Big Dreams

Just returned from a 5 month break from poker, mainly because I work and study fulltime and was struggling to get any games played.

I've watched some DC videos and read the books  - I've always felt that what media is out there, although good, struggles to deal with the level of play at the $3.50 SnG.

Players are so random and irrational, or they just don't understand the mechanics of the game properly. I've read a lot of advice on Blind stealing in the late  stages regarding push/fold philosophy and I really think that doesn't work in the micros - players are too apt to call with just about any hand. Small raises to pick off the blinds seems to work better.

After a recent losing streak before I stopped playing, I deciding to play how I felt was best, back when I was very profitable. Lots of min raises to steal blinds late stages, pushes only when holding a decent hand and avoiding pushing any two unless the player is 90% not going to call.

The strategy also included trying to outplay poorer players post-flop where I felt I had the advantage. Just played 4 games - two firsts and a  third.

I'll keep playing the style I find comfortable - for know - and see how the results compare to the 'forced' style I've played the last few hundred games.

I am finding it difficult to remain positive when my hands keep getting cracked, or I shove only to face AA.

I don't know if anyone has any advice, that would be appreciated.  Its making me really unhappy.

Even bad players get lucky :-(

Edit:

I just tilted off the last 2 SnGs. I'm having a break for a while from Poker. I keep get called with sh1tty hands and they just keep busting me. I appreciate its a push/fold game in the late stages, but sh1t I cannot win a shove when I am called. See my list I posted up last  - then add KK, KK, JJ and you'll get the picture.

I just got busted by 84o - I'm out, finished for poker for a few days.

Winning a bit more, and certainly getting a lot deeper thanks to AMTs vids.

I'm getting called wide though, even by regs. Most of the time my image is solid, they've no reason to believe I'm pushing bad hands. The following are hands I have been busted out with today, in order;

• 55 (from SB)
  
• KQs
• AKo (from SB)
• 54o (SB - appreciate this is loose, player was 0/0 and called with A3o)
• KQs (from SB)
• JQs (from SB)

All hands BBs 150+

There aren't even bad shoving hands, but people are peeling off calls with any K, any A, any broadway, any pair and on ocassion craziness like T5o. If I was constantly stealing every blind, yeh I get it. But I'm not.

It's getting frustrating 

I would have thought chances were that one of those would have held up (40%?). Ce la vie

Edit:

Add to my re-raise/call to UTG raiser at BB 100 who called my KK with A9o........ he spiked the Ace obviously.

TT busted by J9o and had a SB shove with K5o called by 84o and lost this too

And 88 by AQo

Got an essay due on Economics, so not really had much time with working full time also.

Blazed up 2 tables and kept it tight(er than usual). Stats were pretty much 0/0 early stages of each tourney as AMT said to only raise AA through JJ and limp/call to 1/15 of your stack with 22 - 10 for set mine value and I didn't get dealt any of those.

The tables were passive to all of my raises which were all late-mid/late position in the mid game. I was raising AKo, KQs and AQo in these spots. I gradually got more aggressive shoving regs I knew would fold virtually everytime with anyhand  - but I remembered not to do this incredibly often as to damage my table image.

I had a player raise me at least 75% of the time I was BB and he was B from BB 150 up. I managed not to re-raise with with (total) rubbish as he might peel off a call. Managed to snag about 1200 of him (600 twice) at BB200 where I re-stole loose-ish, but still above his range.

One of the players I was stealing on shoved me when I completed the SB on him (the one time I did this as I was either raise/fold). Next hand was KK, I suspected he may shove over the top of me again if I completed - so I limped, and he did, shoving 66 3 handed. BB called too with TT and I held up to win.

.........................

I have my Holdemanager set-up, but would really like to know how to filter it for SnGs. I was playing a reg and his stats read 18/11 - this initially miffed me until I realised it was his total stats for 500+ hands and not just that tourney. I know where to go to change this, I just don't know how.

Any advice would be welcome.

