Poker Novice Questions

[stereoman]

How do you stop yourself from steaming?!

Played against a right pair of mouthy cnuts in the form of JohnMuir1984 (always a right mouthy mofo) and Ciupi (lucky cnut caught his straight on the river) in a $100 freeroll over at Betfred.

I'm calm on the outside but I am absolutely steaming from their comments after I got knocked out just.

[GotaFancy?]

Which skin are you on? Can you "switch off chat" for those two players?

[Iwasgoing2backthat1]

Gaf i was going to suggest that I always play now with no player chat as i find it helps concentrate better and some of the guys come out with some right crap.

The only thing I worry about is if they realise i have no chat on they might collude and stitch me up

[stereoman]

Betfred Poker.

Yeah, I suppose I can just easily switch it off (who says anything worthwhile anyway?) but I'm guilty of playing the 'modesty card' and usually like to exclaim how lucky I am whether I'm dishing out the bad beats/ahead in a hand and stay ahead (also rather stupidly I don't like to think they can get away with saying stuff 'behind my back' as it were without me knowing what it is. I'm probably better off not knowing! ).

Next time I'm at one of their tables I'm gonna pick my opportunities (I'm terrible at insults though....worse than my poker-playing 'skills' it is).

I really hate that fooking JohnMuir1984.

[Valiant23]

Originally Posted by stereoman

Betfred Poker.

Yeah, I suppose I can just easily switch it off (who says anything worthwhile anyway?) but I'm guilty of playing the 'modesty card' and usually like to exclaim how lucky I am whether I'm dishing out the bad beats/ahead in a hand and stay ahead (also rather stupidly I don't like to think they can get away with saying stuff 'behind my back' as it were without me knowing what it is. I'm probably better off not knowing! ).

Next time I'm at one of their tables I'm gonna pick my opportunities (I'm terrible at insults though....worse than my poker-playing 'skills' it is).

I really hate that fooking JohnMuir1984.

Don't turn it off.

1. Cheating-Mrs V has reportd 2 french speaking players for collusion.
2. It can give an insight into players.
3. Eventually (I don't know how long you've played) it won't bother you and you'll be able to rise above it.

However, if it starts to make your blood boil and you feel a tilt coming on, turn off players chat for a bit, get back in control and then turn it back on. If you switch dealer chat off you can read what they've said anyway, but because it's not real time it doesn't have the same effect (when I've done this).

Or you could use the 'note' function and check the 'ignore chat' from that player only.

I'm not a good poker player, but I am good at 'sledging', which is all this is.

[Pocket Lady]

Stereoman - Cuipi is one of the players I reported for collusion the other night on Betfred.

The other one's name is Fermecatu and once we (all of the table were p'd off at them bragging bout collusion) managed to knock Cuipi out Fermecatu started to talk to us in English - it did'nt take long to get rid of 'im/her .

Live help watched the game once reported and i'm waiting for them to tell me what's happened to these two. I asked live help today what was done about them and they are looking into this.

Can't stand cheaters!

[Valiant23]

It may not happen too often, but I've had a pocket pair 4 of a kind twice in the last week.

So how do I play it?

1-1st time I had it on the turn, so I think in my excitement I went allin-obviously a 'rookie' move, but my hope was the other players would ignore thepair, think I was bluffing and follow me.

2-2nd time I had it on the flop four 6's in 5 cards. I wanted to maximise the chips I received (MTT), so I didn't initiate anything, but hoped for a premium card which would encourage them to bet. That meant I limped to the river for a relatively small return. I'd been playing really tight, so if I'd called a big raise I think I'd've spooked 'em, and got nothing.

It may never happen again, but what do you do with it when it happens?

[philossify]

Hi Valiant,

IMHO

I'm sure there is no standard suit all occasions answer on how to play 4 of a lind after the flop or turn - I suspect a lot depends on what you have found out about the other players and what position you are in the betting order.

