Friday, December 28, 2007

Ah, Captain Smith, sir. I think we have a leak

The Hero Call
There is a major leak in my game and I'm not sure how to get rid of it.

I like making the hero call. There, I said it.

When I'm at a table with a player I deem Loose/Aggressive, I will call off huge portions of my stack with modest holdings because I believe they are on a draw or worse...bluffing. I get it right once and while, but even then, I'll lose before all the cards are dealt.

My first Mookie, I read the situation perfectly. There was no way that fluxer had a hand better than pocket tens. I was right and he only had bottom pair. But I risked my entire tournament that his hand wouldn't improve. It did improve and I'm out of the tournament holding nothing more than pocket tens.

My second Mookie, I found listening listening to BuddyDank with my headphones on. The same way I play live poker. OhCountess wasn't suck a big fan of BDR and didn't want to listen. But when I wear the headphones, I tend to concentrate on the task at hand and think about things. That and I was never really desperate for chips, meant I wasn't compelled to call huge raises.

My bankroll was flush with new money on Thursday night, so I figured I'd back up my performance with a strong showing in the Riverchasers. My confidence never more inflated. Well, I made a hero call and pissed down my leg (top pair - Ace with a 4 kicker...ugg). Out early when I had been so in control and building a solid stack.

I now my personality has a desire to stick it to people that are doing wrong to others. I love a good trap, or whacking a bully. How do we as poker players over come these leaks? I've had this one for a while and I'm not sure how to get rid of it. I can be a solid player when I'm on my game, but then I go and donk it off putting someone on bluff or a draw when all I have is top pair and a 4 kicker.

What do other bloggers and players do when they know they have a leak like this?

3 comments:

KenP said...

"What do other bloggers and players do when they know they have a leak like this?"

Start a bowling blog????

:)

Riggstad said...

First things first...

I, like you have (had) a propensity to be the hero and protect or help the "weak" by getting into it with an aggro player and hopefully stacking them with less than modest holdings.

What I learned a really long time ago, and relearned once everyone started playing poker (holdem, moreso) is that you must take emotion out of the game. That seems to be the correct definition of your leak.

Poker is about decisions, and making decisions with emotion, in anything, is bad. And especially expensive in poker.

Take out that emotion, base your decisions using analytical skills and deciphering the info that way (especially online).

It becomes a little more of a grind, hence boring, but you will see more profits and find less leaks :)

KajaPoker said...

O-Cap, I've been there too. Riggsy is right. Look at the facts and not the feeling you want to bust some LAG. The "Hero Call" is similar to the "Really?" call and is a huge leak.

What you do against these LAGs is stay out of their way until you have them in a serious headlock. Then just squeeze the crap out of them. It is always a better feeling to get someone to call drawing dead than it is to make a hero call.

Happy New Year!