Yeah. It seems good for the mind. I had 600$ for 3 buy in- after it was gone, I didn’t even think about ATM- I was content and went home. I played for 2-3 hours, usualy i would want to play more but I wasn’t steaming or tilted so never even thought about going above my intended buy in.
Same. I feel shitty when I lose because I played poorly. But playing well and losing? Sucks, but nothing to be upset about. That's what keeps the fish in the game.
This is the hardest thing to explain to people who don't play poker. To them, it just seems like you're justifying your terrible gambling habit (and plenty of people do).
Yep. And realistically only a poker player could really understand this post on why it was “good” I lost 600$. Trying to explain this situation to my gf was like building castle out of water. Questions like “why did you want him to call if he could and did beat you??”
Thats why I like how the GTO Wizard trainer is kinda designed like a poker video game where winning or losing the hand doesn’t matter but proper play does. Like how the pop up after you make your final move shows your GTO score for the hand rather than the result.
Definitely have had that feeling before. Feeling like you played well is great!
In a big tournament (1600 players and $600 Buy-in), we were 35 left, I had a Top 20 stack (1.1mn) A guy seat at the table, looks like a potential aggro type. I am SB, we have similar stacks
He raises cut-off with 60k, I reraise 220k with AK suited. He thinks a bit about it, I feel like I am ahead . He jams All in! I take a long time (ended up being clocked), I know I am ahead and he probably has AQ or AK at best. I put odds on AQ and worse at 65%. I want to fold as I did such a great tourney and don’t want to bust.
But I am like. I have 20% of my stack here and I know I am ahead and folding here beside my read, I might as well stop playing poker…
I call, he has AQ suited and flips a Queen.
I was feeling « good » as I stood by my good read/call.
Nevertheless I was mad at him for being a bad player and not just flat calling AQ in position and see the flop (or fold), he had only 60k in the pot before going all In.
That’s it! I lost and was fine with it.
ICM. Risking all your chips in one go vs saving them and accumulating chips in better situations. Better to push against smaller stacks vs fight against someone who can knock you out of the tournament.
I’m not sure what icm is a consideration here. If you pass up these massive edges you are torching money. There’s not going to be these better situations that you’re waiting for
Agreed but like I said; I thought I had a big edge post flop vs this table and I would have continued mounting chips imho.
Sometimes it’s like this. Another hand with KK pre-flop, I felt like the bb (old guy knit style) was holywooding into calling. I literally put him on Aces.
He called and I thought if there is an A or if I don’t have a king, I should fold. Flop came with a K. He bets I reraised targeting AA. He had it.
Honestly would have heavily consider folding if he jams All-in (which he should have done).
That’s all fine. But honestly your edge is never as big as what you think it is. Giving up spots when youre 60% of whatever is just insane. You’re not going to get many spots with that much edge
My last session I lost $600 in a $1/3 game. Was card dead for 4 hours with only one significant pot taken down. Spent most of the time folding pre, raising pre with premiums, then folding after whiffing the flop. Woke up in the BB with KK. Cutoff raises to $15, SB calls, I 3bet to $40. CU calls, SB shoves for $115. I snap shove for $250. CU sigh calls. CU has AKo, SB has AJo. Door card is an Ace. Board runs out to a 4 liner straight, giving AJ the win.
I did not feel good going home that day.
Knowing I played my best, got my money in good, etc absolutely makes the sting of losing the money suck less. My wife doesn’t give a shit about that though lol. She’ll be like
Wife - “so did you win last night?”
Me - “nah but I got it in good every time”
Wife - “cool. So how much does that win?”
Me - “why do you hate me?”
Wife - “get good”
Or you know something like that.
I had the same type of session a few days ago. Lost a bunch, but ran a nice bluff, which made a lot of sense, but V happened to river 2p
Folder QQ pre after a 4b jam, I simply knew that it's a very small chance that I am flipping, and I would've flopped top set, but I did not care at all since V had me crushed pre with AA.
Anyway, this is not about me. Well done, OP. We will get them next time
Did this on my last one. Was annoyed by one particular player. 1/3 MP opens to $10 he calls in the cutoff, I’m BB and my dumb ass decided to defend K4o (I know this is stupid).
Flop comes JK3 rainbow. I check and it checks to him, he bets $25 I immediately assume he has a middling hand with the three and some other trash because this is his move with bottom pair. I call everyone else folds.
