Dealing with variance RE bankroll.

Pipunch

Yesterday i had a very good day, putting a third on my bankroll, but today i've lost half of my entire bankroll. I've been getting it in good and i literally (no exaggeration) have been handed about 10 all-in bad beats in a row. It's proper demoralising and now i'm staring at less than 20 BI's for my chosen limit. 

How do players over come this to actually make any money over time?

I'm raising strongly with top cards and they're getting beaten every single time because the people at NL4 are too stupid to not call. Going into a pot 5-handed when you've raised more than 4X the big blind is ridiculous. How do i overcome this? Should i be looking at my betting patterns, playing ultra tight or just avoiding these tables? Help.

percival09

maybe start posting hands in the clinic to see if you are going wrong anywhere - everybody can improve at any given time

I overcome running bad by knowing if I continue to make profitable decisions I will end up making money - keep that in your mindset, good play over a long period of time = success

wayne1958

weekend warriors me thinks,i thought i was bad going on bad starting hands,iv just been done in a dym with 2-7,there again i did limp so.. move up a level or 2 if your br.s ok... post some hands let the guys help you out...

gd luck...

Pipunch

I'm multitabling so i can't really recall which tables and which hands they were. I will post some though next time they happen. Basically i'm stuck in a quandary - if i limp in or only raise small to save money incase i don't hit, i get called by weaker hands that seem to hit, but these people are calling whether i min raise or 4x raise, so i'm not sure how to go about it.

percival09

it's quite obvious - at 4nl only raise with premium hands in early position, and widen your range in middle/late position to all PP's and less strong hands maybe like JQ/Q10.

bet big when you hit big, if you meet resistance with no pair just give up, don't bluff, always play your hands straight forward pre flop, 3bet your monsters, don't be scared to get your money in, just generally play ABC poker. You can't lose that way in the long run .. but like I said, post your hands up because it's likely you'll be making mistakes without you realising. If you're playing too many tables for you to be able to concentrate 100% then drop a few, I used to play around 16 tables and I thought I could cope, but I couldn't, now I've dropped to 8 and I've realised taking time to make the right decision is much more profitable 

oh and in my opinion, you should never open limp at a 6 max table ... only limp if there are limpers behind and you have a small pp

Pipunch

Thanks for that. I think i need to get to grips with the betting. Eg, when to bet to get value for your hand but just enough so anything marginal will fold etc. Any links would be appreciated.

Pipunch

Another point i wanted to raise is, it's all well and good saying 'you'll run good eventually', but how good do you have to run to not only cancel out the bad runs but also be in profit? If i'm only gonna be a few quid up after a year of playing for example, i might as well not bother! What i'm really asking is, do the profits justify the time spent learning the game?

percival09

well if you're playing poker recreationally you're playing it because you enjoy it, but nobody wants to lose money so grinding out a few pounds wouldn't be too bad would it? You'll learn more as you go along plus you'll make money

but if you're making the right decisions most of the time you wont always be losing money youll be making a profit consistently, and if youre not ever doing that then youre probably doing something wrong, but you really need to post hands up, thats the only way people can really help

you enjoying playing poker should justify the reason to why you play the game - profits are a bonus in a way. You're playing a game you enjoy and you could potentially make money from this, what's better than that?

Spikelad

Pipunch i think you should refrain from calling fellow players stupid,i feel your frustration but insulting other players aint the way to go mate.

I have seen some really "interesting" play at nl4 but would urge you to post some of the hands up that you mention and you will get honest appraisal from some really good players.

I posted a couple of hands up recently dealing with nl4 and i found that my bet sizing was wrong and to be honest i thought i was playing the hands well.