why can't i let go?

[J-Dub 0]

Playing the $100NL at Commerce today and was doing pretty well for myself. After only a couple hours I had quadroupled+ my stack. It was a relatively loose game with about 3-6 people in a flop (nine handed) with standard raises. Blinds at $2/3, I get Aces on the button. Five people limp in and I raise it to $18 (my standard being 13 or 15, but I want to chase some people out). I Still l get three callers to a ragged flop, J-6-6 rainbow. Checks around to me, I bet 2/3 the pot and get called only from the SB. Turn comes blank and he bets 1/2 the pot, I call. River's another blank, and he goes all-in. Now, I know he's got to have a six, but my brain can't seem to get past the fact that I have aces.Does this happen to anyone else? You know you're beat, your brain is saying "Stop! Don't do it, you fool." But your hand is pushing in the chips anyway, telling your brain "I just want to see it."Don't get me wrong, I'm proud of my playing over all. I came back from a large deficit to end the day with a sizable profit, which, after all, is the point. But I do realize this is a HUGE flaw in my play, and at least I can recognize it, so I don't want to hear people telling me how stupid I am. I already know that. I just want to know if anyone else ever finds themselves in this kind of mess, too.

[t 0]

Depends on how much the opponent had left. If it was a reasonable amount I'd call because I don't have to be right too often for calling here to be correct, but a big enough bet I could fold this. Not to beat up your play or nothing, but your preflop raise was waaaaay too small. You've got 5x limpers + the blinds which puts the pot at $20 and you raise to 18... I know you want to get action on your aces, but you have to make a raise here of about 4xbb + limpers or about $25-30.

[SiLi 0]

I totally feel you here J-Dub. I play at Commerce too and this happens to me quite a lot. To me its like a scenario in which you have KK and you just feel in your gut that the guy who pushes all in preflop has Aces. And as unbelievable as it may seem, I'm actually right more than 90% of the time this has happened to me. In your case the other player might have had top pair top kicker, overpair, or anything else thats inferior to your Aces. But its obvious to you hes holding the 6 and like me you probably tell yourself he might have those inferior hands even though the chances of it is pretty slim......Why? Becuz you have ACES LOL! I'm learning to let go of hands alot better now but boy do I understand your post.And on a side note. I think your rase with the Aces was rather small here. Most of the players at commerce (the bad ones) are willing to pay that extra 15$ to see the flop. I really think thinning out the herd here is the play.

[Meatwad 0]

I used to but it just got easier with experience with me. First time I laid down pocket rockets was in a $100 NL, when a tight player reraised me 5x my bet on the river with 2 Kings on the board and a third spade falling on the river after calling me all the way through it made it a lot easier. :roll:

[mbreon 0]

Over time, it becomes easier and easier to make big laydowns....until you get to the point I am at, where you outthink yourself out of too many pots

[SOWhatKid 0]

I know what you mean but everyone has a problem with this whether they admit it or not

[macphec 0]

This is by far the biggest weakness in my game as well. I find myself calling WAY too much when I "know" I'm beat. I have been getting better as I play more and I find my reading abilities are improving everyday.In a situation like yours I always ask myself "What could he have in order to":a) call my pf raiseB) flat call to the river then come over the top.small pocket pair or A6 suited probablyIt just screems a set or better

[diablo 0]

Over time, it becomes easier and easier to make big laydowns....until you get to the point I am at, where you outthink yourself out of too many pots  

ain't that the truth? LOLj-dub...I agree with the people that said the preflop raise was too small...

[Dhall901 0]

I always find myself wanting to see a player's cards if I really respect their game. It's like I have to SEE if he's full of it, or just playing solid. Last night I was in a home tourney holding AK. Guy that I give a lot of credit to was in the pot with me. Went like this: He raised pre-flop from the SB, I call in the big, another caller later. Flop A K 8, he bets half the pot, I just call planning on really putting it to him when a rag hits the turn (haha i was hoping), late position folds. Turn Q..he bets half the pot again, I raise that amount, he goes all in. Now I'm sitting here thinking, wtf? A Q? set? I just couldn't put him on a hand, and I HAD to see it, even though I figured I was beat. Of course he held J 10 and I'm sent packin..I know I know who raises from the sb with J 10!! and bets out on the double barrel straight draw on the flop! LOL..what can ya do..but anyhow, I feel your pain. I'm just not disciplined enough yet to make the correct laydown, curiousity killed the cat, and breaks my a$$.Cheers

[J-Dub 0]

Glad to hear I'm not alone. Thanks for the info about the raise, it's a very good point. The SB who did call said "you're always raising my blind." So when it came J-6-6 I first figured him for AJ, maybe KJ. Turned out he had 76 off. I think he might have seen the flop regardless of my bet just to put up a fight. I have actually laid down aces a couple times before, but only in tournaments. On my last hand in this cash game I got 88 UTG and called the BB. UTG+1 raised to $15, BB reraised to $45. BB was a realtively tight player so I easily laid down my eights to what I thought were a bigger pair. I stuck around to watch the hand play out, flop came Q-8-7 rainbow. UTG+1 bets $50, BB goes all in, and i'm just kicking myself. UTG+1 calls, and they turn over their cards. UTG has KQ off, and BB has QQ. Phew.On a similar note, a read I was very proud of earlier in that game was against a pretty solid player. I had KK and raised preflop and got two callers. Flop came Q-10-8, check, I bet $25, he calls. Turn's a total blank, check check. River's an Ace. He pushes in a $100 stack and puts me to the test. I try to talk to him and get something off of him. Thinking back I remembered he always pushed all in with a big hand. OK, and now he's sitting completely still, not a flinch (thanks' Mike Caro). I called, he shook his head and showed J-10 suited and I took down a nice pot.