Random Thoughts

In case a few people actually read these posts, I wanted to point out that I matured (a little) and mellowed during my 7 year break.  If you read the previous posts you might notice a different focus and tone.  I was still out to get rich and use poker as my only source of income.  Having a steady, well-paying-job, has changed my outlook and goals for poker.  Without the pressure to win and make money, I have relaxed and can enjoy the game and improve without a narrow focus.

 

Eventually I will share hands I play and hope to get feed-back from other points of views, but I am posting these first few posts to get my thinking and approach straight in my own head.  They may be boring so feel free to skip them. 

I am starting to form a style of play that works for me and my financial concerns, emotional state, and personality.  All these factors are subject to change from hand to hand and will affect my play from a session to forever.  I can only say this is what I am trying to do to improve and win at poker.  If you don’t like it or it doesn’t work for you, then skip over it and read the parts that interest you.

One factor that you will probably pick up on is that I am not aggressive enough. So I will say it now.  “I am results oriented.”  It may be more profitable to push here or raise there but I won’t in order to protect my stack.  As I win, build a bankroll and confidence in my game, I will increase my aggression.  As for now, the confidence builder of a small win allows me to focus on my “MANY” other short comings.  Hand and player reading is my current focus.  As I get better, I am also trying to bet for value on a scary river.  Small steps, there is a reason(s) why I play 1-2nl.

Playing Cards vs Playing Poker

I read a dozen or so poker books over the years, good and bad.  Many are packed full of all the poker knowledge you need to be a winning player and I would suggest reading a few to get a good poker foundation.  Ed Miller is my favorite, along with David Sklansky, and two plus two.  I read and studied all about pot odds, outs, discounted outs and implied odds.  I memorized the rough percentages of draws, bet sizing, and how to control the pot size.   Armed with this knowledge, I rushed out to play; sure I would rake in the chips. 

All this knowledge did help and I had many winning sessions but overall, I still lost.  I may have won more often then I lost, but the losses would wipe out multiple winning sessions.  I know tilt and bad play helped, but it wasn’t the full picture.  I was only paying attention to my hand.  I wasn’t oblivious to my opponent, just over fixated on my odds, outs, and percentages.  It is commonly referred to as “Falling in Love with Your Hand”.  I was “Playing Cards” instead of “Poker”.  Poker changes with every turn of the card or even player action and I was only paying attention to what I was doing.

 

Maybe I got bored after half the book, or was so excited to put into action all the wonderful things I learned, but I stopped reading, or at least, stopped paying attention half way through.  After all, I learned how to play “my hand”.  In my defense, the sections covering how to put it all together, special situations, and reading your opponents’ hands were smaller.  It took me a long time and a lot of money to realize, just because the sections were smaller, doesn’t mean they are less important.  So if you are like me, thick headed and short sighted, go back and re-read the second half of your books.  This time pay attention and absorb the information.

Opponent raising ranges, hand reading, and player reads are were you start playing Poker.  It is like playing two hands at once.  If you put yourself in your opponents place and ask yourself which cards would you have to have in order to do what he just did, you can start to narrow down his likely holding.  Once you have an idea what your opponent has, playing your hand is easier.  Adding the second level of thinking is when you truly start to play “Poker”.  I say “start” because there are always levels to add when you are thinking.

So you knew all that and I just wasted your time and mine repeating it.  We also know that going to the gym and eating healthy is good for you, but here I am, out of shape and fat.  I repeat it until it sinks into my thick head.  Then when I get bored at the table, lax in my thinking, and start to lose, I repeat it again.  Its training, even top professionals in all jobs train or go to seminars to remind themselves that the basics still apply and you need to pay attention to them.  So re-read your books, poker blogs, and watch the new Vlogs that review hands and concepts.  There is so much quality poker material out there, don’t dismiss it just because you already “know it”.  Train! Train! Train!

7 Year Break

After 7 years I wasn't sure this blog was still here. I guess nothing really goes away on the internet. Vblogs are the new fad. That is one of the things that re-sparked my interest in poker, but I don't have the time to edit footage. Editing time is a common complaint on a few blogs I have seen. (Plug for Brad Owen and Andrew Neeme)

 I haven't spent much time playing poker during my break, maybe a session here and there when a friend came to town, but nothing serious. Stayed busy climbing the career ladder. Jobs came and went until I landed a dream job in Las Vegas, where I now live. Great pay, benefits, and work life balance does the bankroll good. But alas, new house and remodel costs does the bankroll bad. Hence, another reason to play poker again, extra money!

Extra money maybe the end goal, but just being a break even player is the first step. It finally sunk in that I am a losing poker player. I am the player you hope for when you play poker. Thinks he knows how to play, but ultimately loses all his money. I do enjoy playing and like the challenge it offers, so I keep trying. Taking some time now to scrape off the rust and re-think my game. Breaking out the old books and reading a few new ones. Watching the Vblogs for entertainment and also as mini training videos. They offer commentary about specific hands and how they think through their play and explain why they take the actions they do. Even if you don't agree with the action, you can get an idea how other players think through hands.

 So the plan is back to basic ABC poker and slowly apply higher principles. I also am paying more attention to my frame of mind when I play. Making sure I am rested, paying attention at the table, and not playing hands out of boredom. In an attempt to keep my losses small, I opened an account on WSOP poker and started hitting the 10/20 and 25/50 cent tables. Started with $100, ran it up to $260, then back down to $50. There is some variance in there but plenty of bad play to correct. I will keep you posted and we will see if I can reach break even.