Help get my game out of this slump, thanks guys.....

[mavthrill 0]

This summer I was playing mostly SnG's and I started with $50 and moved up into the thousands (2100). I was really pumped. I started at the $5's and moved up accordingly.There was a time this summer where I was always cashing and usually! placing 1st. I felt great about my game. I started to move up into the NL 5-10 and did welll there. I took three months off and now I have trouble even placing in a single table.Before I was a fan of Phil Hellmuth's "Play Poker Like Pro's" and I played pretty tightly - Pairs, AK, AQ, AJ, A10, J10s. I was usually always took the betting lead when I would come into a pot. Usually if I missed I coudl pick up the pot with a bluff.Now, I am playing tightly and getting somewhat cold cards so I am a little small stacked when the blinds start to come up. When I get a big hand like an AK, AQ I raise it up substantially then if I get a caller and miss on the flop I will try to pick up the pot even if I have been called on teh flop as well.I guess what I am trying to say is that if I am in a pot I ALWAYS try to win it either by having the best hand or bluffing and knocking someone off a hand. I cant give hands up.***So do you think I should keep with my tight play or loosen it up to play lower suited connectors** I really want to learn how to play the garbage hands some.....thanks for your help everyone, I know this was kinda a long article.!!

[JustinHEMI04 0]

I think you should swallow your pride and ego and stop forcing yourself to lose. "hold em" doesn't mean you have to keep your crap, its just the name of the game. You are probably an easy read to those who call you if you are always trying to take down every pot you are in, winning or not. Espescially if you show after you lose. If you don't, then they just think you are weak and fold like a lawn chair. If you don't got it, you don't got it. Its that simple. And when you don't got it, you can't ALWAYS bluff like you do got it. Pay attention to whats drawing and your opponents play and your position. And most importantly, you can't win every pot. Realize that.Justin

[Smasharoo 0]

There's a lot of luck involved in sit and gos and NL in general.I'm going to tell you something you don't want to hear now.You were lucky before, you are unlucky at the moment.It remains to be seen if you are winning player long term.Go back to playing $5 SnG's. Play a few thousand and see how you do.

[mavthrill 0]

Thanks guys,I really think that I got it since I sustained such a long winning streak over the summer. I was probably playing about 4-8 hours a day after games. I had a steady climb in my account throughout the whole summer. I was playing 10-20 and 20-40 and playing solid. I have gotten the respect of a lot of the regulars at the casinos that i play at so I "think" that I have the right stuff.I just feel like I am in a rut right now after my long layoff and need to tighten up the game. Thanks a lot guys.

[Smasharoo 0]

You'd litteraly need to play about 10,000 sit and gos to have any idea if you were a winning player at them or not. If you done that, then you probably are. If you haven't you may or may not be. Having a good few months is meaningless.

[jogsxyz 0]

You'd litteraly need to play about 10,000 sit and gos to have any idea if you were a winning player at them or not. If you done that, then you probably are. If you haven't you may or may not be. Having a good few months is meaningless.

10,000?? 1,000 seems like enough. Pretty hard to be lucky that long if you're a lousy player.

[Smasharoo 0]

10,000?? 1,000 seems like enough. Pretty hard to be lucky that long if you're a lousy player.No really, it isn't.We're talking about fast blind escelation single table tournaments.You could be horrible and make money over 1000 of them.

[jogsxyz 0]

10,000?? 1,000 seems like enough. Pretty hard to be lucky that long if you're a lousy player.No really, it isn't.We're talking about fast blind escelation single table tournaments.You could be horrible and make money over 1000 of them.

Sorry, but I have to disagree with you. The standard deviation for a 1 table SnG is 16.7$/SnG for 10 players and 15.6$/SnG for 9 players. After 1000 SnGs for a break even player the range is +$1056 to -$1056. Since there is a one dollar fee, the average player should be losing $1 per SnG. This pushes the range down to +$56 to -$2056. For a losing player to win over 1000 SnGs, he would need to be 2 standard deviations luckier than normal(one chance in 40). This of course is possible. Some one has to be 2 s.d. luckier than normal. But a truely lousy needs to be 3, 4 or even more s.d. luckier than normal. While still possible, it is very unlikely. Usually the player just plays an unusual style that seems wrong but could be right. Sort of like a Gus Hansen or Layne Flack.

[Smasharoo 0]

Sorry, but I have to disagree with you. The standard deviation for a 1 table SnG is 16.7$/SnG for 10 players and 15.6$/SnG for 9 players.Hi. Happy to talk math about this. Can you tell me where you get this SD from?

[jogsxyz 0]

Sorry, but I have to disagree with you. The standard deviation for a 1 table SnG is 16.7$/SnG for 10 players and 15.6$/SnG for 9 players.

Hi.  Happy to talk math about this.  Can you tell me where you get this SD from?

The payoffs for the game is 50,30,20,0,0,0,0,0,0,0.X2 will be X squared.[E(X)]2 will be the expected value of X squared.Sorry I dont know how to make the 2 a superscript.VAR(X) is varience of X.The standard deviation of X is the square root of VAR(X).VAR(X) = E(X2) - [E(X)]2VAR(X) = 380 -100 = 280The square root of 280 is 16.7If we define a lousy player as one who expects to lose $3 per SnG, he would need to be 8 s.d. lucky to break even after 1000 SnGs. Very, very unlikely. Much more reasonable to assume his unorthodox style is a good strategy.