POKER EDUCATION - HOW GOOD IS DEUCES CRACKED??

First things first, I’ve booked up for me and the boys (all from the UK) to go back to Vegas this summer. Never gambled there, and I dont intend to… I’m going for the parties, beer and long summer nights!

Having watched the first few episodes of “Babysteps” and “From the ground up”, I thought I’d put forward my opinions thus far. Please note that although I had played 30K hands at 10NL, I was not a profit player. Therefore, going back to basics… way back, was deemed (by me) the most appropriate step to take.

I have found the video series “From the ground up” a little tedious. This isn’t a knock on the quality of the videos, more so on my personal concentration spans. I found that switching off TV / Music etc and spliting the videos into 2 30min sessions was the most benificial to me. I am also writing rough notes in a note book with the Episode number and the video time (3mins 34 secs for example) so I can relate back for future reference.

I find that the starting hand recommendations featured in “From the ground up” has really helped me understand what I actually trying to achieve. Also in episode 3, the section on Basic flop play, board texture and C-bets was pretty much the best explanation I’ve come across from online sources. Having said that, its pretty early days in terms of my poker education.

So, how did applying the lessons learnt go with my online play. Well, in simple terms it went okay. I have started to use the HUD more deeply than I previously did, looking for c-bet folds and 3 bet stats. I have by no means mastered this, but you have to start somewhere dont you.

I got paid off by a couiple of fish early doors and experienced a bad beat or two. It was after my bad beat that I realised a major flaw in my game…. and its all about my HM graph.

I was so concerned about my HM graph and stats that whenever I experienced a bad beat, I would be conciously looking for opportunities to double up my stack… just so that all my hard work wasnt for nothing. It had taken me an hour to make $11, and it all went in one bad beat (I went all in pre flop with KK and a fish went all in with 88, hitting an 8 on the river). I was so angry that I was back to where I started that I went looking for an all in shove. So, thats exactly what I did. I went all in with QQ Vs a big Nit and was beat by AKs.

So what have I learnt? That mistakes cost money. That Poker is about consistant smart play. That Variance evens itself out in the long run. That poker is about long term success.

I concluded this experience by thinking out the scenarios again in my head. Calling a shove with KK was definately the right decision Vs a Loose fish. Him hitting the 8 to make a set on the river was all down to variance. If we played that hand 100 times, I’d be the long term winner. So, in my next session, I’m going to forget graphs / earnings / bankroll and just concentrate on my hands and my opponents.