NLHE: Would you feel stupid too?

Question

I just played a 45/$3 SNG and I was the chip leader for a while. Then this guy comes to our table and he's incredibly lucky. Several times, he makes me drop a hand preflop that turned into the winner. With around 8 players left, I'm the SB, he's the BB, and the small stack goes all in. I call to help, and he pushes me out. He has a pair of fours, and my jack would have paired to win it. I end up respectably in 5th, and he goes on to win it.

Later, I check sharkscope, and find out this guy is a total fish with a -50% ROI. If I had known this earlier, I would have nailed him bigtime.

Answer 1

I look at this from a totally different standpoint than the rest of these guys. Sure enough, at a higher level, people will check down with you on an allin from a small stack, BUT they'll also trap you more..bluff you more at opportune moments, etc. etc. Your best bet is to stick to what you're doing now, BUT whenever someone becomes  the "villain" in your eyes, give them a look at Sharkscope and see how big of a fish they may actually be. The reason I wouldn't move up in limits, is cause even though the players would make smarter decisions such as when there's an allin involved, they'll also make smarter decisions, such as when to call down your bluff, when to fold to your monster. There's more people at higher limits keeping notes and keeping up with important things like pot odds and whatnot that people at lower limits could give a c**p less about, giving you a slight upper hand, you know what I mean?

Answer 2

You did nothing wrong and should not feel at all stupid. Tournament poker has a large luck factor. Poker is not about winning or losing, it is about making the correct decision as often as possible. You can not look at the results when evaluating a previous decision. You must look at the information provided to you at the time of the decision.

At lower level tournament style holdem you will experience large swings in wins and loses due to the wild playing styles you will encounter. However, overall playing against weaker players who make many mistakes, will in the end = profit.

Moving up in limits to play with better or more "logical" players is a very silly statement. Why would playing with better players increase your win rate? However, if you play for enjoyment, you may find better players to be more challenging and therefore more enjoyable.

Answer 3

Also, unlike live poker, you can't say for sure that your J would have paired. In online poker the cards are being continuously shuffled, so the split second it would have taken for you to call would have affected the cards that came on the board.

Answer 4

Sounds good in theory, but there's only one problem with that. The Luck.

You can be stuck at a table with a fish all day long and try and set them up. You finally wait for the right spot and you put your money in at the right time with the best hand. He calls just like you hoped and gets lucky and knocks you out, then what??

The higher amount of money you are playing for, the quicker you want to check for their stats. Also when you check the stats, really closely look at the stats as some of them may be askewed. The person you are looking up may have played in enough dime tournaments and been knocked out early enough because they didn't care, that their stats say they finish early 10 + % of the time. And although this seems "donkish", I think we've all played in enough cheap tournys to have the finish early % not were it should be.

You made the right call early on assuming he was playing like a fish. And then checked the stats to find out you were right. This is just as important as checking the stats. Because people play differently for different stakes or differently just depending on their mood.

Also, even though it's illegal, I'm sure there are alot of people who play more than 1 person on an acount. So who's stats are you looking up??

You should always try and identify how the people are playing at your table at the time. More often than not, the style of player you put them on is pretty accurate.

Answer 5

Like others have said, try moving up a level if your bankroll can handle it.  What matters is that you didn't change your style of play to fit this guy's style.  Once you start getting into bad habits (like the villain here) then your bankroll will ultimately take the hit.

Answer 6

At least you learned a lesson and improved your game.  That's what's important.  Win or lose (preferably win) do not matter as long as you played your A game.

Answer 7

Unfortunately you are going to get stuff like this at a $3 S&G.  People don't understand the concept of pushing small stacks out by checking a hand down.  In fact there are a lot of things people won't understand at the $3 level.  Let's face it, if they were any good they would not be playing $3 games.

I suggest if your bank roll can take it, you play at a higher level, where the play has a bit more logic and skill to it.