Why I Win vs. Why I Lose

When I am winning I feel like every play I make is the most correct one. Like every continuation bet I make is going to work so I can take it down. I am going to win every race. I push all in at times when I am sure they will fold, or if they do call I will have the better hand. <READMORE>

Before I Enter: I feel good, I feel confident. I think about how much money I am going to make in this session. I know that if I win one of my SNG's, than the other 3 are freerolls. I can't wait to see my bankroll after the session, because I know I am going to win some money for myself. Oh baby, I love making money... I can't wait to mess these donkeys up! They don't even belong at my table!! I'm ready to win some money.

The First 24 Minutes (10/20 and 15/30): I don't let myself get caught up in any draws unless the implied odds are good enough for me. I play my hands aggressively all the way through. I don't make any wussy bets that allow hands to play back at me without the nuts or close to it. I feel like I am making top pair worry about his kicker. I feel like no one wants to deal with me because I play such solid poker. I am able to build my stack up a little bit, or a lot due to a big hand that I won. I was able to get top pair to give me all his chips to my overpair. I turned a flush and checked it back and than reraised his river bet slowly and he called. Whatever happened, I was able to build up my stack. I can make huge laydowns, like laying down an overpair to a ragged board. I know that these laydowns will help me come back and win the SNG. I am ready to make all the best decisions I possibly can.

The Second 24 Minutes (25/50 and 50/100): I start stealing blinds even at the 25/50 Level. I start playing medium-weak hands in position, because I know I can take it down on the flop with the correct betting. I pick out my opponents who I want to play hands against. I am aware of who is ready to push all in, and how I am going to show down a huge hand to the rest of the table so they know not to mess around with me later. Like If a 600 stack raises to 150, I will push all in with my KK because I am so sure that the shortstack will call his last 450...and I want to show the rest of the table I am playing solid, textbook poker. No funny business from me, just playing my good hands and folding my bad ones .

The Third 24 Minutes (75/150 and 100/200): With my big stack, I start attacking anyone I want. I put continual pressure on the smaller stacks, and show a willingness to call an all in reraise with medium strength hands. I send out the message that yes I am raising a tonne of pots, and if you want to play back at me, you better have a real hand because I will call with a meager holding to knock you out, even if the 'odds' don't necessarily call for it. I'd rather have them be scared so they are scared to play back, with the chance to knock them out and get more chips, than fold and show major weakness in my PF raises.

The Last 24 Minutes (100/200 25 Ante and 200/400 50 Ante): This is usually 3 Handed or Heads-up. I put constant pressure on my shorter stack opponents, and I make sure they know that I am not going to relent any time soon. Constant raises from any position 3 handed, and reraises when I feel they CAN't call a preflop all in without a top tier hand if they want to make
more money. Headsup, I slow down and see what my opponent is all about. I will raise and reraise more often than them and take control of the chip lead, until I build myself a comfortable lead where I can take that shot to knock them out. Usually if I get anywhere between 9-11K in chips I will take a shot with a very medium hand. If I have more than 11K, than I am pretty much all in every hand until he calls me. If he wins, I slow down and start picking off more pots preflop until I can afford to take another shot.

When I am losing, I feel like every play I make is probably going to get played back at. I am probably bluffing into people who aren't going to fold their middle pair. I am going to lose every race. I push in knowing they have me beat. I run into so many monsters. I just feel like I'm wasting money on this session, because there's no way I can run so smoothely without a period like this.

Before I Enter: I feel awful. I am more concerned of what my bankroll is going to look like if I were to lose every SNG in the session. I feel like I am going to get drawn out on. I know I am going to make too many mistakes that the best I should for is to cash.

The First 24 Minutes (10/20 and 15/30): I chase too many draws for big bets. I continuation bet into 3 and 4 people with nothing, preying that nobody caught a piece of the flop. I don't use rational thoughts as to what my opponents have, but moreso I just hope they don't have certain hands (when I know they do.) I try to make too many "plays" early on, and end up bluffing away bunches of chips. I push all in with small pairs and ace rags because I hate being the shortstack. I will not be able to fold an overpair to a ragged board when I KNOW my third opponent hit his set. I feel sorry for myself and hope I can suck out to hands I am dominated by.

