An Old Guy Plays Poker

The new year has kicked off with a brutal downswing.  Thats the bad news.  The good news is that I have a plan to fight back.  This ongoing trainwreck has two root elements.

1. Variance.  You know the drill: Aces cracked, sets losing to flushes, endless coinflip losses.  Yada yada yada we've all been there.

2. My own special brand of stupidity.  I have been having a bit of success at full ring NLH.  That's where virtually all of my profit has been coming from.  This month I had an overwhelming urge to test my improved post flop skills in some six max for variety.  In the past 6 max has always beaten me like a rented mule.  Well, I'm here to tell you, it still owns me. 

While playing 6 max was my obviousl error, I realize that I have been letting other things slip too.  In previous months I had developed a nice pre and post session routine , as recommended by Threads in his Tolerance mini series.  This month, I got lazy and stopped doing that.  My other big error has been that I have forgotten the number one rule to beating fish at the micros.  They are not bluffing.  When the passive, limp happy fish starts firing bullets   HE HAS A HAND.   No, really, he does.  He is not playing back at me.  I know this.  Since Baluga whale is pretty much my favorite teacher on this site and he pounds that point home in the Coaching Kristy series and since his theorem about fish rasing on the turn has been saving me money for months you would think I wouldn't struggle with this but so far this month I seem to have forgotten it.

Now some of you might say, "If you are a full ring player why are you watching BW videos that cover 6 max almost exclusively?"  Well, I do watch full ring videos as well but the key thing that makes Baluga such a great teacher is his emphasis on correct thought processes that will work no matter what the game.

Anyways, my plan to fix this mess, is as follows:

1. I will get back to my pre and post session routines.  This means that I will set goals to work on each session.  I will then review the session after words and use the material to set goals for the next session.

2.   I will write notes to my self (grinder reminders) to remember the following.  A. Don't bluff the fish. B. The fish aren't Bluffing. C. If a fish pops it on the turn TPTK is D.O.A. .

3. I wil review the basics and make sure that I haven't let  starting hand requirments drift.

4. I will focus on things that I can control like playing correctly, maintaining calm. etc.  I will not be results orientated.

If I do these things and put in good volume this can still be a good month.  That's what I'm going to keep telling my self anyways. :)

Last week my wife came into the room where I play poker and and said, "why are you talking to yourself?"  I realized that I was asking the questions in BW's "process" aloud.  I kept saying "can I bet for value?"  Can I bet as a bluff? etc.  Its the list of questions that he gives in the coaching Kristy series.  I have found that vocalizing the questions while I play really helps, even if my wife does look at me funny.

process when facing a bet or raise
1) passive or aggressive?
2) value betting or bluffing?
3) value hands worse vs value hands better, count up total bluff hands

process when deciding whether or not to bet or raise:
1) am I value betting or bluffing?
2) if value betting, which worse hands call or raise?
3) if bluffing, do I have PE + FE?

While I respect all of the great DC instructors, I have to say that the way Baluga explains things and teaches structured thinking really works for me.  He is a great teacher.  Everytime I watch one of his videos  I find myself constantly taking notes and having "aha" moments. 

In my last post I talked about how I had an interest in Buddhism and I hoped to find a way to apply the teachings to poker so I could focus more on process and less on results.  Lo and behold my obtuse self realized that the Tommy Angelo series has been here all along waiting for me to notice it.  Tommy's series actually is one of the best practical introductions to Buddhism that I have ever heard regardless of the poker content.  The fact that he shows you how to apply it to poker is a bonus..   I think Tommy's videos can actually help me improve non poker areas of my life as well.

Over all November was profitable but not as much as hoped for due to some life tilt the last week of the month.  I got in a great session Thursday and another one today and I think December is going to end the year with a bang.  I'm not so much worried about how much I win or lose.  I want to keep getting better and the results will come.

Well, as November rolls along, I am following my plan.  Play lots of hours and watch tons of videos.  I am beating 5nl for about 3bb/.100 not spectacular but I continue to improve my game.  One issue that I am battling is misclicks.  Several times I have folded pocket pairs without meaning to preflop.  The easy answer would be to play less tables but I believe it is the wrong answer. 

 My goal is to make my profit by multitabling micro and eventually mid stakes.  If I reduce the number of tables I will reduce mistakes but not be working as effectively towards my goal.  You don't get better by avoinding a problem but by dealing with it again and again until it is mastered.  I currently can play between 14 and 16 tables of full ring accurately.  By accurately, I mean no misclicks and I am executing my strategy.  I have played as many as 18 accurately when I am in really good zone but if I am even a little off the mistakes really start to creeep in at 18 tables often creating a snow ball effect.  In order to combat this, I am working on developing a consitent pregame routine to ensure that I am focused at the start of a session.

While the misclick issue is a mechanical issue I do have a couple of major strategy issues. also.  Bet sizing is a real problem.  I am working on learning how to bet enough to get it all in when  need to without driving off the fish by betting too big.  My other issue right now is river play.  As a former limit player I was accustomed to seeing a lot of showdowns, often showing down light if the pot was big enough.  At NL this is a problem.  I have found myself stacking off way to light at times.  I think the main thing that will cure this is experience.  Also, as soon as I have a hud, I will post some hands to get some of the great DC advice.

