu's small ball poker method. It may help relax you and give you a perspective about surviving rather than trying to make a million dollars.