OT: I need a poker hug

[kingnebwsu]

This is a mixture of me needing a poker morale boost and also some bad beat stories. I come to my fellow FOFC'ers because you're the only people who I can (sadly) talk poker with.

I play a moderate amount of online poker (mostly $5 NL sit&go's) and I've been in a terrible rut for about 2 months. I was up over $80 at one point, now I'm only up $11. I have made some poor choices, but I've also been decimated in my last 2 sit&go's by hands I had dominated pre-flop (I know that's poker).

Recent sequence of events:

In my last home game (a week ago) my QQ got busted by QJ when he flopped and rivered a J. I pushed all-in pre-flop and he was kinda short-stacked. He busted me out later saying "I knew I'd get you!" Things like this make me chuckle, cuz I know I played better than him, but my stack happened to get destroyed by crappy cards. I didn't even flinch when the J came on the river, I just chuckled and said "good hand." I've worked really hard to be a good sport or something. I just took it in stride, placed 3rd/8 and got my money back. Overall it was a decent night, because I didn't lose any money. That pot was for 45% of the total chips though.

Online (last night) I had KK and raised 4x the BB and the BB called. Flop was JJ3. I bet the pot and he pushed all-in. My read on this guy was he slow-played big hands and overbet small hands. I thought for a while and called, and he showed KJ. Again I was like 89% pre-flop, but had a nasty flop get me. I think it was my mistake calling his all-in. That is the one major flaw I've been working on...making the "big" laydown. Where I am as a poker player, I wasn't ready to make that kind of fold...and I paid for it. It sucks cuz I finished 4th, just out of the money. I played everything right, except for calling his all-in. I was maybe 70% sure he was bluffing. I was wrong.

Online (tonight) I had KK and was 5th/5 at a S&G. I raised 4x BB and got 2 callers. Flop was 843 with 2 diamonds. I had 1100 and pot was 1300, so I pushed all-in. Guy in the BB called with K8 of diamonds. He hit his flush on the river. Again, I was like 88% pre-flop, but got cracked by a dominated hand. I played everything right and still lost. That's poker though :)

If you made it this far, congrats ;) I seriously have gotten a lot better about my "bad beat" complaints. I'm venting right now cuz I'm in a bit of a rut online. In the home game I've been attending, I've been kicking ass. Won the two before last week, where I broke even. Me being up $110 there overall makes up for my recent online slide.

Any tips on my ranting?

Did I make a poor choice calling the all-in (from story #2) with the board of JJ3?

How do you handle "bad beats"?

Who shot J.R.?

How long was your worst poker slide, and when did you break out of it?

Don't read this as me bitching about crappy cards or anything...I just need a little boost to help me snap out of my funk. I read all the poker threads on here and any advice from you guys is appreciated. Thanks in advance :)

[Vince]

*Hugs kingnebwsu*

It's rough. I still get irritated from time to time when someone tells me they "just had a feeling, so I called your pre-flop all in with 94 offsuit to bust up your pocket Aces."

I totally shouldn't, because that's exactly the sort of play I want my opponents to make...but it's still frustrating as hell.

[Vince]

As for the JJ3 flop...

"Even a maniac gets dealt AA sometimes." Sounds like you had a pretty good read, but got burned. I think that his call of the pre-flop bet indicated he had at least face cards or a mediocre pocket pair -- I probably would have run away from an all-in bet over the top of my opening bet on that flop.

A lot depends upon stack size at the time, and how late in the tournament it was.

[Maple Leafs]

Doing a good job of laying down big hands at low levels online is almost impossible. You have some many people betting aggressively with weaker hands that you're in a tough spot -- if you push, he may have you beat, if you don't you may be giving up big pots where you hold the best hand.

[Subby]

This is a mixture of me needing a poker morale boost and also some bad beat stories. Stop focusing on results. Seriously - it is detrimental to your play. Focus on making good decisions. Pretend you are being paid to play poker based on your decision-making and not on who wins what hand.

AA loses to 72o heads up 11 times out of 100. Eleven times!

Have you read John Feeney's Inside the Poker Mind (http://http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/1880685264/qid=1128000461/sr=8-1/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-4576221-4992760?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)? Read it. And make a commitment to stop posting bad beats. No one gives a shit and I mean that in the most empathetic and caring way possible.

[Mustang]

When I'm on the other end of a bad beat, I think about what I could have done different to not put myself in that position or what I could have done to minimize any loses... On some hands you just lose.. you played it right, your opponent played it correctly and it worked out for them... *shrug*

Just realize that for every bad beat you take, you will return the favor at some time but, no one ever talks about the bad beats they deliver...

[kingnebwsu]

At my last poker home game, I pushed all-in short stacked with A6 and he had AJ. I hit a 7-high straight on the river. That was a bad beat I delivered, even though the pot was super-tiny compared to the one I had just lost. That's one I delivered right after I had one delievered to me ;)

Big laydowns are tough to do at low levels online. Sometimes (not in a while) I made what I thought was a crying call, then he flipped over his hand and I saw like 4th pair!!! It's like...wtf. I started laughing and take down the pots. More recently though, I've made a big call and they've turned over a huge hand compared to me.

Sorry if I came across as whining about my bad beats, as that was not my intention. Was just looking for some support to help me get through my tough time I'm in right now :)

Thanks for the book recommendation Subby, I'll put it on my list. I just bought Mike Caro's book of Poker Tells and Sklansky's Theory of Poker. I've already read the latter, but the former is actually kinda interesting. Both are highly recommended from me (a mediocre amateur).

I need to focus on the play more, which is something I've been trying to do lately (and believe it or not, I'm doing a better job at it). It's just tough to focus NOT on results when I'm in a rut (as far as winnings go). I made the right play at the home game pushing all-in with QQ vs his QJ. I made a questionable play calling his all-in with KK after the JJ3 flop. I made the right play pushing after a crap flop with KK. He hit his flush on the river, which happens. I DID make the right play, and him calling was the wrong play, as the pot odds didn't quite dictate a call. So I guess I was not too unhappy with the call, even though it busted me. I'd rather he have folded, as you'd rather avoid the chance to be eliminated altogether. His call did make whoever won the pot the new chip leader...it was just him this time.

Thanks for listening to me bitch and any further thoughts are appreciated :)

[lytic]

My K high straight flush lost to a Royal flush last night... that sucked.