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November 22, 2013
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Recently, I've been folding increasingly less. Opening more, 3 betting more, and folding less. To a certain extent it has worked; however, I think that my inability to fold recently is inhibiting my success. Part of the problem is that my hero calls have been reinforced by being correct at times. I was playing my best somewhere around 1.5 yrs to 2 months ago, when I felt very in tune with the table, and my results showed it. But in the last couple of months I just haven't been able to fold, even where I believe I was beat. I've been making up reasons not to fold rather than just doing what I knew to be correct. Part of the problem is that I feel like I am losing when I fold and I hate losing. In the back of my mind I realize that folding is really winning, that folding when beaten is a key element of any successful tournament run, but I ignore this part of my mind. It is due to unwarranted cockiness. I feel as if I SHOULD win; therefore, when I fold I feel as I was beaten somehow. I just can't get over this feeling that I have fallen out of harmony with the game. Has anyone experienced this sort of downswing and how did you combat it?
March 26, 2013
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I think this can happen to players if they are on a bit of a poor run (downswing). Sometimes you just try to make things happen and this can take various forms:
1) Start opening wider than optimal for the situation.
2) Becoming too aggressive.
3) Not folding when knowing full well that folding is the best decision.
4) Not being aggressive enough in some spots due to lack of confidence.
I'm sure there are loads more as well if I think long enough. The important thing is probably to take stock and identify where these things have crept into your game and plug them.
I hate losing as well. I played sports for many years and therefore losing is not something that has ever sat well with me but sometimes you just have to accept that part of any game is the fact that sometimes you will lose. Poker is probably worse than sports in that sense as you are not always beaten by a better player.
Maybe take a short break, look at situations where you feel you have made a poor decision and take some advice. Don't take this the wrong way, but I kind of get the impression in some of your posts that there is a bit of a “my way or the highway” kind of thing going on. All I am saying here is don't close your mind to adapting your game if a play is profitable. Your way may be best sometimes but sometimes not. The TT hand you posted some comments on is a good example of a play which every player I have spoken to say it is a 100% shove but your view was that calling was more +EV.
Most importantly in what you have written above is that you feel you SHOULD win. In MTTs that is going to destroy you mentally as wins are few and far between. Keep the focus on making good decisions, keep an open mind and just try to be the very best you can whilst accepting that sometimes it just doesn't work out. So long as when it doesn't work out it is not becuase of poor decision making creeping in then that is ok.
November 4, 2013
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I find myself doing the exact same thing from time to time… and when I do, i'll take a quick mental break and think about why I did that. What was my justification for going all hero call off and was the risk really worth the potential reward?
I have a hand in mind right now from Yesterday's Mill where I almost 3bet shoved a flop vs a guy because I just didn't believe him. I can't remember the exact flop, but I know it was draw heavy and all I had was A7 off suit, with not much for blocking potential. While it was perfectly reasonable that he could check raise this flop with something in his flatting pre range… I didn't believe him. However, shoving and being wrong would be disastrous. So I took 10 seconds out of my timebank, thought it through and found the fold that I knew was the correct play. I hated doing it. But I knew it was correct. I knew that I had an edge on the table, and that better spots would come later on where I could get those chips back and they'd bring their friends with them.
Part of my justification for when I do call off though, is that I feel I'm good enough to get the chips back, and this is really a bad leak. Sure, most of us here will have an edge vs a random table, but cards do matter to an extent. So while we do have edges, we can't always assume that afford us the ability to make mistakes and recover purely because of that edge.
November 22, 2013
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I appreciate the comments and you are correct in many of them. I believe that calling with AKo was a mistake, I just wanted to verify that with the community. In live people pretty much have what they are representing so if they go all-in, it's probably a fold even if looks like they missed given the board texture.
As to the 10-10 hand that you referenced, I am certain that 99% of poker players would simply shove. I probably would do the same honestly. However, I thought that the line the OP posted, one in which he called, was a creative one, and he got maximum value. I fully admit that sometimes I play the devil's advocate where if I stand up for a viewpoint I will continue to defend it even where I realize it has holes. But I also think that taking a line where most people wouldn't take that line is the only way to engage in rational discourse, get everything out in the open, and learn. I actually remember David Williams calling in a similar situation at the WPT Borgata poker open, the commentators said it was a jam or fold situation, but he actually got more value by calling. I think sometimes non-traditional lines sometimes confuse your opponents and sometimes it is just FPS….
As far as my downswing goes, I've been pretty ill the past couple of months, I didn't think that it would impact my play but in retrospect maybe it has. Not to use that as an excuse, but my focus has just been off. All of your advice above is good and I will take it. The way that I am feeling right now I will probably end up taking a month off, regain focus, and start up again after the holidays.
March 26, 2013
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If you have been unwell then that would definitely contribute as an additional factor. No harm in taking a break until after Xmas. I am doing exactly that myself after a bit of a downswing so understand how you feel. I'm getting to grips with the brutality of MTTs and will be implementing strict BRM and merging of some lower variance games into my strategy in the new year to help.
Best of luck Wiz and remember don't be too hard on yourself.
November 22, 2013
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Best of luck to you too! After a holiday break, I will resume playing and posting hands with the HPT Events in January 🙂
TPE Pro
August 25, 2012
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Tiredness is often an issue when a lack of discipline starts to emerge. Similarly, there are many forms of tilt, and one of them is the form that leads to the phrase “**** it” being used often – usually this just means that you're in a spot where you're impatient and would rather have a big stack or bust. You're probably not very motivated to play, and maybe a little unfocused too.
Take breaks, take days off, get enough sleep, be disciplined – usually those factors will be enough to ensure you make the right plays at the times when you're aware of what they are.
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