Poker Video: Misc/Other by Tommy Angelo (Micro/Small Stakes)

yeah!!

Thanks Tommy/Wayne/Entity!!! Can't wait to check this out!

I am confident that this is the video series that will lead to the biggest improvement of my winrate.

love this!

It did feel a bit like a repetition of episode one. I don't particularly mind, since I believe in the value of repetition when learning.

It did feel a bit like a repetition of episode one. I don't particularly mind, since I believe in the value of repetition when learning.

Yeah there's definitely a lot of repetition from either the first episode or the preview thing. But I don't think that's a particularly bad thing either.

really good video and promising series thus far and as far as repetition goes it surely is positive.

Time Link to 00:24:34

Oh this is so true, especially in limit games (for me). If you say to yourself before betting "I am going to bet and fold to a raise" you will fold to the raise but likely pay it off if you hadn't promised yourself you would be beat if he raised.

This is not necessarily true. There's also relative position, e.g. you're in the big blind and the button raises, the small blind calls and you call. Since often the small blind and you check to the raiser you have the privilige of seeing what the small blind does after a continuation bet. In this case it could definitely be argued that being in the big blind can be better than being on the button.

Compare it to the cutoff raising, you calling on the button and the small blind calling, he now checks near 100% of the time and the raiser places a cbet, now you have no idea what the small blind is up to.

Although in most cases I agree that being last to act is a big advantage, just wanted to point out that this statement is not set in stone (like most things in poker).

You make a strong case in support of the possibility that being last to act on the flop is not always better than being not last to act.

(I'm trying to work in as many negatives as I can. How'm I doing?)

When we look at a whole hand, that is, the flop, turn, and river, I do not think a reasonable case can be made to support a claim that last to act on all three streets is not always best.

Tommy

When we look at a whole hand, that is, the flop, turn, and river, I do not think a reasonable case can be made to support a claim that last to act on all three streets is not always best.

Tommy

Hmm, I see your point and although I agree for 95%, what I'm saying is not that unlikely/far fetched . I wasn't trying to critisize but rather add some information.

Have you ever played limit 2-7 triple draw? In this case it's a very reasonable situation that comes up rather frequently that the person in position gets squeezed in between players. Say the cutoff raises, you call on the button and the small blind reraises and the cutoff caps. You complete the cap and the small blind draws 2, cutoff 1 and you draw 1.

Now a check from the small blind and a bet from the cutoff will happen 100% of the time between regular players, so suddenly you're first to act with no way of closing the action and if you call this bet you might very well get checkraised and get trapped for multiple bets since the action re-opens every time!

Anyway, we in holland have a saying which translates to "It's the exception that confirms the rule". So yes, in general, getting position is my mission (how about that catchphrase )

Thanks for the video. I was on the right path already but this series is definitely helping me. I played many hours on my B or C game yesterday (because of running bad) and today I feel like I've played my A game with a hint of my B game, despite not running too incredibly well.

EDIT- when I say 'I played bad because I was running bad' I mean 'I played bad because I didn't deal with bad luck well.' But I'm sure you understood that

dominance is overrated!

That's interesting. After you listen to something forty-seven times it feels repetitive, but I never got the feeling from one to the other we were repeating. We spent time in E1 listing the things we are going to talk about, and of course there is a lot of overlap between these topics.

Hope it doesn't diminish the value.

Now when I think about all my good stuff which added nothing but filler that got cut out really puts me on tilt.

We appreciate all comments, in case we ever lose our minds and do this again.

Wayne

It might just be that you've talked about what you're going to talk about a few times, and then when you actually talk about it in detail we remember that it's already been mentioned and associate to the thoughts we had when you just mentioned the topic. Especially if it's something that's relatively simple to grasp (but hard to always remember/do correctly). As I said, this is in no way a negative thing, and probably actually helps the learning process.

To add to ThatDeviant's comment, I can't begin to express how important it is to the whole DC EXPERIENCE™ to have the video producers be so actively involved in the comment threads.

Time Link to 00:06:55

Looking at the graph, it seems like the 'eventually' has no c-game, while you say everybody has a C-game

So is the 'eventually' graph when you die?

Really great! The way you guys has constucted this is very professional...I mean...I would probably watch this even if I had never played poker ...much of what you say here can be used in real life aswell. I definetly find the buddhism perspective very interesting...and entertaining!

Just awesome!!!

Being emotionally attached to your cards, what does this exactly mean?

I think it means that you are connected to the cards you are getting like you own them,
but how does it really work?
How can someone ever get emotional attatched to a piece of paper with an A on it?

Pretty sure it means like you flopped a boat with T7 once and won your biggest pot ever, or won a tournament with it, or whatever like that, and after that you always want to play it since it has a "special value" for you.

Looking at the graph, it seems like the 'eventually' has no c-game, while you say everybody has a C-game

So is the 'eventually' graph when you die?

Yup! That's one of the two things I had in mind when I decided to end the graph with a "flat line." The other is that it's possible to flat-line without dying. That has been called things like nirvana and satori. It means being in a state of non-resistance to everything. In that space, there is no C game, or A game or B game. There just is.

