I see this a lot -- a player makes a call where he MUST know his equity is low, yet he makes it anyway.
Poker Stars, $0.01 Buy-in (75/150 blinds) No Limit Hold'em Tournament, 9 Players
SB: 2,948 (19.7 bb)
BB: 4,608 (30.7 bb)
UTG+1: 3,175 (21.2 bb)
UTG+2: 570 (3.8 bb)
MP1: 380 (2.5 bb)
MP2: 525 (3.5 bb)
Hero (MP3): 9,013 (60.1 bb)
CO: 230 (1.5 bb)
BTN: 250 (1.7 bb)
Preflop: Hero is MP3 with J:h J:s
4 folds, Hero raises to 375, 2 folds, SB calls 300, BB calls 225
Flop: (1,125) 3:c 6:d 5:h (3 players)
SB checks, BB bets 600, Hero raises to 1,500, SB folds, BB calls 900
Turn: (4,125) 5:d (2 players)
BB checks, Hero bets 3,093, BB calls 2,733 and is all-in
River: (9,591) 3:d (2 players, 1 is all-in)
Spoiler
Results: 9,591 pot
Final Board: 3:c 6:d 5:h 5:d 3:d
BB showed 6:h K:c and lost (-4,608 net)
Hero showed J:h J:s and won 9,591 (4,983 net)
What is worse, is that occasionally catch myself doing it.
The only thing I could possibly beat is an outright bluff, yet I call any way.
Example:
(please don't open the spoiler, it's too embarrassing
)
Spoiler
IPoker, 100/200 blinds No Limit Hold'em Tournament, 9 Players
SB: 4,290 (21.5 bb)
BB: 1,195 (6 bb)
UTG+1: 1,665 (8.3 bb)
UTG+2: 1,695 (8.5 bb)
MP1: 3,380 (16.9 bb)
MP2: 9,280 (46.4 bb)
MP3: 13,909 (69.5 bb)
Hero (CO): 7,700 (38.5 bb)
BTN: 4,575 (22.9 bb)
Preflop: Hero is CO with K:d T:h
3 folds, MP2 calls 200, MP3 calls 200, Hero calls 200, BTN calls 200, SB folds, BB checks
Flop: (1,100) 3:s T:s J:c (5 players)
BB checks, MP2 checks, MP3 bets 1,100, Hero calls 1,100, 3 folds
Turn: (3,300) 4:d (2 players)
MP3 bets 1,650, Hero raises to 6,400 and is all-in, MP3 calls 4,750
River: (16,100) 8:d (2 players, 1 is all-in)
Spoiler
Results: 16,100 pot
Final Board: 3:s T:s J:c 4:d 8:d
MP3 showed J:h T:d and won 16,100 (8,400 net)
Hero mucked K:d T:h and lost (-7,700 net)
Yes, in my example, I should have pushed or folded. Probably folded since I do have a decent stack. I could even raise/fold this.
OTF it is a clear fold, but my brain was in full Death Wish mode.
It is clearly a mental game problem.
How to combat it?
Cheers,
--VS
VS