Progress by Process

It's time to admit it, I've been struggling at poker lately.

I'm starting this blog in an attempt to get myself back on track.  Over the past year, I have stopped studying the game, stopped watching videos, and stopped improving as a player. I've also stopped putting in any significant volume like I used to.  I can still play 50NL and crush the games, but my main game (100NL) has gotten the better of me lately.  My winning sessions are too short, and my losing sessions are way too long.  I've become prone to tilt, I bluff too frequently, and I lose my head in 3b pots. 

I've also started learning PLO. I started out playing 50PLO, 8-tabling, with no experience. It was a disaster.  I very, very quickly dropped 25 buyins. Dropped down to 25PLO and made the same mistakes, losing another 30 buyins.  Finally I slapped myself in the face and acknowledged I was a fish in these games, even these itty bitty micro games for my bankroll, because I wasn't fundamentally sound in the game. 

Losing at PLO reminded me of when I first started playing NL online.  I thought - "it wasn't my fault I was losing, it was bad luck, these idiots were playing every hand and getting lucky against me.  I will get this money back eventually because my luck will turn." Then I caught myself in these thoughts and realized I had these same thoughts back in 2006-2007, when I was losing at NL online.  I realized I was thinking just like a fish, then I realized I was playing like one too.  The realization that you are the fish in a game is pretty dramatic; the thought alone is motivation enough to improve your game. I know this because I have already gone through this before, when I got serious about NL.  I don't like admitting I can't do something; it's motivation for me to improve. And now I have something to prove, and a reason to work hard again. 

Recently I resubscribed to DC, and started watching videos again.  This time I will be trying to play two games at once. Improving my NL fundamentals so I can get back to beating SSNL, and developing my PLO fundamentals so I can get unstuck and become a winner in the 25 and 50PLO games.