No Such Thing As Running Bad!
Some rambles...(this isn't a response to Leatherass' entry, I just wanted to write about this)
I think sbrugby mentions something similar to that but I know Ivey has said it quite frequently that he doesn't believe in running bad, you either play good or you don't.
Do you really believe it? You should.
The logical person says, well I can't run good forever! I'll have down swings as well as heaters.
But really, I don't think it's ok to have only that thought in mind.
Before you play every session, you should ask yourself why you are playing. Is it to have fun or to make money? If it's to make money, then you should believe in yourself otherwise you'll get crushed. Your expectation should be to win. Playing cards with a lack of confidence is dangerous, your mentality is weak and you're prone to making really bad folds (see KK hand from a few blog entries ago) or perhaps you may tilt easier.
If you give in to the thinking and blame your results on a downswing, you may get lazy with your approach to the game. Unfortunately, there really isn't a mechanical way to beat the game. You have to put in the hands, have the experience, and know the people you're playing against to be able to play close to a mechanical style. But even then, we're all human beings. We're not 100% consistent, so you have to adapt to those changes. If you start losing money, you might not adjust, you might push your AA hands harder when you shouldn't, or your two pair vs a passive who you know most likely has a set, etc.
Maybe you see a possible flush hit, and you don't value bet because you're thinking "standard, he got there, take my money punk!" - BAD BAD BAD!
If you have a negative approach to the game, your results will become negative. I really believe this. When you bet, if you don't know why you're betting, or if you're hoping that you're good, you're gambling. What happens to those who gamble in the long run? They lose. If you play with a negative mood, it'll get to you and before you know it, you're just praying for good luck - bad!
Dwayne Wade, the shooting guard for the Miami Heat, and one of the best in the game, was asked what goes on in his mind when he's shooting crucial shots for his team. His response was something along the lines of, "nothing, I just shoot" Nerves of steel man. But not only that, he has total faith in himself. He knows his stuff, he knows he can make those shots, he has no reason not to believe in himself. If he misses he misses, but that doesn't go through his mind, because he won't miss.
If you just read that and thought "but he'll still miss sometimes!" you just don't get it. You don't have total confidence : /
I def. remember sbrugby mentioning that you should take responsibility for your actions. Every decision you make influences the outcome of the hand. These are your choices. In the end, when things go right or wrong, it's because of the choice you made. Accept it and move on.
I completely forgot about taking responsibility for my own actions, and here's a hand that happened where I realized wow, I probably would have won the hand if I hadn't wussed out.
Pre-flop: (6 players) Mikey is CO with as ks
2 folds, Mikey raises, 2 folds, BB 3-bets, Mikey caps, BB calls.
Flop: jc 4c 8c (8.6SB, 2 players)
BB bets, Mikey raises, BB calls.
Turn: ah (6.3BB, 2 players)
BB checks, Mikey bets, BB raises, Mikey calls.
River: 9c (10.3BB, 2 players)
BB bets, Mikey calls.
BB shows 10,10c for the flush.
On paper, this hand is absolutely horrible. Thing is, I've played a lot of hands vs. villain and I know he can lead this with something as weak as A5o with no club draw, he does bet/fold the flop from time to time. The turn is the part I really want to talk about. I just knew he didn't have two pair there, villain would've check-raised the flop or bet/3bet with tptk. I should've went w/my gut and 3bet the turn. As played, I made a very very poor call on the river, but at least it opened my eyes to the fact that there's a chance I could've won the pot had I shown more aggression.
I played this hand horribly. Yuck!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This month has been brutal to me. It started out with some ridiculous swings, but then my stupid self decided to give 10/20 a shot, which technically wasn't a bad choice because it was within bankroll limits. BUT, I took a shot at 10/20 while I was furious about what was happening at the 5/10 tables. I was just asking for disaster : /
I then started to try and up the amount of tables I was playing to 10, but quickly decided 8 might be better, and haven't been playing my A game. A lot of my decisions have been guesswork and really haven't been working out for me. Really shouldn't leave the game up to just guesswork. So yes, while I do believe I was on a horrible downswing, I also blame a lot of it on my approach to the game. I got impatient, I was dumb, and I didn't play a solid game. I chased my losses rather than reviewing my own game, talking it over with friends, etc. I basically played with a negative mindset.
I feel pretty good today and hopefully I'll be back on track : ) I'm also going to delve into NL some more as I am enjoying it and it is less swingy ;), but for the most part, I still enjoy sh lhe!