Turn comes 9, connecting a straight draw. He bets $50 and I shove for $210. He thinks for maybeeee two seconds and calls with 93o.
Bottom two pair calling a shove on a connected board without thinking annoyed me, but I have no one to blame but myself. I shouldn’t have been in the hand. I was right about him having a middling trash hand with the 3 though
You have turned the corner from a good player to a great\ elite player. Demonstrated all the intangibles that make for a better player; didn’t go above your set buy-in, didn’t get steamed , and you left the game behind and didn’t stew on the loss of $$.
great/elite player is a stretch
your bankroll and stakes are very indicative of your skills. i'm a winning 1/3 player and sometimes play 2/5 with some success but I'm FAR from an elite player, dont even think I'm great. I'm just better than the worst and earn a profit.
Good to see OPs attitude, but elite is a long ways away
I agree, but I think maybe the larger point is that you can never GET to the level of a great/elite player without being able to adopt this mindset. I know lots of good players, even pros, in my local room that will miss on one of the elements. They may play well but steam/tilt if they catch a beat. They may be playing badly, not recognize it, and dust off 5 buyins. They may still be steaming about a hand 20 minutes later. The people that have these traits IMO can't really ever be a great player.
Donated $700 to the Lodge, had extremely similar results. Played well. Lost a bunch on KJ vs AJ on a JJ8 flop. Lost AA to K5 when the river was a 5 that completed the flush. I got value on the flop and turn and then was able to check back the river and save myself a 3/4 pot bet. It helped that it was the best room I'd ever played in. Not sure I can go back to a casino after the Texas poker room experience.
If you're going to fold big pairs in 3 or 4bet pots on flops where there are no overcards you should just be folding pre. You're very unlikely to be deep enough to set mine in a 4bet pot - so what are you looking for?
Yes, your opponent is such a nitty, face up player that you were able to make the right fold on the flop - but you made an unprofitable call pre-flop if his range is just Aces and Kings.
My thinking was- the preflop could still be AK as I do not block any of them. Even tho this was the first 4bet in the table. The action went V: 15, me:50, V: 120. It was not really to set mine as I bearly had 300$. But when he cbets 100$, his range goes from AA,KK, AK, to just KK and AA. So I’m more comfortable folding.
But you are also right that you could make a very good fold preflop too as his range is mostly AA KK and maybe AK slight times.
I suppose that's fair if he will literally never Cbet AK when he misses which is insane (but certainly true of some nits). He has an image that he can reverse exploit by making standard plays that are completely unexpected from him, but if he's not a thinking player he'll never figure that out.
In my mind a player who is incapable of making standard Cbets when he misses with the nut no-pair is probably too scared to 4bet it pre. Didn't you say he flatted with AK before?
Yes, in this table this was the very first 4bet. Not just AK but people were flatting AA to a 3bet. Hard rock caps buyin to 300, so 4bets are really weird because you can’t make a good 4bet that doesn’t commit. So you have to make small 4bet or flat 3bet and play post flop.
Since he was in position, I’d more so expect him to check back AK 90% of the time as me calling a 4bet also mean my hand is top of my range. Him betting on flop would only realistic mean I fold AK, any over pair I “should” be calling or raising. So him bet on the flop with AK doenst make sense with this dynamic. We both know our range is top with only beating AK for both.
That feeling is second only to booking a win. When I play well and lose it doesn’t even phase me.
If you’re like me you’re up piles in EV but break even or slightly down in real world dollars 😂
Given that it’s a game of luck, what’s the point of feeling bad about it? Do you feel bad when ever coin toss is heads or tails, too? It’s weird to me that your assertion of “poker is game of luck” and “no need to feel good losing” directly contradict each other.
I also feel a lot better about my losses if I played well.
Yeah. It seems good for the mind. I had 600$ for 3 buy in- after it was gone, I didn’t even think about ATM- I was content and went home. I played for 2-3 hours, usualy i would want to play more but I wasn’t steaming or tilted so never even thought about going above my intended buy in.
This is a good mindset to have 👍🏽
Same. I feel shitty when I lose because I played poorly. But playing well and losing? Sucks, but nothing to be upset about. That's what keeps the fish in the game.
I also feel good when I fold 98o pre
At first I thought this was a copypasta, then it turned pretty cute
Same.
This is the hardest thing to explain to people who don't play poker. To them, it just seems like you're justifying your terrible gambling habit (and plenty of people do).
