How long can you wait?

[kattboots]

I have been practicing patience in poker... waiting for a decent hand before betting... I just sat through one entire game and most of another one without ever getting a decent hand. Best I had in the first was a Q4 off and in the second I did get a J10 off which was one I almost bet on, but someone went all-in pre-flop and I wasn't going there.

I watched several of my garbage hands turn into fullhouses or flushes or straights after the flop of course, just wishing I had not had to fold... So, basically, I just shriveled up and died on the vine in both games.

So, how long can and do you wait for a decent hand before you start playing things like Jrag or 89off or like some 26off in the hopes you just might catch a hand and win a pot?

katt

[Chantellee]

I rarely will fold my bs hand, unless someone is All IN. My biggest poker pet peeve (for myself) is folding what would've been a winning hand, with the thought of that always in the back of my head, i don't wait very long at all to play. lol

[blueday]

I can wait as long as it takes!   That said, if I don't get a hand at all, I will play "lesser" hands particularly if I see other players raising and winning with Q10 off and similar.  I don't think I would go down to 26 off though Katt.

If I started with 1500 chips, I would wait until I was down to about 900/1,000 and then I would start playing not so great hands but they would be reasonable hands like 89 suited, king rag suited, ace rag, 10Q, 10J,  and so on.  I'd limp with small pocket pairs (but I try and do that anyway if I can) but fold if the raise was too big.

I played a game many, many moons ago where there was a starting field of about 4000 players (or could have been 2000?)...anyway, I played 17 hands to get to the final table which isn't much at all.  Those were the good ol' days on Pacific Poker before they changed everything. That was the best site ever until they upgraded to a different software.  Whichever platform it was originally on I have no idea but that was more like real life poker than any other site.  It was filled with players from USA and I loved it.  They knew how to play the game and they didn't play like you see games played today (played to the RNG).

blue

[kattboots]

Chantellee how does that work out for you in the long run? Watching those hands that turn into great hands AFTER I have folded does drive me nuts... but, on the flipside it seems when I do go for one of those hands I get 4 of the 5 cards I need to have anything... danged if I do and danged if I don't... I don't think I could play a lot of those hands though...

Blue you as usual are so thorough in your explanation that I can see me sitting at a poker table looking at the hands you describe and my stack level and know that today, having decided to wait for a good hand, I went too far and let it get too deep into my stack.

Although the cards were much worse than usual (all day no matter what I played), there were some I should have given a shot at least to the point that someone gets really heavy handed with their bet.

I did, in some other games, play and then fold hands that were like that and more than once folded to a raise I could have matched without much harm and would have won the hands if I had.

And I sure wish I had been around for the good ole days of poker. I don't see things improving with the way things are now. Ah, well, have to work with what it is!

katt

[blueday]

Definitely don't let that stack dwindle too far Katt.

Also remember the "button raise" - players will be watching you, the same as you are watching them.  They will see you folding hand after hand after hand so  watch for the late position raises when you are SB and BB.  They will play you rather than your cards.

blue

[kattboots]

Definitely don't let that stack dwindle too far Katt.

Also remember the "button raise" - players will be watching you, the same as you are watching them.  They will see you folding hand after hand after hand so  watch for the late position raises when you are SB and BB.  They will play you rather than your cards.

blue

Boy that was an AHA! I instantly pictured instances of just exactly that happening to me yesterday. So, I need to bet on some of those not so hot but could turn into something hands just not to be seen as folding to everything.

I remember some unexpected raises from others when I did bet too, like they knew I would fold to any pressure. And yesterday with so many bad cards it was absolutely true! I felt like I did not have a card to stand on! Probably defeated myself more often than they did!

katt

[blueday]

Come back and tell us all how it goes Katt.

blue

[kattboots]

I will do just that blue. Getting ready to try a bit now!

katt

[kattboots]

Ok, I am back to tell you how it went. I played looser and bet stronger, even remembered to watch the button. This approach brought me mixed results, but that is to be expected... it is poker.

So, I played 5 games of various sorts, but all holdem as follows:

1) 6 player Double Up - one player was pushing early on and got me to fold twice... I was ready the third time and got most of his money. He went out next hand and was first out. I tried more of the same and ended up being put out second standing behind a pair of 8's.

2) 9 player Triple Up - I bet with a Q10 and pulled the straight, winning after the flop. This made one player mad and he ranted at me until he was out of the game... rather comical because he ragged on my for staying in a hand with a Qrag... problem with that was I was BB and no one bet... it was checks all around until the end. Not sure when he thought I should have folded. I figure he must have been about 15 years old the way he was acting. I finished in the money long after he was out of the game.

3) Tourney with R&A, 30 min late reg, 128 players - After 2 rebuys and 1 add-on I ended up in 56th place when I lost with Q's full of A's to A's full of Q's that I thought the other player did not have from his betting.

4) 6 player Double-up again - Early in the game I played 77 and ended up face to face with KK and embarrassing as it was I won on the river when the 3rd 7 blessed me with it presence. Chip leader the rest of the game and ended in the money.

5) 9 player Holdem (Beginner) - Ran middle of the river in this one for quite a while, but lost when I misread a bluff and ended up all in with the smaller pair.

All-in-all, I am down, but I felt much better about my play today than yesterday when I got whooped repeatedly without a fight. It felt a lot more like it had when I was playing before and while I was winning a lot more... fun experiment!

katt

[blueday]

Sounds like you definitely had fun Katt and did pretty well too even though you were down overall.

Makes interesting reading.  Thank you.

blue