OK, I suck at Texas Hold 'Em in real life.
Sep. 9th, 2011 09:59 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
redneckgaijinPlayed in a charity tournament. Here are the relevant hands for me:
* Flopped triple 8's, bet heavily, ended up with 8's full of jacks... and lost to quad jacks.
* Short-stacked, went all-in on A-K suited against pocket queens, was told of two kings folded in by other players, caught the fourth king on the turn, doubled up.
* Should have backed off of a pair of 10's, dropped money just to see my opponent's hand... pocket jacks again.
* Went all in on pocket queens, caught a third queen, more than tripled up.
* Saw my stack whittle, whittle away, went all-in on pocket nines, lost to a pair of tens.
I lasted about two and a half hours (with one extension); only about ten or so of the 80-odd contestants went out before me, largely due to the ability to buy additional chips early in the evening.
I know at least three problems with my play:
(1) It's damn hard for me to resist chasing That Next Card just to see it- either the next card dealt to the board, or my opponent's hand. If I think I have enough to afford the bet, I'll bet, even if I'm reasonably sure I'm underdog.
(2) I focus too hard on the board- the community cards in Hold 'Em. I got bit several times, including twice in the above named hands, by pocket pairs.
(3) I fall in love with hands. On some hands I should have bet big to drive out other players, but bet conservatively, letting them get the other hand (see the pocket nines).
The biggest problem, though, is not a problem with my play as such; I went all-in on those nines more because I was impatient with folding five out of every six hands, and dropping out of half of the 1/6 I played. Texas Hold 'Em is TEDIOUS AS HELL in real life- remember, the TV shows are HEAVILY edited. (Also, I had a lack of incentive: first place was a seat in the World Series of Poker, travel NOT included, and the other nine prizes were TVs, which I don't need any of- the oldest TV on-site here dates to Hurricane Ike.
So- if I can find a dealer's choice game in driving distance, something with nickel-ante, quarter-bet, I'll try that. For casino poker, though, I'm staying the hell away.
* Flopped triple 8's, bet heavily, ended up with 8's full of jacks... and lost to quad jacks.
* Short-stacked, went all-in on A-K suited against pocket queens, was told of two kings folded in by other players, caught the fourth king on the turn, doubled up.
* Should have backed off of a pair of 10's, dropped money just to see my opponent's hand... pocket jacks again.
* Went all in on pocket queens, caught a third queen, more than tripled up.
* Saw my stack whittle, whittle away, went all-in on pocket nines, lost to a pair of tens.
I lasted about two and a half hours (with one extension); only about ten or so of the 80-odd contestants went out before me, largely due to the ability to buy additional chips early in the evening.
I know at least three problems with my play:
(1) It's damn hard for me to resist chasing That Next Card just to see it- either the next card dealt to the board, or my opponent's hand. If I think I have enough to afford the bet, I'll bet, even if I'm reasonably sure I'm underdog.
(2) I focus too hard on the board- the community cards in Hold 'Em. I got bit several times, including twice in the above named hands, by pocket pairs.
(3) I fall in love with hands. On some hands I should have bet big to drive out other players, but bet conservatively, letting them get the other hand (see the pocket nines).
The biggest problem, though, is not a problem with my play as such; I went all-in on those nines more because I was impatient with folding five out of every six hands, and dropping out of half of the 1/6 I played. Texas Hold 'Em is TEDIOUS AS HELL in real life- remember, the TV shows are HEAVILY edited. (Also, I had a lack of incentive: first place was a seat in the World Series of Poker, travel NOT included, and the other nine prizes were TVs, which I don't need any of- the oldest TV on-site here dates to Hurricane Ike.
So- if I can find a dealer's choice game in driving distance, something with nickel-ante, quarter-bet, I'll try that. For casino poker, though, I'm staying the hell away.
