Major Cold Streak

I have had my ups and downs with poker. But the current cold streak I am on is getting ridiculous. I have played in about 30 sit and go's over the past two days. I've played about 2100 hands. The gross point is to see how many playable or even decent hands I have seen. The hands I have seen, that I didn't win with or didn't play, I either missed the flop or had bad position. Here's a little chart of the hands I have had. Remember, I have played over 2100 hands.

It has been really frustrating, but it has also made me play more creatively. I am a man of faith, and believe that everything happens for a reason. There are times when you are playing, and it almost seems that one particular player is meant to win, while you are completely card dead and not able to find a hand. These are the times when you have to dig deep within yourself, and try to start to really play poker. Everybody can win when they are dealt strong hands or are getting hit by the deck. But can you win when you only see very marginal hands? Can you win when the best hand you get is J9 off, or A8? When you win or even cash in these situations, I feel that this truly makes you a poker player.

I cashed in one tournament, and the guy to my immediate left showed down AA three times, KK two times, QQ two times, and AK three times. He started bragging about how good he was and how easy the game was. Of course it's easy when you get premium hand after premium hand. On the other hand, I was getting very marginal hands, small suited connectors, didn't really see any pairs, or any big aces. AA, never. KK, never. QQ, never. Long story short, I ended up taking second to him. I don't want this to sound like I'm bragging. I'm simply trying to illustrate that there will be times when you go on major cold streaks and just can't seem to find anything playable or any profitable situations. During this period, I have tried many different strategies. No matter what I have done, I kept running into big hands when I was short stacked. I would push with JJ and run into AA. I would have AJ and run into AK. So for the past day or so, I have been trying out a couple of new things.

I have noticed that most of the players online are very aggressive pre-flop. They are willing to raise and re-raise with some very marginal hands. However, they are very weak players on the flop. If they flop a monster, they will fire out certain percentages or amounts. If they miss the flop, they will fire out other amounts. Stay observant and you will notice what I'm talking about. So I have been trying to play more flops with these players in position. That is the key. You want to play your hand IN POSITION. The other big thing I have noticed, is that early in the tournament players LOVE TO BLUFF. They are willing to fire out with very weak hands and draws. I have seen a lot of players move in with second or third pair or flush draws. It is so funny. These players play tournaments in reverse, in terms of the way you should play them. Early in a tournament, you should play pretty tight. Later in the tournament, you should loosen up and play more aggressively.

Anyway, it's late and I don't even know if I'm making sense anymore. Just a few thoughts.