Strategy when Card Dead?

Goalie35 · Aug 18, 2023

Do you change your playing style when you have an extended run of bad cards? Is it different with cash games vs tournaments? I have been card dead for about 6 months. It was suggested to widen my opening range and I have tried when in position but 9, 3o should not be played.

Joe · Aug 18, 2023

Best not to I.M.O..

In my experience when you're card dead or in a pocket of bad variance, it doesn't really matter what you change, do, play or don't play.

When things are going against you, they're going against you regardless.

My perspective is it's better to play less/take breaks until things pick up.

The time can be spent studying, analysing, checking for leaks or doing non-poker related things.

Also it's very important to be honest with ourselves, frequently we'll be making more mistakes than we realise.

georgi krastev · Aug 18, 2023

If the cards are dead and I start playing more and more trash it gets worse... I better not change my style.

Gallarado777 · Aug 18, 2023

If you're already doing poorly, the cards you're going to play are average then they're going to sink you down so you should only play on strong hands, but if you're not so lucky and you're losing then today is not your day and everything works against you today in poker so I think you just need to rest today, this happens

pentazepam · Aug 18, 2023

If you have folded a lot it can be easier to steal the blinds (from the button mostly) IF the other players pay attention to your image. They can think you are a tight nit instead of just having a run of bad cards.

bluffing more in general can also work if you look like a very tight player since they can't see your cards (hopefully).

But if the players don't pay enough attention to table dynamics and image you just have to be patient.

puzzlefish · Aug 18, 2023

Goalie35 said:
I have been card dead for about 6 months.

Sorry but I call BS on that. Maybe you expect good hands at a certain frequency and just aren't getting them often enough, but you are not card dead for 6 months.

Try playing more tables. If you aren't getting enough opportunities to play, you are either too tight or you need to increase volume. The easiest thing to do is increase volume before thinking of loosening your range.

Aleksandr1991 · Aug 18, 2023

It is not necessary to change the strategy

flail1 · Aug 18, 2023

forget what your hand is and be aggressive in position and when you get dry boards,,,otherwise fold fold fold

dannystanks · Aug 20, 2023

Six months of being card dead, is that even possible?

GeckoAA · Aug 21, 2023

I continue to play poker, I wont know how long it’s going to last and yes sometimes it seems to go on forever.

I think of Dory in Nemo - just keep swimming, swimming, swimming…….

I just keep playing…..playing….playing

Variance is sure to change at some unknown point.

JetmirDulja · Aug 21, 2023

i have i large opening range of cards so i dont mind of running bad ... especially on my 2 cards .. i rarely play my hand ... i try to play the player always ..

fundiver199 · Aug 21, 2023

Unless you only play extremely rarely, you have not been card dead for 6 month. The problem is something else, and to find the solution you must first identify, what the real problem is

Goalie35 · Aug 22, 2023

It all depends on your definition of being card dead. My VPIP is under 10 for the last 6 months. I will rephrase the question: when in a MTT and the cards are cold, do you change your strategy?

puzzlefish · Aug 22, 2023

Goalie35 said:
when in a MTT and the cards are cold, do you change your strategy?

I think that's a better question. The right answer, if you are playing well, is not to change. Strategy should be fairly consistent and depends a lot on how many big blinds are in your stack relative to others at the table. Sometimes nothing happens for a long long time in a tournament.

In practice, I am a recreational player and I get bored. Especially in freerolls. I will take risks that I know I shouldn't take if the freeroll is looking like it's going to be 3 hours of evaporating my stack into nothingness. If I am playing seriously in an important tournament, I will always try to play my A game though.

With cash games it is easier. I count 20 hands and quit if I find I am getting bored with what I am being dealt. Then I go and do something else until next time.

tiptools · Aug 23, 2023

personally i don't change my game style even when i'm unlucky,,,but sometimes i just stop playing

fundiver199 · Aug 23, 2023

Goalie35 said:
My VPIP is under 10 for the last 6 months.