In case 2 getting the 4 of a kind after the turn then I'd almost always slow play them especially when theres someone in who has been "aggressively driving" the betting and you can be reasonably assured of a bet off them. Going in too hard means (as you found) you might scare them off staying for that card that makes the run,flush or full house - let them see the river and hopefully improve. Best results are when they are betting in front of you.

In case 1 (4 of a kind after flop) I'd play it much the same way (except possibly in the starting stages of a cheapo MTT where theres often some muppet who will follow to a big all-in) - but I'd much prefer someone else to open the betting and then just follow and let them try improve.

But theres no way of getting it completely right. I made a mistake in the Telegraph a couple of days ago when I slowplayed the A in my hand when the flop had AA and the turn had another A - was hoping that someone would find a full house after the river so checked hoping someone would bet and it was checked out - it was an early round and I suspect that an all-in might have produced better results. Very embarassing winning 100 chips or so with 4 aces .

[Valiant23]

It is harder than it seems, so cheers for that.

Thanks philossify.

[laidbackbloke]

I'd pretty much agree with Phil ............... there's not really one way that fits all situations. You just have to adapt your play depending on your read of your opponents. When you have 4 of a kind you generally don't have to worry about your opponent beating you as you are holding the nuts (though be aware of straight flush possibilities). Instead you are trying to maximise the number of chips you take from your opponent. With this in mind I wouldn't go all-in unless i was re-raising a decent sized bet and was fairly confident that my opponent would call. If the pot is small and your opponents haven't hit anything the chances are that even if they think you may be bluffing they will probably fold.

With 4 of a kind it is often worthwhile to allow your opponent a free card (as you did on the second one) as it is to your advantage if your opponent makes his draw. (whether straight, flush or full house) sometimes it works, and other times you are doomed to get no action no matter how you play it

I've slow played it like the hand Phil described, and had the same result, but I also played exactly the same way another time and a guy made an all-in bluff against me after the river (though he had already done that previously so i was hoping he would do it again)

To be honest i would play 4 of a kind similar to how i play three of a kind (except with less worries about being out drawn) With trips, quite often if i have position, I will bet the hand (though not too strongly) in order to disguise it. As if you are playing decent players, checking and then flat calling bets when the board is paired might be seen as the equivalent of having a flashing neon sign on your forehead saying "I'm Slowplaying" as with the other approaches sometimes it pays off ............... othertimes you get virtually nothing

Basically don't beat yourself up about it

[jolly67]

Hi Folks, I've been playing(mainly BetFred) since the Daily Record Qualifiers, best result being 111 in the Manchester Final($20). I'm starting to get a wee bit confused about "Sitout" etiquette , is it generally acceptable, to sit out for long periods when you've got a large stack, towards the end of the game?. Also is it acceptable to "Sitout" whilst playing in another game? I dont tend to "Sitout" at all as i feel it isn't "in the spirit of the game" .Any opinions would be most welcome.

ps well done ell ess dee

[Pocket Lady]

to Punters Lounge Jolly67.

We don't have a rule for sitouts - it is a matter of personal choice. Some like to safeguard their chips whilst others like to play till the end.

As to sitting out whilst playing another game then sometimes it is essential - as you may find that like others on this site you can have 4 plus games running at one time.

As I said matter of personal choice . Hope you do well any way.

[laidbackbloke]

To the PL Jolly

To be honest i never sit out unless i have to step away from the computer for some reason. These days i play cash tables most of the time, so if i am actually playing in a tournament and have a large stack, then i would rather try and win it than sit out trying and ensure i got into the money.

I play poker because i love playing the game, so I'm with you ............ i don't think it's "in the spirit of the game" . I'd rather try and protect my stack by making it a bigger stack ....................still each to their own i suppose

[Valiant23]

However, on PokerStars it seems to be the done thing to sitout at the start, and I've played a little on there in a couple of freerolls and its been more like heads-up. I ended up sitting out a couple of times as there seemed little point in playing.

