Monday, May 22, 2006

Days of Thunder

I think I finally can capsule-ize how I am feeling right now. Did anybody ever see that dorky Tom Cruise movie where he played a race car driver. Was it him or the other guy that got in a bad crash and then had nerve problems. I find myself in the same situation... especially preflop and also on the River.

For example, my stats tonight based on 246 hands were 24.39/13.01/5.00. I ended up with a whopping $26.50 which again seems like a million dollars these days. So I am still seeing way fewer hands. The real stat is that I folded to blind steals 64% and attempted to steal 33%. I haven't done any history checks on this one; but that seems really low the steal attempts and really high on the blind defense. What kind of numbers do you like to see there? Anyway, I cut the session short and just called it a night more or less breaking even.

I have also been gunned down so often on the river that when a scare card comes, I am checking it down with or without position. That is a definite weakness and I have to work on it.

A couple of tidbits to get off my chest tonights play just again so you can feel sorry for me... ha..
In a battle of the blinds, my KK lost to AA. Nice... A little later on, my Aces were cracked by JJ when he turned his set. AK was of course taking down by KQ on an King high flop when he turned his second pair. OK, OK.. enough whining already.

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Had a little discussion at the home game on poker terminology. It is very trivial; but nonetheless it came up. What is the difference between trips and a set. I've always gone with the notion that a set is when your pocket pair hit and trip is where there is a pair on the board and you have the third to make your trips. Like I say, it is very trivial. Feel free to weigh in on your opinion on this one.

By the way Fluff took down yet another victory. Congrats.. and also congrats to Webster for finishing second and cashing for the first time. Webster is the one that more or less did me in when he called my signature check raise on the turn with an opened ended straight which of course hit on the river. Nice Call... wimp..

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I have mentioned that I will probably look for some coaching sites. On a suggestion by Donkey Hunter, I believe I am going to subscribe to stoxpoker.com. This is one of the few training sites out that has videos on limit holdem. Thanks Dave for the suggestion.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

There is no difference whatsoever between trips and a set; they are perfect synonyms. A little later I will throw in my free advice (worth exactly what you paid for it) concerning your recent posts.

Hang in there!

CC said...

A set is when you have a pocket pair and catch your third card for three of a kind. Trips is when the board is paired and you have the third card to make three of a kind.

Like you, I don't know what to say. I've gotten away from playing a bit just to flush stuff out of my system a bit. I think it is something that we have to conclude, that we have to jump down in stakes until we can get the bankroll back up. Is is unfortunate that 60% of your bankroll is gone? It's horrible. It means many things, at least to me: it means I'm not as good as I thought (although that may not be true), it means I'm unable to play in a way that isn't affected by recent results (this is a fact--I'm no Bret Favre throwing four picks then still firing into a crowd), it means I lack discipline (absolutely true). It also means, for me, that unfortunately the results impact me and define me, at least somewhat.

Let me know if there is anything I can do.

Unknown said...

I agree with you and CC. You're right on Trips and a Set.
I have a couple suggestions. You can take or leave them.
• My strongest suggestion is get away from rings completely. You're scared and not really enjoying them, and I don't blame you a bit. If I took all the bad beats you've taken lately I think I'd just quit poker entirely. Host a SnG week or a SnG month for yourself; it will make poker fun again and you won't lose a lot, and I'm guessing it will restore the proper amount of aggression you'll need to win.
• I don't pay much attention to blind steals in a cash game, but then again, you play much higher limits than I do. One question: Do we, in fact, lose MORE money "defending" our blinds with a marginal hand than if we did just by letting them go? Something to think about.
• Use more "hit and run" sessions. If you are ahead, leave early and book a win; you'll start to feel good about poker again.
• Take a week off from poker entirely.
• Watch Rounders 20 times. Pray to Matt Damon.

Jestocost said...

What they said, except I'll aver that all sets are trips too, but clearly not all trips are sets.

Unknown said...

HIT THE PACE CAR!!!

Anonymous said...

Oops, it seems that I was wrong. Generally speaking, it seems far more correct to refer to a set only as a hand made with wired hole cards and one on the board.

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