Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 2 players
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Hero (BB): $103.20
BTN/SB: $210.40
Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BB with T
T
BTN/SB raises to $3, Hero raises to $10, BTN/SB calls $7
Flop: ($20.00) 5
2
8
(2 players)Hero bets $13, BTN/SB calls $13
Turn: ($46.00) 6
(2 players)Hero checks, BTN/SB bets $23, Hero requests TIME, Hero raises to $80.20 all in, BTN/SB calls $57.20
River: ($206.40) T
(2 players - 1 is all in)Final Pot: $206.40
Hero shows T
T (three of a kind, Tens)BTN/SB shows A
A (a pair of Aces)Hero wins $205.90
(Rake: $0.50)
On the turn my thought process went like this:
"Well, I have an overpair in a 3bet pot, automatic all-in."When all of the money went in and I saw I was behind, I immediately brushed it off
"Sick cooler. Overpair vs overpair in a 3bet pot, nothing I can do about that."I'm thankful I was able to suckout or maybe I would have begun to tilt and remained in that mindset. Upon further thought however, I realized my play was not only misguided but may be attributed to much a much deeper issue.
There's no debate that the poker world has it's own culture and way of doing things. We have our own lingo which we apply to poker strategy discussion and often to our mundane day-to-day conversations amoungst ourselves. "Both girls were hot! But my sex EV was higher with girl B over girl A, so I went for B." We have our ideal lifestyle, which consists of living in vegas and flaunting our money by spending it lavishly on things we don't really need. However, I would argue that there is even a culture within our style of play which can often be detrimental to our games. The idea of being "nitty" or a "nit" is vastly looked down upon in the poker community. So much so that players will go out of their way to not be one, even at the expense of their winrate.
A similar argument exists: "Players think they have to play like the pros in order to win, so they stop thinking for themselves and start thinking about what the pro would do." As true as I think this statement is, my argument goes deeper. In my HU career I can think of many hero calls, overbet bluffs, and ultra slim value-bets I've made, but I'd be hard pressed to think of many hero-laydowns I've ever made. I'd much rather just get the chips in and brush it off as a cooler as opposed to folding. I am an avid poker player along with being a 2+2 member and am certainly not immune to the culture forced up me from such. In theory I should make just as many hero laydowns as I do hero calls, so why isn't that the case? Acts of agression and big risk are highly regarded in the poker community, where as actions of low risk and plays assiciated with low variance are considered nitty. DOGISHEAD's J high call in 2k HUNL game was considered by many to be godlike and he gets all the praise in the world for it, and I'm not saying he shouldn't. I assure you however, that the hand would not have received nearly as much worship if DOG had a set of Tens, layed it down, and was shown a set of Aces. It's this type of mass envy that propagates this playing style.
My advice to myself and anyone else who reads this is to remember that poker is a game of numbers of logic, you have to forget about everything else when you play. Your red line, blue line, and yellow lines all have one thing in common; are all infinitely inferior to your green line. Don't worry about looking stupid for wanting to fold a big hand if you believe it is correct to do so. There is just as much proffit to be made by making good folds as there is to making good calls, valuebets, or bluffs. You may not look like a hero in the short run and you will most likely be berrated in BBV if you try to show off your hero-folding skills, but in the long run you'll be better off having this skill and your green line will thank you for it.