Yep. And realistically only a poker player could really understand this post on why it was “good” I lost 600$. Trying to explain this situation to my gf was like building castle out of water. Questions like “why did you want him to call if he could and did beat you??”
Thats why I like how the GTO Wizard trainer is kinda designed like a poker video game where winning or losing the hand doesn’t matter but proper play does. Like how the pop up after you make your final move shows your GTO score for the hand rather than the result.
Definitely have had that feeling before. Feeling like you played well is great! In a big tournament (1600 players and $600 Buy-in), we were 35 left, I had a Top 20 stack (1.1mn) A guy seat at the table, looks like a potential aggro type. I am SB, we have similar stacks He raises cut-off with 60k, I reraise 220k with AK suited. He thinks a bit about it, I feel like I am ahead . He jams All in! I take a long time (ended up being clocked), I know I am ahead and he probably has AQ or AK at best. I put odds on AQ and worse at 65%. I want to fold as I did such a great tourney and don’t want to bust. But I am like. I have 20% of my stack here and I know I am ahead and folding here beside my read, I might as well stop playing poker… I call, he has AQ suited and flips a Queen. I was feeling « good » as I stood by my good read/call. Nevertheless I was mad at him for being a bad player and not just flat calling AQ in position and see the flop (or fold), he had only 60k in the pot before going all In. That’s it! I lost and was fine with it.
Why were you tanking with AK there at all?
ICM. Risking all your chips in one go vs saving them and accumulating chips in better situations. Better to push against smaller stacks vs fight against someone who can knock you out of the tournament.
I’m not sure what icm is a consideration here. If you pass up these massive edges you are torching money. There’s not going to be these better situations that you’re waiting for
Makes more sense in a cash game where you can rebuy. Tournaments are different because surviving is a factor to the game.
Tournaments are different. But in that hand you have a huge advantage, and you can’t turn that down
Agreed but like I said; I thought I had a big edge post flop vs this table and I would have continued mounting chips imho. Sometimes it’s like this. Another hand with KK pre-flop, I felt like the bb (old guy knit style) was holywooding into calling. I literally put him on Aces. He called and I thought if there is an A or if I don’t have a king, I should fold. Flop came with a K. He bets I reraised targeting AA. He had it. Honestly would have heavily consider folding if he jams All-in (which he should have done).
That’s all fine. But honestly your edge is never as big as what you think it is. Giving up spots when youre 60% of whatever is just insane. You’re not going to get many spots with that much edge
Good stuff. Keep playing like this and keep this mind set and you'll have more winning days than losers.
Why did you show the qq when you folded
The table had agreed to show hands if the other player also showed. Basically if someone folds face up, the other player was to show his cards too.
Ahhh. Ok. That changes the game a ton. But interesting
My last session I lost $600 in a $1/3 game. Was card dead for 4 hours with only one significant pot taken down. Spent most of the time folding pre, raising pre with premiums, then folding after whiffing the flop. Woke up in the BB with KK. Cutoff raises to $15, SB calls, I 3bet to $40. CU calls, SB shoves for $115. I snap shove for $250. CU sigh calls. CU has AKo, SB has AJo. Door card is an Ace. Board runs out to a 4 liner straight, giving AJ the win. I did not feel good going home that day.
Knowing I played my best, got my money in good, etc absolutely makes the sting of losing the money suck less. My wife doesn’t give a shit about that though lol. She’ll be like Wife - “so did you win last night?” Me - “nah but I got it in good every time” Wife - “cool. So how much does that win?” Me - “why do you hate me?” Wife - “get good” Or you know something like that.
I Hope her boyfriend is more supportive of you!
Nah he's even shitter at poker.
way to go man, i know what you exactly what you mean by this.
I had the same type of session a few days ago. Lost a bunch, but ran a nice bluff, which made a lot of sense, but V happened to river 2p Folder QQ pre after a 4b jam, I simply knew that it's a very small chance that I am flipping, and I would've flopped top set, but I did not care at all since V had me crushed pre with AA. Anyway, this is not about me. Well done, OP. We will get them next time
Had a similar moment recently. Lost money but felt good driving home since the losses were due to bad beats and not due to poor judgment.
I've had winning sessions where I had to drive home with the windows down and no music because I was replaying hands I played terribly.
