One or two pots over the evening all the difference?

[Penguinfan]

This is actually a take off of a thread TP has going in the Bad Beat forum, but I honestly wanted to post about this before and he just reminded me with his story.

Do you find that 1 or 2 pots over a session make you a winner or loser for the session? Last trip to Atlantic City sticks out in my mind, at a 5/10 limit game I get AA and raise pre-flop with a total of 4 callers including both blinds do 50 in the pot pre flop, flop K-7-2 rainbow which is just what I wanted becsuse the guy with the K in his hand is gonna play till the bitter end unless an Ace fall, and I doubt he has K7 or K2, so I bet after the flop and only he calls both blinds fold, 60 in the pot at this point, turn is 8, I bet he calls, river J, I bet he calls so $100 in the pot and he turns over KJ for two pair. I ended the 9 hour session down $60, so the pot would have made me a winner, though not a big one, but still it was the swing hand for me I think. I this pretty common for everyone or am I just looking too much into it?

[Defendant]

There is definitely key pots that CAN make the difference in one nights play, like you just posted...it also goes the other way, for example when you hit open ended draws etc.

Defendant

[Penguinfan]

Yea, I wasn't saying it a bad beat or anything, he had top pair on the board plus a playable kicker, it just seems like time and time again one pot like that puts you over or under for a given session.

[Kidd7138]

If you win or lose one big hand it can definitely make or break a session. But I guess that's just the way poker works, sometime the luck goes your way sometimes it doesn't, I actually found myself on the winning side of a similar situation this morning, so you have to take the good with the bad.

EDIT: and 7 minutes after I post this I find myself on the losing side of this situation

[junYUN]

well this is definatly true...most pots you'll pick up a few bucks here and there, or lose a few bucks here and there. then there are the times where you just happen to have one other player at the table who thinks he has the best hand, you guys go at it and one of you is either really on top or really on bottom.

[2Tone]

Absolutely. This is especially true in NL of course, but even at 2/4, there a dozen hands over the course of the night which I win or fold before the turn, resulting in small wins or losses. But these aren’t the hands that determine whether I finish in the red or black. It’s when a straight or flush beats a set, (especially if it hits on the river) and one, two or three players have been calling/raising every step of the way. Two or three of these 12BB hands make a mighty big difference.

[Talking Poker]

I tonight (to a 4 outer, of course). I'd say that made a difference in my session... wouldn't you?

[Penguinfan]

Exactly!! That's the point of this thread and something I have really been looking at in my own game. No secret I have admitted to being a losing player who is creeping up on even to profitable, and have stretches of winnings sessions, it just seems that this may be the point that I, and maybe others are missing, that your game really is this fragile, one pot, and it doesn't need to be a monster, can make you or break you on the long run. If this is true for even half the sessions I could claim that over this year it was only 20-25 pots (or river cards for that matter) that are keeping me below the glass ceiling, just something to ponder.

[2Tone]

I'm not sure that is what I conclude from this thread. I think everyone is agreeing that two or three (at least in limit, though it certainly could be 1 in NL) pots make the difference between a winning or losing session. But that's for that session only. I don't think a one pot -- even a monster - is going to make a tremendous difference in the long run. I guess it all depends on how long a run we are talking about here. But I'm confident that if I make the right decisions in regards to pot odds, being aggressive, choosing my spots, etc., I'm going to win more than my fair share of those big hands. Some I'll win, some I'll lose. But in the long run -- weeks, months, years -- I'll be ahead as a result of making better decisions than my opponents. And that's not a matter of getting lucky in one pot.

Jeez, I'm talkling awfully big for a 2/4 player

[GeoffM]

Absolutely 1 or 2 pots can make the night. Especially if you have been playing extremely tight all night, then when you catch a big pot off a loose player, bam, there is your night. Donating very little to most pots and then hitting a big pot or 2 is a huge change of fortune, IMO.

[Talking Poker]

I think they key here is to not make 2 or 3 big mistakes in a given night, and instead, capitalize on the 2-3 big mistakes made by your opponents.

The former can cost you a lot of money, where the latter can earn you a lot of money.

In my example hand from last night, yes, I ended up on the losing end of things, but I played it beautifully, getting $1400 into a pot when I was something like a 90% favorite. Short term, anything can happen, but if and when I put myself in that situation enough over time, I'll come out way ahead for sure.

[eddo31]

yeah, one or two pots, no matter if it is nl or limit, can make all the difference in the world.

about a month ago in vegas, i ended my whoel trip down about 30 bucks (well, 30 at the poker tables, down a little bit more as a whole), and it basically all came down to a couple of pots in my final session.

in the same vein of thought, making one or two good laydowns per session can save you a ton as well. it isnt always about the pots that you win, sometimes it is also about getting away from hands as well.

[robert2504]

Yeap, I usually wait for one and then I am a happy camper. I will play very tight for the rest of the night to just get smaller ones. Ofcouse it also works the other way. When I loose a big pot, I usually log off cause I know it gets to me and I can make mistakes, I do not go and try to recup my money, or the money that was once mine.

[BlackCoffee]

Definately.

The other night I was playing 4-8 B&M and I flopped a full house and lost.
I went home with a profit of $100 instead of $300.

This difference is ever bigger in tournament play. 1 hand can be the difference between 50th and maybe 1st!

It's also true in other things such as sports (there's alot of sports bettors on this forum who know only too well). You watch a football or basketball game.. a fumble here or a missed free throw there can make all the difference.

BlackCoffee

[Penguinfan]

I'm glad you brought that part up because I did forget to follow up with that. I think this is absolutly true, one hand can change the entire way you have to play in a tournament, you just can't afford to make 1 mistake, the problem is sometimes you don't make mistakes, you just get run down by a bad call. This is why I think cash games are better for the bankroll, but everyone likes those tourneys, even me.

[bothecorgi]

I would agree - last night I lost a total of $60 - one pot cost me $40 alone. The day before, I played for 30 minutes and made $50 playing $50 buy-in NL HE when I hit 1 monster hand on each table.