How can I improve my 12% win Rate?

[davcas]

Currently play once a week for a smallish amount. Manage to get 2 games in and do make heads up on occasion. There are at least 4 of us but sometimes 6-8 with a winner takes all pot but I find myself at the bottom of the league table and cannot seem to improve. Any hints or tips would be usefull or places to improve. I play for the enjoyment and cannot work out pot odds or count cards etc

[Muck]

What’s your 12% based on? The shorter the timescale the less the insightful the value. That’s a general poker rule. Don’t look at if you won a long this week, think in terms of months of years. Just like you shouldn’t look at individual pots outcomes to judge successful play.

We can’t offer useful help any without knowing how you currently play, the best way to gain insight is to talking hands you’ve played, what you were thinking and what happened. That will give us a basis for feedback.

Pot odds don’t have to be exact and with experience it becomes more like muscle memory then mental calculation. If you’re just sh*t at maths then I’m sorry that will be a weakness in your game.

In general you seen inexperienced so I’d say start by reading a few books and some of the forum posts on here (hand analysis is a good place to start). Poker is just like any other game, if you want to get better you need to work at it and that takes effort.

[davcas]

Thanks for the reply. The 12% was over a year with the same crowd. I would probably say I dont bluff very well compared to those I play against and have lost quite a few head to heads. I have read some books but as others have said they seem to contradicte each other. H2H they say if you have a picture card go all in, which I have done and been burnt on many occasions, which then pushes me to place safe and walked all over.

[Ensano]

H2H they say if you have a picture card go all in,...

?

[davcas]

I just need some helpfull mentoring, not any more bank loss

[supafrey]

If two books contradict each other, it's probably best to examine their reasons behind the suggested plays, rather than the specific actions. No book ever says "if you have a face card go all in" unless there's a specific reason for it. If you're hoping for some hard and fast rules on how to play for every situation you're going to be disappointed.

[PaulieRockets]

Just a few points, to see if I understand correctly:

1) You pretty much play the same people every time. That would imply you know their style of play, and they know yours. Bluffing becomes much more difficult so stick to semi-bluffing at the most
2) There is no info on starting stack size or blind structure (and how fast they rise) so the importance of aggression vs. protection can not be quantified
3) Pot odds are no big shakes for what is effectively a little house game. If the pot is not offering enuff of a payout to cover the risk, forget it. Simplify the math if it bothers you. Let's call filling an open-ended straight, or a flush draw as 4:1. Filling an inside straight or tripping a pocket pair... call it 10:1... (Math buffs lay off. These are approximations and only cover seeing the next card, they are better than nuthin) Leave it at that for now. Memorize more approximations as you go and let experience guide you. Yes, I'm ignoring implied pot odds... They are a guestimate anyway and are best tempered with experience.
4) It seems that the table is usually short-handed. If so, your hand selection can loosen up. The more people holding cards, the more likely some of them will be good
5) No idea where "Push all-in with any face card" comes from. I certainly have never heard or read that before, and wouldn't do it (Unless I was under the gun after a suck-out and was about to be blinded off, in which case any two cards will do)
6) If you want to improve you game, expand your choice of opponents

Cheers

[Muck]

some hard and fast rules on how to play for every situation you're going to be disappointed

That’s it really.

Saying “Push all-in with face cardsâ€

[davcas]

well played last night and out of 7 players was in lest 3 for first hand and then was H2H is second game with a good stack but made one bad call and then lost to good cards with an all in shout by my oppo which I met, but failed to flop against. Where can I practice more H2H without losing cash but gaining practice?

[HalfSugar]

H2H

It's HU (heads up) rather than head-to-head.