I think sbrugby mentions something similar to that but I know Ivey has said it quite frequently that he doesn't believe in running bad, you either play good or you don't.
Do you really believe it? You should.
The logical person says, well I can't run good forever! I'll have down swings as well as heaters.
But really, I don't think it's ok to have only that thought in mind.
Before you play every session, you should ask yourself why you are playing. Is it to have fun or to make money? If it's to make money, then you should believe in yourself otherwise you'll get crushed. Your expectation should be to win. Playing cards with a lack of confidence is dangerous, your mentality is weak and you're prone to making really bad folds (see KK hand from a few blog entries ago) or perhaps you may tilt easier.
If you give in to the thinking and blame your results on a downswing, you may get lazy with your approach to the game. Unfortunately, there really isn't a mechanical way to beat the game. You have to put in the hands, have the experience, and know the people you're playing against to be able to play close to a mechanical style. But even then, we're all human beings. We're not 100% consistent, so you have to adapt to those changes. If you start losing money, you might not adjust, you might push your AA hands harder when you shouldn't, or your two pair vs a passive who you know most likely has a set, etc.
Maybe you see a possible flush hit, and you don't value bet because you're thinking "standard, he got there, take my money punk!" - BAD BAD BAD!
If you have a negative approach to the game, your results will become negative. I really believe this. When you bet, if you don't know why you're betting, or if you're hoping that you're good, you're gambling. What happens to those who gamble in the long run? They lose. If you play with a negative mood, it'll get to you and before you know it, you're just praying for good luck - bad!
Dwayne Wade, the shooting guard for the Miami Heat, and one of the best in the game, was asked what goes on in his mind when he's shooting crucial shots for his team. His response was something along the lines of, "nothing, I just shoot" Nerves of steel man. But not only that, he has total faith in himself. He knows his stuff, he knows he can make those shots, he has no reason not to believe in himself. If he misses he misses, but that doesn't go through his mind, because he won't miss.
If you just read that and thought "but he'll still miss sometimes!" you just don't get it. You don't have total confidence : /
I def. remember sbrugby mentioning that you should take responsibility for your actions. Every decision you make influences the outcome of the hand. These are your choices. In the end, when things go right or wrong, it's because of the choice you made. Accept it and move on.
I completely forgot about taking responsibility for my own actions, and here's a hand that happened where I realized wow, I probably would have won the hand if I hadn't wussed out.
Pre-flop: (6 players) Mikey is CO with as ks
2 folds, Mikey raises, 2 folds, BB 3-bets, Mikey caps, BB calls.
Flop: jc 4c 8c (8.6SB, 2 players)
BB bets, Mikey raises, BB calls.
Turn: ah (6.3BB, 2 players)
BB checks, Mikey bets, BB raises, Mikey calls.
River: 9c (10.3BB, 2 players)
BB bets, Mikey calls.
BB shows 10,10c for the flush.
On paper, this hand is absolutely horrible. Thing is, I've played a lot of hands vs. villain and I know he can lead this with something as weak as A5o with no club draw, he does bet/fold the flop from time to time. The turn is the part I really want to talk about. I just knew he didn't have two pair there, villain would've check-raised the flop or bet/3bet with tptk. I should've went w/my gut and 3bet the turn. As played, I made a very very poor call on the river, but at least it opened my eyes to the fact that there's a chance I could've won the pot had I shown more aggression.
I played this hand horribly. Yuck!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This month has been brutal to me. It started out with some ridiculous swings, but then my stupid self decided to give 10/20 a shot, which technically wasn't a bad choice because it was within bankroll limits. BUT, I took a shot at 10/20 while I was furious about what was happening at the 5/10 tables. I was just asking for disaster : /
I then started to try and up the amount of tables I was playing to 10, but quickly decided 8 might be better, and haven't been playing my A game. A lot of my decisions have been guesswork and really haven't been working out for me. Really shouldn't leave the game up to just guesswork. So yes, while I do believe I was on a horrible downswing, I also blame a lot of it on my approach to the game. I got impatient, I was dumb, and I didn't play a solid game. I chased my losses rather than reviewing my own game, talking it over with friends, etc. I basically played with a negative mindset.
I feel pretty good today and hopefully I'll be back on track : ) I'm also going to delve into NL some more as I am enjoying it and it is less swingy ;), but for the most part, I still enjoy sh lhe!
posted by Michael Song at
7:36 PM
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