PATIENCE IS THE NAME OF THE GAME! THIS PROOVES IT

[reidy125]

entered a sit and go the other day, think it was $2 entry, you start with 1,000 chips each:

I hda absolute crap all the time and started to question my ability, should I just give up now??

I had 50 chips left, got QQ, went all in, i think 4 guys called it (50 was BB) anyway I won that hand, and ended up with 250 chips, as compared to the table average which was now about 1,500. At least I had a few more BB's.
So I carried on my patient play, got a bit of a run, and go to the last 3, think we all had the same amount of chips, average would have been 3,333 and a third, lol.
I ended up winning the tourney and $12.50! I couldn't believe this had happened.
Anyway just a story to keep you plyaing when you've had a bad run.

[BobS]

Last week-end and Paradise I was playing a 10+1 SnG. Horrible cards. I played two hands the entire tourney, both from the BB, both just checking, both folding after the flop.


I finished 3rd and in the money.

[PuckJunkieNY]

Patience....

I find that I can afford to be more patient in the NL ring games. The blinds don't increase and you can be slightly more selective with what hands you involve yourself in. Usually you will eventually get cards worth playing and situations to win. Patients may prove to be boring for long periods of time. It can also be profitable, or at least serve to minimize big loses if on a bad run of cards. I all to often see people playing 50-60 percent of hands in ring games (I keep a tally of each player at the table). That's just plain crazy! It makes it tough to be profitable long term. I usually fall around 30 percent...lil more or less depending on great or piss poor hole cards. Online is good, cuz you can play multiple hands simultaneously to combat bordem. I usually will play a .01/.02 NL or two when also playing a .15/.25 NL game for instance. Home games you have the conversation and player banter to suppliment bordem from hands not played. Casino's have some of the same plus it's own unique "experience/atmosphere" to keep you from becoming bored easily. You're also busy trying to pay attention to the other player's tendencies as they play since you have likely never played with them before.

The SNG and Multi tourneys don't allow for as much patience compared to ring action. The blinds will increase steadily and eventually eat you up. The less wins you have in first half of tourney, the further you get behind in chip count. Bully's with large stacks can make playing moderate hands painfull, etc... It seems if you don't get good hole cards or get lucky flops with moderate holes early, playing from a short stack is pretty tough. Patients is wise earlier in tourney, but I think you have to play less than premium hands sometimes as it progresses past the second break if you are short in TC. You're almost forced to take more chances than you normally might in order to survive. Yes, patients is good tourney games, but if the poker gods are pissing on you you'll be forced to abandon the patient play and gamble a bit.

JMHO

[sergestorms]

i was down recently in a $10 sng to 540chips with 200/400 blinds and 7 people still in... i got pocket 5s on the button and moved allin, 3 callers woo, they all check through the board and i tripled up ended up going on to win the tourney (by the time we were heads up blinds were 600-1200 in a sng!)

[cayouche]

I agree with you Puck.

To combat bordem, and/or when I'm on a streak of bad cards, I practice my chip tricks. Might be dumb, but hey it works!! When you play online, there's also the Internet, but that can be dangerous, you don't want to get timed out of a great hand!!

[Absolution]

Hmm, I see what you are saying Puck and I guess it depends on the stakes. I find in low limit multis you really have to be selective. They go all-in on just about anything and you get so many limpers that it's easy to get outdrawn on. I find you generally need monsters, especially early. Whereas, in ring games you don't care if they draw out on you once and a while and bust you, as long as they aren't getting the odds for it. In a ring game it's fine to say "I can go all-in here knowing I have the best of it and am going to win more than I lose". Whereas, in a tournament you might not want to stake your tournament on a 60-40 advantage. Unfortunately, in low limit multis, when you do make a play it is often for most of your chips. The problem is you get so many limpers, even when you raise, that the pot gets big fast and usually results in someone all-in on the flop (or at least a raise that requires you to call about 1/3-1/2 of your stack).

[cayouche]

Patience is truly the name of the game.

I finally decided to try real money games.

I cashed in $40. After my first night, was up $10, not bad. The next day, first few games, up $55, cool. Then, it was downward spiral... ended being down $32. So I had $8 left, I was pretty much on tilt, after a few severe beats. I called it a day. Next day, wasn't any better, after a few hands, I was down to $4.50. Not even enough to enter in a $5 SnG. I finally convinced myself that it was over.

I took a break, decided to try NL mini-micros. After a few hands, I was up $1.25, so I invested that "hardly earned" money into a SnG. I was down to 300 chips, when things started to change... What they say? All you need is a chip and a chair?? Well, that's all I needed... Finished 2nd, another SnG, finished 1st, another one, finished 1st...

I'm now even, altogether...

Never give up.