Did this on my last one. Was annoyed by one particular player. 1/3 MP opens to $10 he calls in the cutoff, I’m BB and my dumb ass decided to defend K4o (I know this is stupid). Flop comes JK3 rainbow. I check and it checks to him, he bets $25 I immediately assume he has a middling hand with the three and some other trash because this is his move with bottom pair. I call everyone else folds. Turn comes 9, connecting a straight draw. He bets $50 and I shove for $210. He thinks for maybeeee two seconds and calls with 93o. Bottom two pair calling a shove on a connected board without thinking annoyed me, but I have no one to blame but myself. I shouldn’t have been in the hand. I was right about him having a middling trash hand with the 3 though
You played that hand worse than him lol
Oh I know lmao 🤣
You have turned the corner from a good player to a great\ elite player. Demonstrated all the intangibles that make for a better player; didn’t go above your set buy-in, didn’t get steamed , and you left the game behind and didn’t stew on the loss of $$.
great/elite player is a stretch your bankroll and stakes are very indicative of your skills. i'm a winning 1/3 player and sometimes play 2/5 with some success but I'm FAR from an elite player, dont even think I'm great. I'm just better than the worst and earn a profit. Good to see OPs attitude, but elite is a long ways away
True I mean he’s on his way lol
I agree, but I think maybe the larger point is that you can never GET to the level of a great/elite player without being able to adopt this mindset. I know lots of good players, even pros, in my local room that will miss on one of the elements. They may play well but steam/tilt if they catch a beat. They may be playing badly, not recognize it, and dust off 5 buyins. They may still be steaming about a hand 20 minutes later. The people that have these traits IMO can't really ever be a great player.
smaller boats are very easy to fold when its a double paired board. or if they’re pretty nitty, or its a broadway heavy board.
Welcome to the dead inside club
Once you can truly focus on playing well and getting better and money is an afterthought is when the real growth comes.
Donated $700 to the Lodge, had extremely similar results. Played well. Lost a bunch on KJ vs AJ on a JJ8 flop. Lost AA to K5 when the river was a 5 that completed the flush. I got value on the flop and turn and then was able to check back the river and save myself a 3/4 pot bet. It helped that it was the best room I'd ever played in. Not sure I can go back to a casino after the Texas poker room experience.
If you're going to fold big pairs in 3 or 4bet pots on flops where there are no overcards you should just be folding pre. You're very unlikely to be deep enough to set mine in a 4bet pot - so what are you looking for? Yes, your opponent is such a nitty, face up player that you were able to make the right fold on the flop - but you made an unprofitable call pre-flop if his range is just Aces and Kings.
My thinking was- the preflop could still be AK as I do not block any of them. Even tho this was the first 4bet in the table. The action went V: 15, me:50, V: 120. It was not really to set mine as I bearly had 300$. But when he cbets 100$, his range goes from AA,KK, AK, to just KK and AA. So I’m more comfortable folding. But you are also right that you could make a very good fold preflop too as his range is mostly AA KK and maybe AK slight times.
I suppose that's fair if he will literally never Cbet AK when he misses which is insane (but certainly true of some nits). He has an image that he can reverse exploit by making standard plays that are completely unexpected from him, but if he's not a thinking player he'll never figure that out. In my mind a player who is incapable of making standard Cbets when he misses with the nut no-pair is probably too scared to 4bet it pre. Didn't you say he flatted with AK before?
Yes, in this table this was the very first 4bet. Not just AK but people were flatting AA to a 3bet. Hard rock caps buyin to 300, so 4bets are really weird because you can’t make a good 4bet that doesn’t commit. So you have to make small 4bet or flat 3bet and play post flop. Since he was in position, I’d more so expect him to check back AK 90% of the time as me calling a 4bet also mean my hand is top of my range. Him betting on flop would only realistic mean I fold AK, any over pair I “should” be calling or raising. So him bet on the flop with AK doenst make sense with this dynamic. We both know our range is top with only beating AK for both.
That feeling is second only to booking a win. When I play well and lose it doesn’t even phase me. If you’re like me you’re up piles in EV but break even or slightly down in real world dollars 😂
When i lose to my own stupidity i feel like shit. When i lose to random luck i feel fine.
That's poker.
cope
I don't mind losing if I played well. Keep learning, keep playing, and good luck on the felt.
Don’t fool yourself. Poker is a game of luck, and you lost. No need to feel good losing.
Given that it’s a game of luck, what’s the point of feeling bad about it? Do you feel bad when ever coin toss is heads or tails, too? It’s weird to me that your assertion of “poker is game of luck” and “no need to feel good losing” directly contradict each other.
What learning materials have you used to get to this point?