"OMG I'm so card dead!"
How many times do we hear that a day? Everyday I hear about how someone is on a long dry spell, or the cards have been dead for a week or longer. What do I think? Simple, I thinkg to myself " Wow that sux, but what a great learning opportunity".
Sounds weird huh? Well let me try and explain.
When you are running good and everything is seemingly working for you, your focus is on winning and making money, but when your cards are dead and have been that way, you really need to stop playing at the levels you normally play. Now that's just my thoughts on it. If you normally play $5 buy ins, let's say, drop down to the $1 buy ins where being card dead doesn't hurt your BR as much. Now while your down there, use this time to work on new aspects of your game. Play those small cards, connectors, and other cards. This is a great time to learn post flop poker. ALL of us pretty much got Pre-flop poker down, but how many actually can play post flop poker? How many of us focus on betting patterns, position, what's on the board, and aggresion? How many of us can honestly say we truly do these things well?
How many of us can honestly say we got the guts to make a reraise when we are holding absolutely nothing in our hand, because he bet 150 into a 500 chip pot? Well this is the perfect opportunity to practice this at very little risk to your BR.
Just random thoughts, don't know if they make much sense but............... lol
GL everyone
© Copyright 2008
15 comments
was "card dead" in a dimer friday nite...............played and won just 3 hands to the final table and then became a card rack and took third.....
just a thot................................dj
hot streaks come and go. i'm sure everyone gets the streaks where they seem to win every hand, yet are somehow surprised when the opposite happens...
good blog
i agree with you watchdog
How many of us can honestly say we got the guts to make a reraise when we are holding absolutely nothing in our hand, because he bet 150 into a 500 chip pot?
depends who it is betting
What you are saying makes a lot of sense ! When the cards are totally dead, and half of your starting stack is gone, I would suggest finding a hand in late position that has a raiser and a caller or two, and push with almost any two decent cards.
Chances are that because you haven't played much you might get respect folds, and if not hopefully the opponents hands will have duplicate cards and cancel each other out. If you can get heads up in the hand, 8,9 suited or better is 50% against 1 random hand, and it beats sitting there getting blinded out ! If you double up just wait for the next similar opportunity, and try it again !
........play on ........
i like to keep a mental note of how many hands i win simply by making smart bets in good postion. It really makes you realize how important post flop play is.
it is amazing how tight tables get late in the tourney and if you have been folding a lot...most likely you can steal the pot
i agree, good blog
Very good advice................
I need all the help I can get when I'm card dead!
Great blog and (of course ) reminds me of one of my favorite tourneys cause I only showed 3 times and won the tourney.
In washington at this little card casino i used to work at they had a tourney every saturday that I got in whenever i didn't have to work it.
they were small, 10-20 players and this one had 11. Second hand in I got K/10 in mid and call.. flop trips and raise so it's me and another guy, turn a boat and get him all in to double.
Then I went card dead...nothing for hand after hand.. I managed to steal with a couple well timed bluffs to keep me in blinds money and survived till it got down to 4 left and 3 spots paid. Me ,2 regulars and my boss.
I get pocket 3's UTG and shove to try and steal.. I havent been playing much so I hope it works but the next 2 players call and my boss ( chip leader ) folds.GULP
one has Ace/2 the other has K/Q suited and after the smoke cleared the best they coud muster was a pair of deuces so I knock out positions 3/4 with my three's to triple and have a slight chip lead on my boss.
Next hand I get J/J and shove ... boss calls ... he lose's and I win the tourney.
This may not be the card dead your talking about ( God knows I know the ,can't get cards or hit a flop for weeks kind) but it is a good example of making the most of what u got.
I think it was the best 1 table tourney I ever played.
BTW although my boss ( an old card mechanic from 60's Vegas and one of the best all around card players I have ever met.. this guy can deal one handed seconds and YOU can't spot it LOL ) he used to whip me regular in ring gamesbut NEVER beat me in a tourney.
Peace and GL ... sees ya on da felts