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need help plugging 2 serious leaks/self reflection

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  1. chicoflash chicoflash is offline

    Fayetteville, AR
    United States

    Posts: 200
    Joined: Jan 06

    Oct 30th, 2007 (10/30/2007 6:44pm)

    Warning semi-long post!
    hey guys, ive been around here for a while now and dont post much but read everyday. anyway lately ive been doing lots of analyzing as well as self reflection about my game and ive come to two major problems. hope someone is willing to help out.
    first a little info bout me, started around 3-4 years ago in live poker, did well live, moved to online, after adjustment period i did okay in cash games on party for a while and at times on stars. bad BR management and tilt always issues of course but i managed to stay in the positive for long periods of time and for a little while actually made alright side money for me right after joining CR for the first time (im a school teacher so it doesnt take much). for the last year or so ive just been in an absolute funk (went thru divorce and dealing with being diagnosed with type-1 diabetes blah blah blah not looking for sympathy here those are just facts). i am a losing player right now for sure in tourneys/sngs but when i stay away from those i seem to do well in 6max cash games up to around the 1-2 level when i can leave money in to accomodate variance. PT stats over a few hundred thousand hands across a few sites for 6 max shows me at 23.77 VIP and 12.92 PF raise. right now only nl im positive in though is .25-.50 where im running at 11 pt/bb for a decent amount of hands (that will go back down though).
    Now to the leak part. i love tourneys and lately have spent more time playing them. for some reason i made some sort of jump in understanding recently that is very noticeable to me tho results arent necesssarily showing it yet. ive always been good at accumulating lots of chips at the lower stakes (anywhere from 3-rebuy up to the nightly 50-50) and when i play those i will often be at or near the top for long periods of time but i ALWAYS blow it in the late stages when preflop play becomes o much more important. im grappling with the line between valuing my chips more in the late stages and making what is theoretically a mathmatically correct call. example, someone raises me in big blind with antes in and its a small raise. i have great odds to call but at what cost. 1 out of three times i hit nothing and even if i do i may still be behind. i end up leaking a bunch that way. here is the other scenario. im big stack at the table, make a standard raise against medium stack and they push but i have great odds. im usually behind, often make the call because its mathmatically correct or very close, but if i dont hit, im now medium to small stack and one more mistake means im short or out. i cannot seem to find the line or adjust, do i need to value my chips more or keep making the math calls. its easier in cash games because of the option to reload. i also realize this is probably standard bs to some of you at this point but it would be nice to get some real help... SO SORRY if your eyes burn at this point.

    Now flame away but realize its hard to admit that you are no longer winning, especially here for some reason. gotta go do some work but cant wait to see some responses.
    -chicoflash
  2. Jennifear Jennifear is offline

    Niagara Falls, NY
    United States

    Posts: 10,222
    Joined: Nov 05

    Oct 30th, 2007 (10/30/2007 6:55pm) in reply to chicoflash

    Good luck chico. I think herein lies one problem:

    23.77 VIP and 12.92 PF raise

    This tells me that you limp or complete the small blind nearly half of the time you enter a pot.

    Play from the small blind less often, and enter pots for a raise more often. Ideally, your PFR should be about 70-75% of your VPIP. Hope that helps!
  3. chicoflash chicoflash is offline

    Fayetteville, AR
    United States

    Posts: 200
    Joined: Jan 06

    Oct 30th, 2007 (10/30/2007 7:41pm) in reply to Jennifear

    thanks jennifear. i just realized that those stats are for nl stakes of anywhere between .10-.25 all the way up to 2-4 nl but also include my limit stats and do not include any of my tourney stats. my stats at .25-.50 nl are 26/15 but i'll definitely keep your advice in mind anyway.

    for the record though my tourney game is much more aggressive which is the reason that i accumulate so well (or bust wiithin 10 minutes :) ) in the early stages but also leak off later when i havent adjusted to the importance of preflop play. i know you are one of our resident math gurus here so what do you think is mort important in stars tourneys, valuing chips from the blinds in late stages or always making the mathematical call even when you are certain you are behind? i really have been analyzing and working and i think if i figure this out my results will get better. this is less of a problem for me in rebuys where the stacks are deeper or on UB where the structure is great but i dont play there anymore. i just know in late stages on stars just 1 or two mistakes are often the difference between having a big stack and busting out. appreciate your help!!
    -chicoflash
    Thread Starter
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