Best of luck at the tables,

Rossisboss

If a player will call a bet of 250 at BB 100 with 23s and c-bets 87% in position and 67% out, how the hell am I meant to put him on a hand on the flop?

I cannot beat the small stake players because I don't understand their logic. What is their logic? Their plays make absolutely no sense. Against regs I do okay, about bad players? Nothing.

Really frustrated

BTW, he bet out large with a flush draw, min bet a made flush, then bet large again. Yeh, the clue was the small bet.

FYI, he was randomly doing this type of bet/call action with A8o, no pair/draw. And I saw him showdown, so, so many hands with bottom pair, draws, overcards, etc

HU in 9 max $3.50 SnG, lost three re-raise shoves in a row, each where I had the best hand, ha ha.

I had worked out his range and re-raised the villain all-in knowing he would call each time. Got three calls -  

His A3o beating my AKs, his A4o beating my A9o and his KTo beating my ATo.

No justice :-)

Well, it's nice to cash anyway.

.........................

Also, this probably was a bad play - I'm in BB @ BB 200, UTG limps (75/25 and C-Bets 75). Flop comes Q82 - I check, he c-bets 200 into a 400 pot. I assumed from his stack this was his standard play and he had nothing, so I shove 980 and getted called with Q8o....... FFS. I know bad players love to check great made hands (AK on AK3 flop) so I took this as his attempt to steal - I mean he was c-betting 75% of flops - I thought the 25% he might have hit something and was concealing by checking.

Let me know how stupid I was here. Game was 5 handed, I had around 2k stack. I keep forgetting the role, no fancy play.

I recently installed this on my iPad and have to say that it is very slick and certainly a lot better than I was expecting.

I only two table SnGs at present, but you can move between tables effortlessly by swiping across the screen like you are turning the page of an iBook. 

The biggest drawback is that there are no hud options available that I know of, which is a shame as I used Holdem Manager at home.

For the present, I will use it sparingly, it was really a tool to use when I am away from home (away with work, etc).

Well, played a few games today in between trying to get an essay done for my Business Studies Degree (I work full time as an Engineer and do a degree at night). I'm finishing more consistently in 4/5 if I do not money, so I guess my early/mid game is getting tighter.  Had a couple of good pairs JJ/KK, etc between on the bubble by people calling with Ax.

Really struggling to adjust to the push/fold strategy that I've learnt about here in the videos and from books. It seems people call way, way too lighty. I mean, its not as if I'm shoving every time I am in position either, I believe my image is good. It feels that you shove on the BB twice to three times (every 3rd rotation or less say) and the fourth time they'll call wide.

I think I loss coin-flips most of the time and also run into better hands most of the time too. 

Any advice would be welcome.

Really feel like my game has improved since watching the first 3 AMT videos.

• Playing tighter, 
  
• Making better sized raises, 
  
• Not being scared to raise and play AK (been burned by K3, etc calls, so, so many times! Put me off playing these hands before the BB 100 level)
  

That being said I got trapped by a raise/folder who was constantly making 3x steals and folding to re-raises/shoves called my BB defense to a 3x raise with QQ to my K8s.

Also ran into AJs to my KQo shove on B on the bubble.

Shoved a steal to someone with a 50% steal stat with A5s in the BB and they turn over AQo, ha ha. Still not sure whether I should have folded - their stats seemed okay otherwise - 25/21. They had fought back from a small stack (which explains the 50% somewhat) and I assumed they were building on momentum.

Oh well, still playing, I'll post up picks of my biggest downswing later ;-)

I don't know whether I am a bad player or just unlucky (both?). Been playing for 3 years but barley better than break even play. At one point I made enough to move from $3 to $5 SnGs on Betfair, but since switching to Stars, just been breaking even - frustrating!

Read all of the books, understand position, pot odds, ICM (to an extent) but still cannot seem to crack the game. I'm not doing something right, that's for sure.

Joined DC to improve my game. Watched two videos so far.

We'll see how I pan out and I'll post from progress in the blog.

Graph so far;

Post me up some positive support.