Over how large a sample? If its anything more than say 1.000 hands, you might want to consider, if you have actually been card dead, or if you are simply playing to tight. Start by studying some preflop charts to get an idea.

Goalie35 said:
I will rephrase the question: when in a MTT and the cards are cold, do you change your strategy?

In general no. If a certain play is unprofitable, then it does not magically become profitable, because we have been card dead. But with that being said it is always a good idea to think about, what your table image might be. If for instance you have been on a table with mostly the same players for the first 50 hands, and your VPIP is 10% or less, then you might be percieved by some of those players as very tight. And this does allow you to play a few more hands and perhaps also run a few more bluffs postflop. However its important to be aware of, when this does not apply. Like if you have just been moved to another table, or if most of the players are regs, who know you from other games, you played with them.

steve01991 · Aug 23, 2023

in every poker game you play, you have to adapt to the situation, so i would say yes, extended bad cards, a call if you are in good position , you never know what the flop will bring.

CNXRegie · Aug 23, 2023

Joe said:
Best not to I.M.O..

In my experience when you're card dead or in a pocket of bad variance, it doesn't really matter what you change, do, play or don't play.

When things are going against you, they're going against you regardless.

My perspective is it's better to play less/take breaks until things pick up.

The time can be spent studying, analysing, checking for leaks or doing non-poker related things.

Also it's very important to be honest with ourselves, frequently we'll be making more mistakes than we realise.

I love this response and I agree. It's what I should do as well should I find myself in a similar situation.

But card dead for 6 months? Wow, that's brutal. Maybe days, but not months. In such an unfortunate scenario, taking time off the felt and embarking on other things not poker related maybe the best option -- until such time that you're hungry for it again.

LaNimmer · Aug 23, 2023

I feel awful for you, six months months of a cold deck must be dreadful. But a lot of folks here at CC are giving you some sound advice and you are actively looking for a solution and a way forward. Resist the urge to go on tilt! Once you are desperate or angry enough to head down that road you will quickly find out that the other players will eat your stack like vultures. I speak with experience as it recently happened to me. Good luck to you and good fortune!

ADRI7HO · Aug 23, 2023

It is also worth analyzing your own game to see if there are any errors in it.
If the hands are bad and you get a bad beat even with good cards, there is not much you can do.
Hand analysis and possibly mental training can help you overcome difficult situations.
Good luck and stay strong!

hardfloor · Aug 23, 2023

In my point of view we are dead when we have few chips that we expect a profitable pushing hand, in relation to widening the range this will be a rease first error that you will not be profitable in the medium long term, I think in situations that we do not receive cards we should be aware of restealing spots, blinds war, Boker for 3bets and some 3bets air total. but I think that in the medium and long term we will be profitable just by respecting the strategy and being patient.

ph_il · Aug 23, 2023

if I'm card dead, I just accept that I'm probably not going to do well in this particular mtt and that's ok.

my general strategy doesn't change, but I might change my focus to maybe just min-cashing, if possible, as that might be the best possible result given my situation.

puzzlefish · Aug 23, 2023

ph_il said:
my general strategy doesn't change, but I might change my focus to maybe just min-cashing, if possible, as that might be the best possible result given my situation.

But doing that would in essence change your strategy, as you would have to change your ranges when your stack goes really short in order to focus on min cashing.

gustavofuentes2 · Aug 23, 2023

Goalie35 said:
Do you change your playing style when you have an extended run of bad cards? Is it different with cash games vs tournaments? I have been card dead for about 6 months. It was suggested to widen my opening range and I have tried when in position but 9, 3o should not be played.

it is unfortunate but part of the game. You have to adu\just according to the circumstances.

thedarkman · Aug 23, 2023

There isn't a lot you can do about it. For me worse than card dead is being dealt good cards and getting persistently outdrawn by garbage or being dealt kings when someone else is dealt aces. Even worse is being dealt aces then losing to kings.

Strategy when Card Dead?

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