Quarantine Poker

Playing online while sheltering in place.  Doing multi table 6-max 50nl. 

Played around with the number of tables and 3 seems to be the best for me.  I am trying to think about my hand and what my opponent has, and I get flustered with more then 3 tables.  Played up to 6 tables and it was not pretty. 

Was up, then way down.  Re-deposited and ran it back up.  Got back into the flow of online vs live poker and evened out.  Watched a few videos and the bankroll challenges look like fun.  Not in any hurry but lets make a goal.  I can't do 100 to 10,000 but maybe 900 to 5,000.

So I started 2 days ago and  lost a few coin flips.  Battled back but still down 100.  Not the end on the world, just need to buckle down.  Tend to bluff to much, so I am trying to control myself and just give it up when I am beat.  Got my pre-flop, positional, starting hand charts and and sticking to them.  Have to get them into memory and then will move on to the UPswing.com training site.  Cost a few dollars but I have the time now.

Going to just play straight forward poker.  No traps or trick plays.  Will adjust bet sizes to induce calls or raises but nothing fancy. 

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.

Where Am I Now

The internet is down and I got a job. The interesting part is that I moved to Las Vegas. Yes there are real jobs here and I have one.

I am playing more and more which is good and bad. I told myself I was going to get a life but I am not making enogh money at my job to pay all my bills and still have fun. So back to the tables for some extra cash.

It has been working so far but I haven't been keeping track to know exactly how much or little I am making. A friend keeps bugging me so I am breaking down and doing starting it today.

The games are obviously good and when I loose it is more my fault then bad cards. I get bored or anxious at the table and just give some or all my chips away. I regret it in the morning but it is to late. I am my own worst enemy.

My plan to control myself is my ipod and limiting my sessions. If I am totaly card dead I can get the internet on my ipod to read and keep me awake. I may miss some stuff but not as much as you would think since Live play is so much slower.

I will also limit my sessions to between 2 and 4 hrs. When I play after work 2 to 2.5 hrs is plenty before I start to fall apart. Just because I have been up since 6:30am and I am getting tired by 9:30pm. I should be awake at work anyway. On the weekends I will have to be honest with myself and take walks or change casinos. If I am card dead a change is what I need anyway.

I will see how this goes. I like to plan but I know it never works in poker. I read my old posts and chuckle at myself. I just can't help it. It is what I do.

Its Working

I am making progress. I have always worked better under pressure. I have been getting 3k - 5k hands in per day on the internet, and yes, some hands at the casino.

My new casino strategy is almost a hit and run mentality. I figured the slow pace of play dictates you are either catching cards or not. I have tried waiting it out but it takes to much time for the cards to turn. (12hrs + ) So I go for 3hrs, or 90 hands, and walk.

Most days I make 50 - 100 and then like yesterday I get paid off and make 400. I realized I should be happy with the small days. I have learned poker is not get rich quick but a slow and steady accumulation of small wins supplemented by big ones.

Besides, a run to the casino in the middle of the day is a great excuse to take a break and ride my motorcycle. And immediate cash in my hands is nice too.

Putting all My Eggs in the Internet

I have decided that I will play 99% on the internet. Live play has become to slow and time consuming. Travel time to and from the casino, along with the 30 hands per hr that you see, has lost its appeal. Even at micro stakes, I can make just as much without leaving home.

Besides, I am tired of watching the most clueless playes win massive pots with J4o.