I never knew that poker players were all homosexual...
That could be the reason my ass got raped so hard in Vegas... maybe they are bi...
Regardless, I am back early from Vegas. Yes, I went busto, well, partially busto.
The losses were the result of the standard combination of bad luck, bad timing, and bad play. I'll give an example of each:
Bad Luck: On my very first hand of 2/5 NL (no joke), I called a modest raise with 88 and saw the flop 4 ways. J84 rainbow flop. I bet out, get raised, I push, they call and have JJ and I'm down a buyin.
Bad Timing: A sick drunken mess has been raising the shit out of every pot preflop, up to 10xBB. Since he is to my immediate right, I can isolate him easily if I can get a hand. I eventually get AK and he pops it to $20 (1/2NL) and I raise to $60. Behind me, obviously, is KK in the blinds, and they push for $100 more. Suck my dick.
Bad Play: I decide after playing for 8 hours with essentially the same people, that I have a decent read on them and figure I can make some moves (obviously a recipe for disaster right there). I get 77 on the button and observe the standard 8 limpers to me, this time I pop it big and get 2 callers, one being a ridiculous calling station. K44 rainbow flop, check, bet call. Ace turn, check, bet call. Fucking eh. I'm pretty sure he has a king and I think to myself, hey, maybe this calling station will fold to a big river bet since he has to at least put me on some sort of hand. I go all in to his river check and he thinks for a few minutes then calls with K7. NH sir. I'm a moron.
After losing a sickening amount of buyins, I came to a conclusion:
I Hate Poker.
I truly do. It's simply not fun for me anymore. One thing I know is that playing a solid ABC style of poker theoretically dominates live low stakes games. Now to play a solid ABC game takes an incredible amount of patience. This includes: folding every single hand for 2 hours straight, folding every time a calling station makes a bet, folding top pair 50% of the time. Now, I naturally have a lot of patience. I'm a pretty laid back person and I'm not naturally aggressive, so this style fits into my persona well. But even I have my limits.
If I want to play poker to have fun, I can, but I'll probably lose. And if I want to play to make money, it will be boring as shit but I'll have a slight chance of winning. Neither of these options are that appealing to me.
What has become fun for me in poker is trying to outplay or out think my opponents. Since I play against the same opponents often, I have a pretty good idea of how they play, and it is genuinely fun to try and out think them. However, in Vegas, players play so randomly and erratically that it is almost impossible to decipher what they are intending to do. Now, one could say that I simply lack the skills to read them - and I probably do to an extent - but my fundamental understanding of the game should naturally overcome this apparent shortcoming. I can't outplay someone who never considers for a fraction of a second what cards I may be holding. Then it just becomes a guessing game as to what cards they have and if I should value bet or not.
Only value betting is not fun. It's not fun for 2 reasons. One; you don't get hands worth value betting very often. And two; there is little thought behind it. You simply look at your cards and bet. Even though I'm not an action player, I enjoy bluffing occasionally. I like being able to put a sick read on someone and make them lay down a strong hand. I can do it online, but I had no chance in Vegas. They called me down every single time.
People simply don't consider what cards you could have. Once during a session I was getting a particularly shitty run of cards and actually folded every hand for 2 hours. I eventually got JJ UTG and raised to $15 (1/2 NL). I got 5 callers. And since I didn't hit a set, I had to fold to the action. I got to see some of the hands that called my initial raise. One was KTo (that was the first caller) and the second was A7s. So to recap, I folded every hand for 2 hours. I then raise huge from UNDER THE GUN and 5 people called me with hands I wouldn't wipe my own ass with. I then went on to fold for the rest of the day.
Perhaps my idea of ABC poker is too tight. Perhaps I need to see more flops. I don't know. Whatever the problem is, I need improvement. Actually what I really need is to talk to a solid winning player and determine what they do to beat the hedgehogs at the 1/2 NL game. All the players I saw who played like I did, seemingly never got anywhere either, as they usually had an average stack size as well. There has to be something I'm missing.
SO, yadda yadda yadda. Standard whine post from a loser who can't beat the low stakes. Whatever. I gotta get back playing SNGs and rebuild my losses and never play cash games again.
Regardless, I am back early from Vegas. Yes, I went busto, well, partially busto.
The losses were the result of the standard combination of bad luck, bad timing, and bad play. I'll give an example of each:
Bad Luck: On my very first hand of 2/5 NL (no joke), I called a modest raise with 88 and saw the flop 4 ways. J84 rainbow flop. I bet out, get raised, I push, they call and have JJ and I'm down a buyin.
Bad Timing: A sick drunken mess has been raising the shit out of every pot preflop, up to 10xBB. Since he is to my immediate right, I can isolate him easily if I can get a hand. I eventually get AK and he pops it to $20 (1/2NL) and I raise to $60. Behind me, obviously, is KK in the blinds, and they push for $100 more. Suck my dick.
