Impatience

CaptainNemo

After playing quite a few tournaments recently I've started to identify a big problem in my game. I play quite well for a lot of the tournament (I think) but there usually comes a period where for a long time, like maybe a couple of hours, I get no playable cards at all - or if I get something playable I have to fold it to a reraise or after the flop. I don't have any superstitions about this and I know it's just part of the natural patterns of chance - you have hot streaks and dry patches and you just have to live with it.

My problem is that I get frustrated and impatient after a couple of hours of folding, folding, folding and watching my stack slowly dwindle. I fold hands correctly then see that I would have flopped the nuts, then I raise with good cards and miss the flop completely. I get nothing but unsuited, trashy low cards for orbit after orbit - you know the kind of thing. So I start to get itchy and annoyed and I start to try to push the action and start bleeding away chips even faster. Eventually I have to get myself all-in with a marginal hand like KQo and get called by a pair or AQ or something and go bust; or I make a bad call all-in with AJ suited. This kind of thing has happened me in the final stages of several tournaments, always at the end of a long period of being card-dead.

So my question is, are there other players out there who have problems with impatience and frustration, and what do they do about it? Listen to music, start chatting, read a magazine, play roulette? How do you cope with being card-dead - just tighten up and wait, or get loose and start trying to push the action hard?

If I could plug this leak I think my results would improve straight away but I'm finding it difficult because getting really impatient interferes with my thinking and I lose my objectivity. A while back I praised 1 player in particular for his play in the Macau super league final, Eoin Dixon, and a couple of people asked me why, and I think it was because he was so patient, he waited for the right spots and seemed to control his frustration despite how long we'd been playing. It's something I'd love to learn.

5starpool

I usually just fúck my chips away.

Theresalwaysone

Well Lads,
To be honest there is not one player out there that doesnt suffer from Impatience at one time or another.

Dont listen to music, Dont read a magazine this just ruins any concentration you had.Chatting is fine but it really doesnt help with fixing your impatience.

What I tend to do when I am card dead is focus intently on all the other players. I try and pick up tells, pin them on a hand, find out what they typically raise with on the button, UTG, In the BB etc etc.

Generally since I don't have anything to do other than chuck my cards in the muck, I might as well be doing something to improve my game. I see the inevitable card dead time as a chance to brush up on my game ( god know there is a lot of brushing up to do). If your reading any poker books, this is a great time to put what you read into practice ( or at least see it in practice)

i.e I have seen Mr. Plough execute some perfect squeeze plays.
I have seen Trippie talk about his loose image and call with ATC preflop and then tighten up like a nuns knickers post flop unless he has hit hard.
I have seen (nameless) literally piss away tournament winnings overplaying an overpair in the cash game.

In summary:
I think focussing on all these things not only improves your game but when you focus, pin a player on a hand and get it right it makes you more confident and therefore you play better, Impatience doesnt even come into the equation if you are concentrated and focussed.

Thanks Lads

El Stuntman

just get prop bets going with the players on your left and right

the time will fly in

CaptainNemo

I think if I can spot the rot starting to creep in maybe getting up and going for a walk around the place might be a good idea. The problem with that is all the time I would be walking I'd be wondering if I'd have had aces if I'd stayed in my seat.

Good point about focus. It's hard to keep your concetration after 6+ hours of poker though. I used to play chess and I'm used to concentrating for long periods but I find poker even more difficult. A moment's inattention or brainfart can doom you.

I've noticed that I always play better when I'm not just coming from a full day at work. Maybe that's the answer I'm looking for: quit your job!

Theresalwaysone

If your playing tired, your never ever going to play properly.
If you have other things on your mind you will never play properly.

I guess you just have to play poker when you WANT to play poker, not when your bored and feel like playing.

But yes, keeping your focus is the hardest thing to do, it even worse online.... at least in bricks and mortar games you have physical tells ( some say are overrated) and speech play, but online it is literally just a computer screen and jus like watching the tv for 8 hours... you will start falling asleep.

kebabfest

Whenever you're card dead for long periods of time people will perceive that you're a rock and not neccesarily think you the only reason you havent played is that all you have seen is muck.
Dont throw your cards in the muck and say crap like
"another 7 -2 " or "fcuk what I would do to see a picutre card"

If you keep the same demanoeur and pick your spots well you should be able to start playing the player more instead of the cards as players will think "jez he hasnt played a hand for ages. He must have a monster"

This is a risky business but better that than bleeding chips for hours and going out with a whimper.

eoghan104

El Stuntman wrote:

just get prop bets going with the players on your left and right

the time will fly in

If anyone knows how to sit and wait for a hand its you!!! you should coach patience!!!!!

Flushdraw

All players suffer from impatience from one time to another and everyone has a different way of dealing with it. Theresalwaysone says dont listen to music or read a magazine. I agree with not reading a magazine because your eyes are on the book and your not watchin whats going on around you but i'd recommend listening to music.

