loose as a goose

I continue to run cold. All my posts have a recurring theme - play tighter. Why do I continue to play loosely? I expect the other players to think and react intelligently. But they don't. So I need to adjust. The irony is - my knowledge grows and grows, but my results are actually declining.

Playing so loosely is a leak. I have to fix it.

why I have been sucking lately

In the last 9 days, I am down $262.25. I'm trying to figure out why I'm on this bad run. I'd say it's 20% cards and 80% bad play.

I think I've turned into a losing, bad player. Believe it or not, I think it comes a lot from watching more poker on tv. Players are raising with marginal hands and calling with marginal hands to set up bluffs and make moves later. These things don't work at low limit tables. I can be semi-loose before the flop, but I have to be tighter after the flop. They WILL NOT lay down top pair or often second pair. A continuation bet, yes, bluff raise no. I also think a lot of this came from reading Paul Wasicka's blog. Same idea - over aggression before the flop, putting reads on people after the flop and trying to take pots away without the best hand. This does not work where I play.

So - how do I fix it?

Play fewer hands. Do not play loose aggressive. Play tight aggressive. Don't get bored and don't try to outplay people with marginal hands. Believe it or not, I should play LESS attention to whatever S&G I'm playing in. By watching the games, I'm getting bored and trying to beat the game irrespective of the cards. So that's the solution - PLAY TIGHTER. WAIT FOR THE CARDS.

more of tight is right

I wrote a previous post about tight being right. The interesting thing about coming to that reasoning is that I figured it out from playing turbo tournaments. The blinds are moving up quickly, so the number of hands you can actually play goes down so it's more important to play premium hands when you actually do play. Logic says you should play looser and lighten up your entrance requirements, but that's reasoning for a short handed table with large blinds. At a full table, you still need to be tight. Start strong and take the lead.

tight is right

I spend a lot of time talking about style since I'm trying to perfect my own style. Of course everything is situational - but I'm beginning to wonder if I've been playing too loose.

Most of the ass bags I play against don't pay enough attention to keep track of how tight I am, but it's more about me. I get into trouble when playing so many hands. In his awful book, Play Poker Like the Pros, Hellmuth said "Tight is right." I think I need to tighten up my starting hand requirements, especially out of position and especially calling reraises out of position. If I raise to

But there's more. I need to be more patient on my semi-bluffs. I'm always trying to be aggressive and bet my semi-bluffs, but if you have a draw, why not try to draw at it for cheap or free?