class 1 lorry driver,love golf,love my weed but not whilst driving lol,most of all i love my grand children all 5 of them.thanks kids.dont drink,love to laugh .and i love this site..love chris ferguson .and respect my fellow clan members and railers

140

Running Bad Part II - It’s Bad to Always Get Your Money in Good

Chris Ferguson

February 29th, 2008

In my last tip I wrote about running bad and the effect it can have on your mental state. Now I’m living it. If you’ve been following my $0 to $10K Challenge, you know it took me about nine months to turn $0 into $100 and another nine months to turn that $100 into $10,000. Even though I hit my goal, I decided to keep playing and rapidly built up to $28,000. Three months later I was down to $9K.

Obviously, I was on a very bad losing streak, but it wasn’t due to bad beats. I just kept getting my money in bad; every time I had Queens, my opponent would have Aces - every time I had AQ, they would have AK. That’s just how it goes sometimes, but getting your money in badly doesn’t always mean that you’ve done something wrong.

For example, if my opponent gets all his money in pre-flop when he’s got Kings and I’ve got Aces, does that mean he’s a bad player because he got his money in poorly? Or that I’m a great poker player because I got my money in well? Obviously the answer is no – if our roles were reversed I’d be the one going broke. We both played the hand correctly; the fact that he was behind doesn’t mean that he played it wrong. He was simply unlucky to get dealt Kings when I was dealt Aces.

Focusing too much on getting your money in good can actually be a part of playing badly overall. I hear a lot of people complain, “I always get my money in good, but I keep losing… I can’t believe it!” Most of these players just don’t remember the times they’ve gotten lucky with the worst hand. But some people actually do get their money in well a majority of the time. It may be hard to believe, but these people are experiencing the right percentage of hands they’re going to lose – it’s just that these losses result in the players getting knocked out of tournaments because they are playing too tight.

Suppose I’m playing heads up and I’m only going to go all-in with Aces, Kings or Queens. My opponent is pushing me around by raising every single hand and moving in on me with any two cards. Finally, I get a pair of Aces and he moves in again. Even if I win the hand, just think about all the chips he’s taken away from me while I was waiting for my high pocket pair.

If I’ve lost 1,000 chips to him before I put my last 1,000 in the pot - even though I have my money in good - I’m only going to win 1,000 chips back. So, I’m actually employing a poor strategy by waiting for hands that don’t come around often enough because even if I win this hand, I’m only going to break even - and there’s no guarantee that I’m going to win. Plus, the chips my opponent is putting into the pot have been accumulated from all the folding I’ve been doing, so he’s now freerolling even though he’s behind in the hand.

Great players are going to get their money in bad once in awhile, especially if they’re playing against someone who’s playing way too tight. However, they’re actually going to make money over the long run because of all the small pots they win when their opponents are unwilling to challenge their raises without a strong hand. What this means is that if you try too hard to get your money in good all of the time, you’re susceptible to being bluffed and are going to lose more often over a long period of time.

Losing stings, especially when it seems like you’re getting your chips in badly with every hand you play. Still, if you keep your calm and avoid going on tilt, it’s possible to weather a rough patch without making drastic changes to your game. Keep your focus on playing well. Even if you do find yourself “getting your money in bad” from time to time, you’ll end up a winner in the long run.

** Bird Feed #224 carquake **

Mar 3, 2008 9:35 pm ;" href="http://www.railbirds.com/popup/popup.php?dialog=others/abuse&abuseUserId=27580&abuseTypeId=155778&abuseType=article&abuseScript=%2Fblog%2F155778%2Fbird-feed-224-carquake.html">Report Abuse

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Railbird name:carquake
Age:40
Gender:male (last time i looked lol)
Years Playing Poker:3-4
Fav. game:nlhe,but im learning razz
Fav hand:QK s ..lots of options
Fav Poker Site ftp
PS ID:carquake
FTP ID:carquake

#1 Why did you chose your Railbird.com screen name/ what does it mean?

it was my old CB radio handle,,and its an old american car film ,,brilliant

#2 How would you define your style of play?

tight,,with the occassional,,i"ve had enough of this,,

#3 Poker Achievements?

winning a 1900 player tourney

#4 what brought you to join railbirds in the first place, and what keeps u here ?

i was referred by jock 1970,,and its the great family i have made here that makes me stay,,,who wouldn"t

#5 Which pro would you like to face in a HU match and why?

chris ferguson i aspire to be like him,he does not show any emotion and give anything away with his personna,no matter what he"s holding,,true genius..