Bilind play is another issue.  i still don't have a consitent range for blind defense.  My default is to play uber tight from the blinds and while I don't think this is wrong per se, I do feel that I am leaving some value on the table versues c/o and blind steals. Other than that I am too short term results orientated.   I want to get to the point where I don't look at my bank roll for a week at a time.  I know I will get there but its hard.  Part of it is a legitimate bankroll concern.  I am not exactly overrolled for my stakes. Mostly its just results orientated thinking that I have to get past.  I have a long standing interest in buddhism and I keep hoping that I can apply some of the ideas about lack of attachment to my game.

Other than that, so far the month has been profitable and I have done a good job of following my plan.  I will hit silver star at Stars  for the second month in a row this week and I will clear another FPP bonus this month.  I am going to spend some points to get Sklansky and Miller's book on the Theory of  No limit Holdem.  I love the videos but sometimes its nice read a book at a relaxed pace and Miller is a really outstanding author. 

Until next time,

Good luck at the tables.

 

 

This month was revolutionary for me in poker terms.  In late Sept.  I got Dusty Schmidt's book, "Treat your Poker like a Business"  My main takeaway from it was that the most important meterics are hours played and dollars per hour.  I realized that while I was learning a lot I was not playing enough.  I committed myselff to playing 3 hours per day and only missed 2 days in October.  At the same time I watched a ton of DC videos. 

I more than doubled my bankroll, increased the number of tables that I can play and generally got better at poker.  I can without doubt say that I am a better player than I was 30 days ago.

I have been playing on a shoestring bankroll and buying in short at 5nl.  Not the best strategy but when I started this poker thing I didn't know any better and since then I have been stubbornly trying to build without reloading.  I made just over 50 dollars. I know that is miniscule but its the best month I have had and I am now actually rolled for 5 nl.  I have learned a ton from the videos.  In particular, Baluga Whale's "Coaching Kristy" seriies has been a real education. 

I certainly am not "crushing" the microstakes but I think that I have a blueprint now for beating them and I am following the plan.  I didn't make a lot of money this month but I made a profit and I improved my game.  I'll take that any month.

I am taking BW's advice to heart about writing about poker to reinforce the concepts that you are learning.  I plan on using this blog to sort of think out loud about what I am learning.  At the moment I don't have a hud yet but in December or Janurary I plan on getting HEM.  Then I will be able to go through my hand histrories in an organzied way and start posting some hands on the forums. 

So that's the master plan at the moment, play tons of volume, watch videos till my eyes cross.  Write more on the blog, make more money. 

When I get this poker thing really figured out I think I can be a great example.  If I can do it, believe me, anyone who works at it can do it.

 

 

 

When I first learned poker, I learned full ring limit holdem.  Its the missionary position of poker.  I was always a little afraid of no limit and frankly I didn't realize that 6 max existed.  I joined DC because of Big Bad Babar's Peanut Collector series.  It wasn't long though,  before i got thoroughy bitten by the 6 max bug.  I love the pace of the game.  I watched DanzaSmack's price is right series than the microlimit grinder series with pygmy hero and off I went to 6 max limit glory.

However, for the last month or so, I have been dabbling in No Limit.  I watched "From the Ground Up" and Wilt on Tilt's math series and  gave NL a shot.  Not the  best month of my poker career from a bankroll standpoint, I can tell you that.  I made lots of rookie mistakes.  Also, I discovered that I really enjoy limit.  More flops, more showdowns, and I like pushing the small edges.  However, I learned a ton from studying no limit for a while.  I think it is beneficial to sometimes try other games.  When I was playing a lot of chess I would occasionally play some GO, a wonderful Asian board game.  When I returned to chess I found that I approached things with fresh eyes and a different perspctive.

This is what has happened since I returned to limit.  I feel recharged.  I think I have a much better grasp of the mathematics of poker and my postflop play has improved dramatically.  The third video in the "From the Ground Up"  series, where TubaSteve and Nowhere man catagorize flops and explain c betting was amazing.  Instead of just saying here's a specific flop and here is how you should play it, they gave a framework for looking at all flops and making good decisions. 

Stepping away from your normal game and studying something different can boost your long term results I think.

Back in 2000 my girlfriend and I watched rounders on DVD one night and that was all it took.  I just had to learn to play this game.  Of course a couple of years later, Moneymaker turned the world of poker upside down and provided even more incentive for fish like me to play the game.  I played on Poker Stars and Party Poker and burned through deposits like any good fish.  Since I have a background in chess and backgammon and I am generally a good games player I didn;t lose forever and when I quit in 2005 I was up around 50 bucks.

Late in 2009 I decided to return to onliine poker.  The games had gotten tougher and I got blasted.  I remember that my first deposit got down to 16 cents.  I couldn't even buy into a 2c/4c limit game.  I made a decision.  I was going to learn how to play this game the right way.  I was going to study poker like I had studied chess or school subjects.  Part of this was pure ego.  I'm good at games and I knew enough to realize that my opponents weren't very good so I should beat them.  Another part of this was a desire to develop a second income.  I wanted to turn poker into a steady revenue stream.  I knew others had done it so I should be able to do it too.  Another part of it was, I think, midlife crisis.  I turned 40 in January  I have a good but not exciting job.  I am happily married.  I didn't want a sports car or a young blonde.  I wanted to find a way to make money and have fun using the internet.  Onliine poker fit the bill.

I deposited 20 dollars in Feburary of 2010 and began the process of trying to learn the game and grind a bankroll.  I have learned a tremendous amount about poker and about myself.  I have had ups and downs but the roll is slowly growing and i have not had to redeposit.  Since I found DC I feel like my understanding has gone to another level. 

I'm going to use this blog to record thoughts and lessons about my poker journey and perhaps some other topics as well.  I hope some of you come along for the ride.