Bluffing Loose Games

Bankroll: $1962.20

Published on March 16, 2006 By PacDragon In Gaming

Not much to report lately. It's a lot more fun to write updates when I'm winning fat wads of cash, instead of this losing or break even play. I've started winning again, but still haven't fully recovered from those nasty losses earlier. I was doing a bunch of $5 tournaments, but didn't win any. It's been pretty rough.

But I finally decided to go back to playing $3/$6 and started winning again. I was stressed out at first, since I was so worried that a loss would push me back down to $2/$4. But I eventually realized that that kind of thinking is just silly. Fluctuations are normal and I have a system in place to handle it. Moving down is not a big deal. It's not like I'm living off the cash and my bankroll is just winnings. I can easily afford to lose a little, change stakes, and just keep pounding away. I really just have to relax, not take everything so seriously, and wait for the downswing to end.

So my style at these loose games is usually pretty straightforward. I wait for good hands and push hard when they come. But I'm really at the mercy of the cards. If I get bad cards, or get drawn out on frequently, those losses pile up quickly. This downswing actually taught me some valuable lessons, though.

I used to think that it was stupid to bluff at these loose games, since the main mistake my opponents are making is calling too much. But I'm starting to realize that there are still plenty of bluffing opportunities at loose tables. It was probably a combination of desperation & experience that allowed me to start seeing the good spots, which I was totally missing before.

It really started when I stopped getting paid off on my big hands after I showed down some monsters. I'd get something like KK, raise it, but then everyone would fold. Or they'd all fold on the flop. I kept winning these tiny pots, which weren't enough to cover my blinds while I waited for another big hand. A lot of the problem is that I used to be able to gather stats on 10 tables at once, then sit down at the loosest one. But now that Party Poker only lets me gather stats on tables I'm playing at, I end up sitting down with better opponents on average.

So I figure, if I can win a tiny pot from these guys with KK, why not with 72? I just have to tell a convincing story with my betting patterns. I can't do it too often, but usually no one contests me if I keep the frequency believable. My opponents don't know that the cards have been bitterly cold for me lately. If they're expecting me to play a big hand every so often, I can just play a trash hand the same way and get similar results.

It's difficult though, but I'm getting much better at finding the right opportunities. Winning these tiny pots while the deck is cold is turning losing sessions into break even sessions and break even sessions into small wins. I'm going to have to really develop this skill before I move to bigger games.

I've also had a lot of distractions lately. I got a new job and today is my last day at my current one. I'll have a couple of weeks off in between jobs to unwind. I also found out that my wife is pregnant! As you can imagine, it's been pretty difficult to focus

But right now, I have a cash bonus waiting for me at Party Poker if I play enough hands before Saturday. Tomorrow will be the first day of my vacation, so my wife is going to let me play 4 tables at once all day long. If I start off losing I'll drop down to $2/$4 for a while. No big deal. But I'll keep at it all day to see if I can finally pull down a nice profit. Hopefully, you'll see a new post from me soon, bragging about all my winning. Keep your fingers crossed.

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