Bad Play: I decide after playing for 8 hours with essentially the same people, that I have a decent read on them and figure I can make some moves (obviously a recipe for disaster right there). I get 77 on the button and observe the standard 8 limpers to me, this time I pop it big and get 2 callers, one being a ridiculous calling station. K44 rainbow flop, check, bet call. Ace turn, check, bet call. Fucking eh. I'm pretty sure he has a king and I think to myself, hey, maybe this calling station will fold to a big river bet since he has to at least put me on some sort of hand. I go all in to his river check and he thinks for a few minutes then calls with K7. NH sir. I'm a moron.
After losing a sickening amount of buyins, I came to a conclusion:
I Hate Poker.
I truly do. It's simply not fun for me anymore. One thing I know is that playing a solid ABC style of poker theoretically dominates live low stakes games. Now to play a solid ABC game takes an incredible amount of patience. This includes: folding every single hand for 2 hours straight, folding every time a calling station makes a bet, folding top pair 50% of the time. Now, I naturally have a lot of patience. I'm a pretty laid back person and I'm not naturally aggressive, so this style fits into my persona well. But even I have my limits.
If I want to play poker to have fun, I can, but I'll probably lose. And if I want to play to make money, it will be boring as shit but I'll have a slight chance of winning. Neither of these options are that appealing to me.
What has become fun for me in poker is trying to outplay or out think my opponents. Since I play against the same opponents often, I have a pretty good idea of how they play, and it is genuinely fun to try and out think them. However, in Vegas, players play so randomly and erratically that it is almost impossible to decipher what they are intending to do. Now, one could say that I simply lack the skills to read them - and I probably do to an extent - but my fundamental understanding of the game should naturally overcome this apparent shortcoming. I can't outplay someone who never considers for a fraction of a second what cards I may be holding. Then it just becomes a guessing game as to what cards they have and if I should value bet or not.
Only value betting is not fun. It's not fun for 2 reasons. One; you don't get hands worth value betting very often. And two; there is little thought behind it. You simply look at your cards and bet. Even though I'm not an action player, I enjoy bluffing occasionally. I like being able to put a sick read on someone and make them lay down a strong hand. I can do it online, but I had no chance in Vegas. They called me down every single time.
People simply don't consider what cards you could have. Once during a session I was getting a particularly shitty run of cards and actually folded every hand for 2 hours. I eventually got JJ UTG and raised to $15 (1/2 NL). I got 5 callers. And since I didn't hit a set, I had to fold to the action. I got to see some of the hands that called my initial raise. One was KTo (that was the first caller) and the second was A7s. So to recap, I folded every hand for 2 hours. I then raise huge from UNDER THE GUN and 5 people called me with hands I wouldn't wipe my own ass with. I then went on to fold for the rest of the day.
Perhaps my idea of ABC poker is too tight. Perhaps I need to see more flops. I don't know. Whatever the problem is, I need improvement. Actually what I really need is to talk to a solid winning player and determine what they do to beat the hedgehogs at the 1/2 NL game. All the players I saw who played like I did, seemingly never got anywhere either, as they usually had an average stack size as well. There has to be something I'm missing.
SO, yadda yadda yadda. Standard whine post from a loser who can't beat the low stakes. Whatever. I gotta get back playing SNGs and rebuild my losses and never play cash games again.
posted by RikkiDee at 12:13 AM
3 Comments:
Damn, sorry your trip went that way. I'm leaving for Vegas Sunday....hope mine goes a lil better :)
Where were you playing mostly? I go 3-4 times a year and play strictly 1-2NL $200. max buyin tables. I'm not a fan of the unlimited buyin rooms. MGM is my favourite but I was wondering if you tried Caesars, Mirage, Wynn, etc.
I grew up in London and your blog never fails to make me laugh.
Hope it turns around for you soon.
JC
hahahh DONT OVER PLAY AK IN POSITION!!!!, as for your shitty 200NL game, comon bro I can teach you how to own that shizzle. I mean since your playing with stations pf and post flop, your probably losing most of your money raising pre with good hands and missing the flop leading to a fold/bluff. you probably should have been limping more OOP with good hands and limping with suited connectors, sure you can wait for sets/flushes but you can make alot of money hitting wierd straighs and 2 low pairs, thats my advise take it or leave it.
and why didnt you play any MTT's???? you own that shit its your game, your the sng master
This trip I played exclusively at MGM, which I find is a pretty good place to play. Caesers is interesting because you can buy in for $500 at the 1/2 NL game, and the Wynn is unlimited as you probabbly know. Venetian is another interesting choice since you get comped out the ass for playing there (I think $3.5/hour).
I skipped out on MTT's since I was down so much so early in cash games that I had it in my mind that I had to dig myself out, and not "waste" any money playing tourneys.
I did play one tourney at the Sahara and got it all in on like the 4th hand with 7c9c on a 6c8cKd board and missed everything to some donk who couldn't lay down K9o and I wanted to cry.
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