Learn Texas Holdem

i've been playing texas holdem for about two years now, and losing pretty much constantly ..... at first this was, no doubt, because i was a bad player, but it now seems to me that i am getting constantly and soundly beaten by worse players than me. i consider myself to be quite a solid player.

i play a fairly loose game pre flop but tighten up considerably postflop, i'm becoming very good at getting a read on opponents and calling their bluffs and also reading when they are weak and bluffing accordingly. however, when it comes to the big all-in bets i ALWAYS lose them. always. to what i consider to be horrible calls by my opponents. some recent examples:

me KK big pre flop raise flop is rags, me all in opponent calls with 22 and turn is a 2. why would he call that?

me 8 9 flop is 8 9 3 me all in opponent calls with AK !!!! and gets runner runner AK to beat my two pair. why would he call that?

me J 9 flop J 9 A i put my opponent on a weak ace so i'm all in and he calls with KK river is an ace to beat my two pair. why would he call that?

me Q something, flop is A K 10 check to the river which is a J two hearts on the board i bet BIG to scare off the flush, he re-raises all in so i figure it's a split, river is another J he has KK a full house. this one i kind of understand, though it still hurt. it's tough to lay down a set of kings.

these hands all took place in online tournies and put me out.

these happened in live games:

me Q10 flop QQ10 i'm all in after a 1/2 pot-sized bet to me he thinks for a while, actually says 'should i call?' then calls, flips over KK and yes, you guessed it, the turn was a K.

another, me with KK in a 5/10 game i bet 200 before the flop!!!!, one caller, flop brings rags, 2, 5,10. two clubs. i bet 400 to leave me 350 in my stack, he thinks for a while pushes all and i figure he must be fishing for a flush so i'm scared but have to call. he flips over 66 and then turn is a ......... yes, a 6.

these are just the recent examples. it's happening to me a lot. and i know this is a game of chance but my problem is twofold: firstly,i just don't understand why i am getting called in the first place. i am betting big for a reason, i have a good hand and want to stop people from drawing. secondly, it defies probability and statistics that i could be outdrawn every time in a big hand. because of this horrible luck i have in fact stopped playing, and i now only play in online freerolls. i can't afford to keep getting slapped in the face like that.

from the above examples i think i would do the same again in those situations, and i consider those callers to have made terrible calls and gotten paid off. am i wrong?

by the way, in none of the examples was my opponent short stacked and pot committed, that kind of call i would understand.

well, any advice or comments would be greatly appreciated. thanks for the site, it's a great read.

best regards, john

Answer:

Hi John,
You seem to have taken some real bad beats online.

From what you describe in your email you handle the situations correct and get unlucky. I like the fact that you make large bets to protect your hands - that should minimize the risk of getting outdrawn or at least force your opponent to make large calls against the odds to do it. It is a small comfort to know that you have done the right thing when you still get the wrong outcome, but in the long run you are sure to make a profit when your opponents act against the odds.

Regards Clark
Learn Texas Holdem