Also if I have a few games going at the same time (between 7-8 usually), I do tend to concentrate on those where I'm playing best/getting the best hands. I have on occasion apologised to the table for sitting out, but no one seems bothered.

The only other time I deliberately sat out was when I qualified for the Telegraph. I was easily top 5 in chips with less than 50 left (I think), when I had a little problem that could've tilted me. I sat out til the break, got it together, then qualified. I have read some 'experts' suggest you do that if you feel your concentration slipping, or you suffered 1 or 2 bad beats.

btw Jolly.

[laidbackbloke]

Originally Posted by Valiant23

The only other time I deliberately sat out was when I qualified for the Telegraph. I was easily top 5 in chips with less than 50 left (I think), when I had a little problem that could've tilted me. I sat out til the break, got it together, then qualified. I have read some 'experts' suggest you do that if you feel your concentration slipping, or you suffered 1 or 2 bad beats.

yeah, I'd agree with that .................... its not a bad idea to let your head clear if you have been knocked off track a bit

[jolly67]

thanks for the welcomes and advice. the question was prompted by a guy giving abuse to "sitouts" He was getting more and more angry cos they weren't replying to him

[Valiant23]

I'm not sure if this is a whinge, or a request for advice, but at the moment I am getting really cheesed off with this bloody game.

Last Friday I felt that my game was finally coming together. I had a 4th and 1st in consecutive freerolls. I was consistently placing high in tourneys, even if not top 10, which I thought wasn't too bad, as I am very much in the learning process.

2 days later I slow play KK in the Telegraph Final, and raise at the wrong moment, and I'm out in 997th. Then in the dollar-up in SO I do pretty much the same thing. get good hole cards and don't play them properly.

Thing is whenever I'm aggressive with good cards I almost always end up getting a bad beat (imo), and at least taking a hit, or getting knocked out.

I've then decided to try bottom limit cash games at SO, to get my rake bonus, and to tighten up my game, and I manage to lose $10.

So I go back to freerolls to re-learn, but I feel as though I just don't know what to do any more. Is this just 'one of those things', or is it me? I know hand histories would be a help but I don't have them I'm afraid, besides I think what I need is general advice to help me refocus(?). I've even sat and watched you lot, and don't think my standard is too far behind the other 'novices'.

Thing is I don't feel as though I'm on tilt at the table.

Is it possible that the same things were happening, but I was too inexperienced to notice, but now that I 'know how to play' at a basic level I'm more aware?

Perhaps I need a break, but haven't played enough so that if I do take a break I'll be back at the beginning.

whinge whinge whinge....

I do apologise for you having to read this self indulgent sh't, but I've got to get this off my chest, and I may as well do it now, whilst I'm NOT playing poker.

[GotaFancy?]

You don't lose everything you've learnt over night mate!!!

Only thing is - strategy in freerolls is different from strategy in (paid for) tournaments is different from strategy in cash/ring games. Just cos you've got one licked, doesn't mean that strategy works elsewhere.

And everyone works a different strategy as well - you asked how I play SO cash games in a different thread - that's working for me - but if it's not your style, it won't necessarily work for you - you need to test and evolve what's successful. Don't be downbeat if it doesn'twork straight away - analyse your weaknesses, why you went out/lost and try and learn from it and be stronger next time.....

For example - your KK hand - you know you slow played it and that was your error - hopefully in a similar position in the future, you won't make the same mistake.......

Don't be too downheartened mate - the good times will come again.......

[GotaFancy?]

And so far as Bad Beats are concerned - if you are getting them, your play is successful - by definition of a bad beat - when the money goes in you are leading, you are favourite - in the "long run", the odds will win and bad beats will even themselves out, and you'll win if you're putting the money in when you're ahead.... (unless you're from the camp that believes online poker is rigged!!!)

[Valiant23]

.....and another thing, bloody sites are rigged.....

The reason I asked about SO is I expected it to be a lot tighter than it was.

But I think after a tough week (imo), one will begin to question what one knows.

Thanks mate