Bad Beats Break Bank

Ok, the bank isn't broken, but the poker gods have not been smiling favorably on me recently. A bankroll that was once at $150 is now down to $80. I have played in several different types of tournaments with buy-ins from $3 to $24, and using different strategies to see if I get different results.

In one tournament, I had decided I was going to try and play less than 20% of the hands forcing myself to play only premium hands. Usually, I tend to see a minimum of 40% of the flops, and often this number is over 50% when playing online. I won't call large raises with weak hands, but if I can see a flop with a hand like 7-8 suited for a very small amount, I like to take that chance at hitting a flop no one will ever suspect could be dangerous.

Another tournament I decided that I would not play any pocket pair under 10s. This came after playing in a tournament where I realized I was losing a lot of money with these weak hands as more often than not, I would have to fold to any bet on the flop. Excluding straight or flush draws, you're really only looking for 2 cards in the deck to make your hand by making trips or quads, if that doesn't happen, you'll likely have to fold the hand at some point or try an make an amazing call against a potential bluff. Especially when out of position, folding these hands seems to be cost-effective.

Later, I tried playing a positional game. With obvious exceptions, I played with the concept that position is power. If I were UTG, I would throw away a hand like A-8 preflop, recognizing that someone acting behind me were to raise it up, I would probably have to fold, so why bother trying to play it at all. In poker, you always want to be the aggressor. You want to be the one making a raise or a re-raise, not just calling everything. It's a lot easier to be the aggressor when you have position (meaning you act after they do) on your opponent, because you're able to get more information than they are, as you've had the advantage of watching them act first.

I was recently watching a televised poker event, the World Poker Championships, or something like that. A select 9 countries are asked to send 6 players to this single-table tournament, round robin style where everyone watched each player play against their table. It's a weird format, but rather enjoyable is you have a country in the tournament to cheer for.

Daniel Negreanu was a member of Team Canada, and one of his teammates was the chip leader in the table starting with 9 players, but was now down to just 4. Daniel called for a team "Time-Out" where he and the other teammates could consult with the player in the tournament for 1 minute to discuss strategy. Of course, being the only professional amongst a group of amateurs, they all listened to the advice Daniel gave. 

"Be the aggressor. Don't call any bets, either raise or fold. If you think you hand might not be good, get the hell out, don't give anything away." Ok, that wasn't a direct quote, but it's probably pretty close.

Anyways, back to my point, if I ever had one.

No matter what style of poker I was trying to play, I lost. Usually it was to some horrific bad beat, but sometimes it was just bad play. Even the best strategies have a fatal flaw, the fact that there is no right way or wrong way to play. Long-term, there seems to be a certain style of play that will be more successful than others, but within any one tournament, especially one that only lasts 3 hours, it seems that luck truly is the biggest factor.