This week was a horrible cash game week for me (didn't do so hot in tournaments either). One of the observations that I made was that the "friendly checkdowns" were a big loser for me. Let me explain. First of all I play significantly fewer hands than some of my regular friends. That is because I am a lot choosier about starting hands, position, etc. than many of them. Thus, when I am in a hand, particularly heads up against someone, I probably have the better hand and they have to catch up. By checking it down, I let them chase for free. Now, sometimes I am way behind, like when they catch a set and are trying to make quads, but that is fairly rare. In this game, big hands are tough to catch, and when you have one you must maximize your profit. You can't do that by checking it down.
To be fair, I plan to inform those that I have soft played before that I will be betting my hands, and advise them that they should do the same.
Another observation was that I was chasing too much. I identified two hands from Tuesday that cost me a total of over $200. The first one was against a made flush and I only had the second nut draw with top pair on the board. Bad decision as he had turned the nut flush. The second one, I had a draw to the third nut against a made flush (which granted was lower). Again a bad decision. Even against some of the most outrageous bluffers, it is better to save your chips until you have a very strong hand.
The last thought is that I should not play when tired. Played way too late three nights in a row and it affected my decision making process. Just not profitable to play when you are too tired to think straight.
To be fair, I plan to inform those that I have soft played before that I will be betting my hands, and advise them that they should do the same.
Another observation was that I was chasing too much. I identified two hands from Tuesday that cost me a total of over $200. The first one was against a made flush and I only had the second nut draw with top pair on the board. Bad decision as he had turned the nut flush. The second one, I had a draw to the third nut against a made flush (which granted was lower). Again a bad decision. Even against some of the most outrageous bluffers, it is better to save your chips until you have a very strong hand.
The last thought is that I should not play when tired. Played way too late three nights in a row and it affected my decision making process. Just not profitable to play when you are too tired to think straight.
2 comments:
Quote from your granddaughter tonight, "P-paw had a $100 bill, but he wasted it".
I hate checking it down because it's much more likely your made hand will be beat. On the other hand, my "friends" give me the evil eye if I bet when head's up. I'm with you however. If I feel I have the best hand I will bet it. Checking it down is a form of soft playing. Many pros consider soft playing to be the same as cheating. I tend to agree for the most part.
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