#6 how have you improved your game...was it by lots of practice, was it by books you have read and if so, which books, was it by playing live ??

i"ve improved by reading the poker pro tips,reading quality blogs,frok quasi ,topcat and the assassin,here on railbirds and by general tourney play,im always willing to listen to constructive criticism.

#7 Who are 5 players you look up to on railbirds and why? or Who do you think based on what you've seen or read, would you like to face heads up on railbirds?

topcat,excellent travelling blogs on live poker ,,quasi, top tips from a top player,,assassin ,again top player bebewins she is always there for u, top railer and stan777 very helpful individual,well respected by myself and his poker ,but there are many many more ..id love to play quasi h/u,so i could pick his brains,as to why he makes certain moves at certain times in a tourney,learn from the best ,so they say,,u cant get better than those just stated.

#8 How do you play differently in tournaments vs. cash games?

i play tighter in tourneys,because no disrespect ,but there are a lot of weaker players at the beginning,so tight is the game,,i tend to play the cash games like a sit n go turbo,so im more adventerous as they say ,,getting better at both though,lol

#9 What would you consider a weakness in your game/ something you need to improve?

sometimes im playing my usualtight and patient way ,when something in my head says ,,come on what the hell ,try it ,,ive got to get that devil out of me and let the angel continue to do her good work lol.

#10 What are some typical "TELLS" that a online poker player gives ?

some of the typical tells are when over betting occurs,he/she are trying to get as many people out of the hand with perhaps the weakest pair after the flop etc.so he/she can then bully the rest of the pot out.when players are to quick to bet ,that tells me they dont want to lose there money that quick ,so obviously have something,i wouldnt want to lose my money that quick if i didnt have anything lol.

#11 How Has Railbirds.com helped your game play?

its helped me to be more observant with other peoples hand ,,MY HAND is NOT always the best,so dont be afraid to lay down excellent cards if need be at any stage of the play,its made me think deeper about my game.

#12 Best Moment in a trny ?

taking down my 1st place at ps in a 10c with over 1900 people,vey tough and very long ,,had to stay focused for ages ,,good poker though ,,really enjoyed it

#13 Most recent trny win?: (non railbird trny).

as above ,but ive won over 70 of my beloved sit n go"s. won about 4 tourneys in all

#14 Who intrduced you to poker ?,

i was round a family members house ,whilst about 5-6 of them were playing nlhe.2£ buy in with 1 2£ rebuy..i watched fascinated for 4 hours loving the strategy behind it,totally stimulating my brain ,i was hooked. i learnt from then on playing ps2 games until i found online poker .

#15 How does your strategy help in Freerolls provided by Railbirds.com?

as in a previous question,i play very tight until the lesser players are gone .then i switch on my music ,go into focus mode and hopefully catch some cards..there are some good players here ,so u have to play v well, which in turn improves you

#16 If their wasn't Poker, what would you be doing?

playing more golf,,spending mor time with my poker widow partner ,bless her,and concentrate on some other strategic games ,lol.something to pit my wits against anyway

  PokerStars Tournament #71070946, No Limit Hold'em
Buy-In: $0.10
1856 players
$50.00 added to the prize pool by PokerStars.com
Total Prize Pool: $235.60
Tournament started - 2007/12/24 - 04:00:00 (ET)

Dear carquake,

You finished the tournament in 1st place.
A $41.59 award has been credited to your Real Money account.

__,..,…_¸¸.•¤**¤•.¸.•¤**¤•..
.•**JUST PASSING BY 2 SAY HI!**•. (¯`v´¯
`*.¸.*´
¸.•´¸.•*¨ ¸.•*¨.,GL on the felts .•´ ¸¸.•¨¯`•.
(¸.•´ (¸… Have a Great Week!!.. .•´

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keep rolling ,rolling ,rolling thats some pipe that man