A Wriggling, Struggling, Little Fish

Account: $351 Profit: $6

I have two poker accounts. One is a cash room account. There’s about $50 in there at the moment but I rarely use the account because the money in there is part of a bonus that I’ve got to gamble with twenty times over before I can cash it out. I’ve decided to remove it from the account total and only put it in when I actually use it.

As you can see, however, my main account is suffering some blows to the head at the moment. The number of reasons for it are numerous so here they are:

A really dry run of cards.

I’m going 20-30 hands at a time in some games not picking up a single playable hand. They are tend to be mediocre hands like K7s and A8o which I don’t fancy playing. On the switch side I do usually get to see the rocket or the cowboys during most games but never get paid off.

Not hitting the flop at all.

When I do get a semi decent hand like A 10 or pocket 8s the flop completely undoes me. I’ve found myself getting frustrated by this and just making continuation bets that then get raised or called.
Just had a typical example now. A9 in the small blind and it’s folded to me. I have 750 chips so I raise to 90. Big blind calls. Flop brings a 67J. He checks, and I decide to check because I’m lacking confidence and I feel he might have a Jack. The turn is a King. He bets and now I have to fold.
Very next hand I get A10s on the button. I play this more aggressive by raise and then betting on the flop even though I’ve missed it completely. He calls and then makes a big bet on the turn and I’m forced to fold. I played similar hands two different ways and neither seemed to work.

Finding the better hands under the gun, drawing hands in middle position, 92o on the button.

I’m getting the cards at completely the wrong time. Usually I would have the patience to fold, but it’s happening so much so recently that I find myself playing the cards because I’m bored or frustrated.

Calling with decent hands, getting a piece of the flop but then having to fold, losing large percentages of my stack.

Someone will raise and I make a call with good hands like KQs. The flop will give me a flush draw and I’m forced to call for about 15-20% of my stack, I miss on the turn and the other player puts me all in so I have to fold. I keep ending up with 600 chips after about 20 hands so I have to switch to all in mode.

Finding myself in pots with 6/7/8 players.

This is my fault I guess. I shouldn’t be calling with 56s in third position and hoping to flop the nuts. There’s no way I can bet at any pot with middle pair and seven others in the pot.

Being outdrawn almost all the time when I’m short on chips.

I’ve just had another example of this. I have JJ and raise it up quite a lot. The flop is 10 7 6. I bet and he raises me so I stick him all in figuring he’s bullying with top pair. I’m right but he has a flush draw and he hits it. With AK hands I will make big bets on the flop with a K and continue on through to the river only to get outdrawn by the other player’s rag card. I flopped a straight yesterday – the second nuts – and went all in against some who had flopped the top end straight. When I have lots of chips this isn’t happening but when I need to win the races and 60/40s I’m not. I just had A10 against A8 with two aces on the board and he hit his 8 on the river to prove the point.

Getting picked off when I make moves.

Of course, with the frustration of dry cards comes desperate moves. Sometimes I feel I have to make a move at a pot with absolutely nothing only to find the other raising. If I have a little something of the pot and produce a semi-bluff to try and see the next card the other players just dumps me all in.

Not playing with confidence and not playing my own game.

Because I’ve not been hitting the flops and I’ve found myself in pots with loads of people after the flop I’ve lost my aggressive edge. I’m not betting with middle pairs and I’m not making second bets after a flop bet has been called. This, I suppose, is the worst thing of all. Anyone can have the dry cards I’m having, but I should still be playing my own game.
Frustration has also seen me make silly calls. I should know better than to call an all in with top pair/top kicker but I have found myself doing this on a number of occasions. I believe that the reason have been able to go from $60 to $360 is because I’m patient and wait for the right times to move in and pick players off. That’s not happening at the moment.

Getting bored of the rooms I’m playing in.

For the past three or four months I’ve been playing in the cheapest 10 player rooms. The reason I like playing in them is because of the payout structure. Five people get paid so it’s easier to at least not lose money. My patient play works wonders in these rooms. I can usually cash simply by blinding through and then going aggressive afterwards. But because they’re the cheapest you get wild players in there making crazy bets that I can’t follow any more. I play to pick people off with good cards. Good cards are far more important at this level than they are in more expensive rooms. So I’m suffering due to lack of cards. Also I’m bored to 10 player rooms. They take ages to do (often an hour) and because there’s so many people in each pot to begin with it’s very hard to play your marginal hands. I’m desperate to get out of this comfort zone and play six handed tables. But the cheapest rooms are $12 and that’s just too much of a hike for me at the moment. Maybe I’ll have to look for a new poker room just to play in some cheaper six handed tables.

The feeling of just not playing well.

I’m not suffering massive suckouts, I’m no even losing a lot of money. Looking back on the past week of play I’m about level despite not playing well. But it’s the feeling that makes everything worse. I’m not enjoying my poker at the moment and I don’t feel as though I’m learning anything new about the game. In fact, I feel as though I’m forgetting stuff I knew. The moves that I thought were good are no longer working. I’ve almost forgotten what moves were good and what moves were bad now.

Poker, it’s an absolute mine-field, indeed, a mind-field. I feel as though I’m the verge of a blow up. Just got to try and keep things together.