How do you guys deal with bullying?
I wasn't sure what category forum this fit into best, but what I mean is.........just say you're having one of those days. Every time you get a hand someone else is getting one better, presumably. You get smacked with a big reraise or even an all in and you have to fold. And say this keeps happening over and over. This happened to me tonight, happened 6 times. On the 7th I had had it.
How do you feel its best to deal with this? Do you just quit? Either that table or all together for the day/night.
Do you bluff back and shove? Do you wait until you have SOMETHING, but probably overplaying (if we're being honest), to show you can make a big play and give them a 'bloody nose'?
I had this working theory that it is long term +EV to do something short term -EV. Like make that shove that is probably no good just to show you can so people knock their BS off.
thoughts?
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I wasn't sure what category forum this fit into best, but what I mean is.........just say you're having one of those days. Every time you get a hand someone else is getting one better, presumably. You get smacked with a big reraise or even an all in and you have to fold. And say this keeps happening over and over. This happened to me tonight, happened 6 times. On the 7th I had
If it's online you can just call it a day if it's a cash game. If you have the balls to walk away from a live cash game then do that too.
Other than you can be patient and quietly try steer yourself towards more NUT hands and draws. I realise you should be doing that anyway but sometimes you're not - sometimes you're bluffing too much or not having a plan. If you're being bullied then you must have the goods more often.... you can't get bullied by people folding at you.
Perhaps slowplaying will shine in this environment? poker is a thinking game
Also remember that sometimes one, JUST ONE, hand can turn a night. Perhaps flopping a set and playing a massive pot. Sets are the best hidden hand there is in poker
If you're playing theoretically sound poker then bullying shouldn't be an issue. If you bet/fold six times in a row it's just a form of variance.
That's because there's a theoretically correct portion of your range that should be continuing vs each aggressive action. So if you happen to be at the bottom of your range six times in a row, just keep playing well. If they keep raising you then you will end up profiting next time when you happen to have the top of your range.
Now if you're being exploited because you're over folding that is an entirely different issue. In that case you will want to work on your game so that you're not as easy to exploit.
Making -EV plays just to take a stand against aggression is not the answer. You may want to adjust somewhat, but do it in a way where you're trying to maximize your EV. For example if your opponents are 3-betting wide with a lot of hands it might make sense to expand your 4-betting range. If they're going to 3-bet/fold too much then 4-bet bluffing a little more can make sense to exploit their tendency to over fold vs a 4-bet. If they're going to 3-bet and then call your 4-bet too wide it could make sense to expand the value portion of your 4-bet range. In any case you want to try to maximize your EV.
If you're playing theoretically sound poker then bullying shouldn't be an issue. If you bet/fold six times in a row it's just a form of variance. That's because there's a theoretically correct portion of your range that should be continuing vs each aggressive action. So if you happen to be at the bottom of your range six times in a row, just keep playing well. If they keep rais
Well.. I think you and I are saying the same thing in your last paragraph. We're just using different wording and meanings
Well.. I think you and I are saying the same thing in your last paragraph. We're just using different wording and meanings
The part of what you said in your original post that I disagreed with was the part about doing something that is short term - EV. If you're making an adjustment and your read is correct then that play should still be + EV in the short term.
Well.. I think you and I are saying the same thing in your last paragraph. We're just using different wording and meanings
The part of what you said in your original post that I disagreed with was the part about doing something that is short term - EV. If you're making an adjustment and your read is correct then that play should still be + EV in the short term.
Yeah, perhaps...I didn't word my meaning correctly. The move doesn't have to be -EV, that was a bit of a tongue and cheek form of speech, forgive me.
A move that is actually +EV but maybe on the surface, at first glance, "seems" -EV
Yeah, perhaps...I didn't word my meaning correctly. The move doesn't have to be -EV, that was a bit of a tongue and cheek form of speech, forgive me.
A move that is actually +EV but maybe on the surface, at first glance, "seems" -EV
Yeah an extreme example would be if you're playing against a player that you know is 3-betting with any 2 cards. In that case you might open ATo on the button, they 3-bet from the SB to 8 BB, and you might respond by jamming 40 BB. Against a tighter 3-betting range that play might be -EV, but because they're 3-betting so wide it becomes+ EV.
Yeah, perhaps...I didn't word my meaning correctly. The move doesn't have to be -EV, that was a bit of a tongue and cheek form of speech, forgive me. A move that is actually +EV but maybe on the surface, at first glance, "seems" -EV
Yeah an extreme example would be if you're playing against a player that you know is 3-betting with any 2 cards. In that case you might open ATo on
Yes, that is exactly what I mean. And honestly, thats what chat Chat GPT says to do believe it or not.
Complete amateur here, but my understanding if you've got a read that someone is overbluffing, especially with jams, the goal is to trap them; avoid marginal hands against them, wait for a premium, make a bet, when they jam to take your money, you call and take them to valuetown.
Don't be angry that someone is jamming too much against you; be glad. They're offering you their chips, it's only polite to take them.
When I think I may be running bad, I try to mentally take a step back, and assess if what I'm experiencing is just bad luck or bad play.
It can be hard to say for sure when we're just experiencing bad luck, because we don't always see if our opponent had a better hand or if we made a good fold. But I've found the exercise of forcing that pause and self-assessment usually results in a mental re-set, followed by a shift to playing a more disciplined game with better results.
