POKER: Always up, then lose. WHY?

Question

LOL ok "always" is a bit much. Last night was the 3rd game in my life I have played. I played Texas Holdem with 5 other guys. Anyway, I am still learning but the past couple games I was up at the star and before I knew it, all my chips were gone and I didnt even notice.

Should I fold more at the start unless I get similar suits, or really high cards like Ace and King? If I get a 3 and 7, different suits for example at the start, should I always fold that?

Also I have no guts LOL! I am scared to bluff, not so much cuz of the money but cuz I want to keep playing and having fun. Yet a couple guys seem to always bet big.

I lost $50 and feel guilty, like I threw away money but I had a good time. Should I feel bad?

Answer 1

You pay $15 to see a movie for 2 hours, and you're never even sure if you'll like it, having a good time is all that matters.

Also, practice with your friends, try bluffing them, such as being honest about what cards you have, then lying, at this point, as long as you're random, they'll never be able to tell if you're bluffing.

If you have a poor hand, and play the Big Blind, remember that you can see the flop without putting in any additional chips, so if you got a poor hand at this point, either tap or fold, or bluff if you feel the turn and river can work for you.

Finally, wear sunglasses and a hat, this way they won't be able to see your eyes, or if you sweat, which are often tell-tale signs on if you're bluffing or not.

Answer 2

Good advice to read a book!

ZCT said it , play a tight aggressive game while you are gaining experience.

Here is a book that can help you play better while you are learning, and you can get it for FREE for a limited time.

It is called the Texas Holdem Dynamic Point Count Super Strategy. It will help you play only the most probable winning hands based on the type of game, the table action, your position and your starting cards.

http://www.thedoverpro.com/texas.htm

Answer 3

For most people, the main thing is poker is to have fun.  Getting a better understanding of the game will only enhance your fun.  If you're playing $50.00 games and your money is gone before you know it, think about changing your venue or stakes.  You're playing with guys who are much better than you.  And they're only bluffing you because they know you're going to fold.  Get books, etc. but nothing beats actually playing.  A few internet sites have very low stakes games (I do not suggest free games as people play very differently) that are worth playing to get some experience.  

I've only been playing for about a year, but it's pretty interesting to remember how I used to react to getting beat early on (much like you, I didn't understand how it happened), but now I at least understand why I lost.

Answer 4

If you are like me then its not about the money.

Sure we would all like to win money that would be great but winning without money is just as great.

I am a hypercompetitive person so I always like to win.  Sounds like you might be similar, and well when its friends you get bragging rights.

When I first started I played extremely tight, I didnt play anything but what i considered top ten starting hands (AA - 77, AK, and AQ)  I didnt take into consideration position, price, or anything.  Then i quickly became bored with this method, but I used it as my starting point.

Remember, poker is a game of imperfect information, you have to use that information to make the best decision possible.  If you are the first to act that means you have zero information and the hand you are holding could be good or bad, so play it safe and when you are first only play extremely strong hands.  When you are last to act (best position) you get to see everybody's action before you act.  So if everybody is folding and you look down at A9 (normally iw ould throw that away) but since everybody else folded I probably have the best hand I might raise but i would at least call.

(This is also why people wait to look at their cards, because sometimes you know you are going to raise before you even look at them and you dont want to give anything away prior to acting)

Each round goes the same way, you have to use the information obtained from that round and the previous rounds to make the best decision.  One other thing: THERE ARE NO "ALWAYS" AND "NEVER" in POKER.  

Never do this, always do this, try to ignore those guys.  Poker is not an absolute game, at the heart of hearts its gambling and everything can change with the flip of the next card.  So while 99% of the time you should throw away 7-3 sometimes you should play it.  There are even situations to throw away pocket Aces preflop but tahts for another question.

Don't worry so much about bluffing either.  It will come naturally.  Once you see yourself getting better and realizing when others are strong and weak then you will be able to bluff accordingly.  Right now you see somebody bluff and you are impressed and you want to do that, but thats how you lose chips.

For some people poker books help.  I personally can't read about a game i have to play to learn, so thats how I learned.

No you should not feel guilty about losing the money, as long as you played your best.  If you did not play your best then you cheated yourself, and thats worse than anything.

Answer 5

As others have said, a  book is always good. Also there are sites online where you can play for free, so practice, practice, practice.  But maybe just some basic poker knowledge and strategies would be helpful.  Here is a good site that goes from the basics up to advanced strategies, and there are also links to online sites as well as a book on strategies.  Visit here:  www.knowwn2hldem.com.

good luck

Answer 6

couple points:

1. It sounds like you don't know about bankroll management. Usually, you only want to play games where you have 100-200X as much money total. If you have $500, the biggest game you should be playing is .50/1, or a $5 buy-in SNG or tourney. With $50, you can't even play the $1 games.

2. Starting hands are vital. I experienced a 30% swing in winnings just by being more selective in hands. As a beginner, you want to only be playing the top 10-20% of hands.

3. How you feel will determine if you will become an addict or not. The main thing to avoid is to go out to "prove" something in the next game, to avoid being perceived as a loser.

Answer 7

Playing poker is always fun, money isn't an issue, because you always have fun doing it and eventually you will be winning. Losing $50 is no big deal, but if you always lose $50 then you should start feeling bad.

You sound to be just like me when you play. I am veryyyyy conservative and that works out very well. You need to be able to throw in one bluff, because the people playing with you expect you to never bluff. Sometime when you are in a big pot. Go all in on a bluff, everyone will fold thinking you have the nuts.

Also, When you got the chip lead, you need to throw away 3 7. play your AK,AQ, and pocket pairs strong. But dont play every hand. I limit myself to suited connectors and high cards only. i dont play 36,57, 96 or any of that. So just because you dont bluff doesnt mean your not bad. I am very conservative and i just put $50 on full tilt poker last week. Today i have $975.43. Poker will come natural with a lot of practice.

Read books, the best book out there without a doubt would have to be Doyle Brunsons "supersystems". It's huge, you dont have to read the whole thing, just read the parts that you need to work on....

Good Luck to You.

Answer 8

If you want to play poker, you need to learn about the game.  Read a book so that you can understand the basics of the game.

There's so much to learn, and if you don't take the time to learn it, you will 'always' end up losing.

You need to learn to play tight aggressive poker.  Tight meaning that you don't get involved with junk hands, and aggressive meaning that once you have a good hand, you try and get the most out of it.

The first link is some general poker information.  The second has some very good observations about the starting hands.  There are 169 different starting hands possible in Hold'em.  You need to learn to figure out the good from the bad, and how you should generally play them.

I'd also encourage you to play poker online.  You can play any of the major sites for play money, which will teach you a lot about the game.  Online play is way faster than real life, so you get to experience a lot of hands very quickly, accelerating your learning curve.