The Second 24 Minutes (25/50 and 50/100): I start to play desperation poker, because I usually have less than 1500 chips. I feel like "I don't even wanna play if I don't have some chips to work with, because I hate being a shortstack!" I will usually donk push a weak ace and make stupid plays when I am beat. I tend to feel like I am "owed" some chips because I am a better player than the donks I play with. I pretty much give up on my own ability to fight back, because I don't want to put too much emotion at stake where I claw back, only to end up in 4th or 5th.

The Third 24 Minutes (75/150 and 100/200): If I get there, I have a tiny stack and I am convinced I am going to lose my all in so I don't even choose my spots wisely.

Winning streaks happen to me for a couple of reasons.

I feel refreshed. I feel like a winning player. I make a concious decision to play winning poker. I am able to make sound decisions based on the information given to me, and don't confuse my opponents actions of "what I wish they had." For example, if all indications are that my opponent has a king against my QQ on the K93 board, I have no trouble laying my hand down quickly. I don't get married to my hands, and I don't chase wild cards when the situation doesn't warrant it.

I am actually getting a good streak of cards (doesn't happen very often!). I am hitting a lot of my flops and my opponents are scared to play pots with me, because I have been showing down so many consistant winners. This in turn enables me to pick up pots at will.

I make smart bets. If my preflop action has indicated that I have a high pair (when I only hold AK or AQ) I play the hand out as if I really did have an over pair. It's pretty scary to do, but when I am winning - I am confident that I have made people laydown top pair to me, because of the speed and size of my bets. I bet with conviction and am not afraid to bluff all in if that is what it takes for me to win the hand.

Losing streaks happen to me for a couple of reasons.

I run into calling stations when I am getting no cards. There is nothing worse for a hyperaggressive player like me to run into a player who will consistantly call my bets when I am consistantly bluffing. It makes it very tough for me to stay in the hunt when a player has shown willingness to call me down with a medium-weak hand. If I don't pick up any hands to bust that calling station with - well than I usually end up bluffing my chips to him. However, when I do find
a hand, I make sure he pays for it fully, which is always nice.

I play when I don't want to play. Sometimes I will play a session when I really wanted to go to bed, because I just want to get some more numbers down. In these times, I tend to gamble more, and call bigger bets with straight/flush draws. I feel like I can't outplay anyone after the flop, so might as well try to get lucky and have a bullying stack. I often will not even come top 6 in these SNG's.

I get outplayed. This usually happens either 4-Handed, or Heads-Up. I don't usually get outplayed, because I am usually pretty aware of what my opponent is probably thinking. But there have been times when my opponent will show me a big bluff in a big pot. Or, one of my favorite plays - him checking behind me when he turns his nut flush. Great play against a player
like me. It's hard to tell when you are getting outplayed. But I would say that if your opponent is winning a bunch of his pots against you without a showdown, than you are probably getting outplayed. Nobody has THAT many good hands in a row.

You see, although my style is very tough to play against in the latter stages of a SNG because I am so uber-aggressive, it also makes me more suseptible to getting trapped. For example, if someone knows I am going to continuation bet, than they can pretty much check raise me to their liking. Let's say I raise preflop from the button. BB calls and the flop comes A84. A player can easily check raise me off of this hand. If I don't have a strong ace, I have to give the check-raiser credit for at least an ace, or a set. Just like the example I gave in another article (about having the same hand), well if we both have QK on the A84 flop, and he check raises me..? Well than, he just won a bunch of my chips without a showdown, "trapping" me into making a continuation bet/bluff on the flop. And if I call the bet, than they could pretty much give up the hand. But more than likely, what kind of a hand could I CALL with after I've been checkraised on that board? If I feel I have the best hand on the flop, I will reraise all in - at which point the checkraiser could easily fold his QK high...but at least he gave himself an opportunity to win some of my continuation bet chips.

-gidders
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