I dont think music affects your concentration one little bit. You can stil look around and pick up tells while you've music on and wasting 3 minutes listening to a song you like doesnt seem so bad.

As far as being card dead goes, probably 70-80% of the hands you win, dont go to showdown so the cards you held were irrelevant. Dont worry about your cards, just concentrate on picking a spot and playing position. After being card dead for a while, say to yourself that you're going to play the next hand like aces. You look down and see 74o, nah its aces. Raise or reraise. If you;ve been quiet for so long, you should get respect for it. Follow through on the flop and when you take this hand down, it'll give you such a buzz, it will keep you going till you get a real hand.

Most of the time its position thats more important than cards so concentrate on this rather than the fact your not getting cards.

Its definitely a better idea playing a tournament fresh rather than coming from work. Poker shouldnt be played when tired, bored or for the sake of it. All of these take away your edge and make you play below your best game but sometimes if just cant be helped and you need to counteract it by staying focused.

Primewise

Flushdraw wrote:

After being card dead for a while, say to yourself that you're going to play the next hand like aces. You look down and see 74o, nah its aces. Raise or reraise. If you;ve been quiet for so long, you should get respect for it. Follow through on the flop and when you take this hand down, it'll give you such a buzz, it will keep you going till you get a real hand.

Phil Ivey is a pro at representing hands like you just said.

This worked a GEM for me the other week. I decided I was going to play a hand like aces in a cash game when I was card dead. I wanted to wait until I truly had a TERRIBLE hand though, and execute a squeeze play / reraise. One player raised, 3 players called, I re-raise, all fold, and I show 24o!!

It’s dangerous but thrilling

p.s. Impatience is the cause, Tilt is the Effect! And losing is usually the side-effect.

phantom_lord

CaptainNemo wrote:

play roulette?

yup.


edit, but only if a colour is on a run obv, even then i like to multi-table to reduce the variance.

El Stuntman

eoghan104 wrote:

If anyone knows how to sit and wait for a hand its you!!! you should coach patience!!!!!

good idea

I'll charge €100 p/h for this

CelticPhantom

El Stuntman wrote:

you should coach patience!!!!!

good idea

I'll charge €100 p/h for this

I don't have the patience to sit still for more than 6 minutes. Does this mean you will only charge me €10

loadabollocks

El Stuntman wrote:

good idea

I'll charge €100 p/h for this

Student: "i've been sitting here for ages, when are you going to teach
me stuff?"

Teacher: "wait, be patient...."

CaptainNemo

Flushdraw wrote:

As far as being card dead goes, probably 70-80% of the hands you win, dont go to showdown so the cards you held were irrelevant. Dont worry about your cards, just concentrate on picking a spot and playing position. After being card dead for a while, say to yourself that you're going to play the next hand like aces. You look down and see 74o, nah its aces. Raise or reraise. If you;ve been quiet for so long, you should get respect for it. Follow through on the flop and when you take this hand down, it'll give you such a buzz, it will keep you going till you get a real hand.

I do try this and it works quite well in the earlier levels. However lately all my card dead periods have been coming at vital stages in the tournament such as the final 1/3 of the field or even the final table. Here so many people are in push or fold mode that there's no room to put pressure on or see flops. I flatter myself that I play OK post-flop and am a decent reader of what kind of hand someone has and whether they've hit it, so my frustration level rises even higher when there's no post-flop play. When I mentioned above about "bleeding chips" the kind of thing I'm referring to is raising 3xBB, maybe 1/5 of my stack, with a trash hand, and having someone in push-or-fold mode look down at A10 offsuit and instapush.

Sometimes you can pull off a move like coming over the top of a button raise with nothing and making them fold. However, when I'm feeling frustrated my judgement for picking those moments isn't so good and I end up trying it on someone who hasn't shown any ability to lay down a hand.

The general idea is good but in the critical stages of tournaments, before the money, I find there isn't much scope for creativity. You are very often reduced to waiting for good cards, and it's heartbreaking watching those chips dwindle away while everyone around you is shoving, shoving, shoving!

CaptainNemo

Well I tried to apply some lessons from this thread in a tournament last night and I'm very happy with the results. I was card dead from about the 2nd level onwards until the final table and still managed to stay calm and not lose patience, mainly because I kept saying "Patience, patience" to myself!

I got myself all-in with a very short stack with an ace and doubled up (I was ahead) then doubled up again with a pair against a draw that didn't hit. That put me on an average stack for the final table.

I avoided several race situations that normally I might have got my chips in on and finally got them in with a dominating hand (A6 against K6). Unfortunately reality didn't match my expectations and the flop was K-6-x and I was eliminated in 7th.

I just thought it would be a good addition to this thread to say that I was happier with my play in this tournament, through consciously trying to be patient, than I have been with almost any other I've played. I think I'm going to get that word tattooed on my arm.