Tommy

Yup! That's one of the two things I had in mind when I decided to end the graph with a "flat line." The other is that it's possible to flat-line without dying. That has been called things like nirvana and satori. It means being in a state of non-resistance to everything. In that space, there is no C game, or A game or B game. There just is.

Tommy

So it's possible that you will end up having "your game", instead of "a, b or c game"?

Or do you mean that there is no A, B or C game because without an A-game there also isn't a B or C game, which makes it all connected to eachother and without A, C couldn't excist?

You attach to the value that your mind assigns to it, in the same way you attach to a car or a lover. And since everything deteriorates and/or ends, attachment always causes suffering.

Tommy

Everything you said before made me happy, this made me sad.
Isnt that the mindset of really lonly, and sad people. Possibly living
in a small house out in the mittle of no where, whitout family?

Everything you said before made me happy, this made me sad.
Isnt that the mindset of really lonly, and sad people. Possibly living
in a small house out in the mittle of no where, whitout family?

A big fallacy is detachment leads to emptiness. It is not, but a appreciation of fullness, which can only come with cessation of suffering. A true love is one without complication.

Tommy is no ascetic, but one of the best hedonists I know.

Wayne

ME:

You attach to the value that your mind assigns to it, in the same way you attach to a car or a lover. And since everything deteriorates and/or ends, attachment always causes suffering.

YOU:

Everything you said before made me happy, this made me sad.
Isnt that the mindset of really lonly, and sad people. Possibly living
in a small house out in the mittle of no where, whitout family?

Couple things...

Gratefulness in the moment means being content with your new car during the moments you are with it, without worrying about it getting scratched or old in the future, because right now, it's not scratched, and if you come outside tomorrow to find that someone did a hit-and-run on your parked car and crushed the bumper, then you would be exactly as content with your reality at that moment as you were yesterday. Non-attachment doesn't mean non-enjoyment. It means non-discontentment.

It's possible to live alone in a small house in the middle of nowhere with no family and be blissfully happy. If someone who lives alone in a small house in the middle of nowhere with no family is unhappy, it's not because of their circumstances, it's because of their attachment to mental formations in their mind as to how things "used to be" or how things "should be." If their body and mind were to actually live in the reality that actually is, they would not be unhappy.

Tommy

Guys -- just FWIW, but MP3s of this have been added to the download menu.

Rob

Gratefulness in the moment means being content with your new car during the moments you are with it, without worrying about it getting scratched or old in the future, because right now, it's not scratched, and if you come outside tomorrow to find that someone did a hit-and-run on your parked car and crushed the bumper, then you would be exactly as content with your reality at that moment as you were yesterday. Non-attachment doesn't mean non-enjoyment. It means non-discontentment.

This is something that I have been thinking about a lot and the above paragraph makes total sense in the context of a possession.

Translating that into poker and the quest for tiltlessness, how does our enjoyment of when it's going well relate to our possible tilt when it's not?

To use a typical example in NL, we have QQ in a blind battle against an aggressive player and ship over his 4-bet (assume we are totally confident and correct in analysis that all is +EV with the play).

Possibility 1:
Opponent shows JJ, river is a J. I'm totally fine with the fact that I need to disregard the river and concentrate my efforts on taking note of any information that the opponent has given me in this hand then prepare for the next.
Possibility 2:
Opponent shows AA, river is a Q. I think I'm not alone when I say this makes me happy, maybe even elated. I may even feel a little more alert and positive, my confidence is up and I am a step closer to "A Game".

My question is this:
Does our level of emotion in "Possibility 2" have an effect on our ability to control our emotion in "Possibility 1"?

I'm confused because (for me anyway) the positive emotion in "Possibility 2" can have a positive effect on mindset. However in this context wouldn't it be easier to aim for an unemotional reaction to both situations rather than try to filter good and bad emotion?
I should add that while I am aware of how I should react in "Possibility 1" I'm still very much in the learning process.

Guys -- just FWIW, but MP3s of this have been added to the download menu.

Rob

That's great, but why are the files double the size of the MP4?

This is something that I have been thinking about a lot and the above paragraph makes total sense in the context of a possession.

Translating that into poker and the quest for tiltlessness, how does our enjoyment of when it's going well relate to our possible tilt when it's not?

To use a typical example in NL, we have QQ in a blind battle against an aggressive player and ship over his 4-bet (assume we are totally confident and correct in analysis that all is +EV with the play).

Possibility 1:
Opponent shows JJ, river is a J. I'm totally fine with the fact that I need to disregard the river and concentrate my efforts on taking note of any information that the opponent has given me in this hand then prepare for the next.
Possibility 2:
Opponent shows AA, river is a Q. I think I'm not alone when I say this makes me happy, maybe even elated. I may even feel a little more alert and positive, my confidence is up and I am a step closer to "A Game".

My question is this:
Does our level of emotion in "Possibility 2" have an effect on our ability to control our emotion in "Possibility 1"?

I'm confused because (for me anyway) the positive emotion in "Possibility 2" can have a positive effect on mindset. However in this context wouldn't it be easier to aim for an unemotional reaction to both situations rather than try to filter good and bad emotion?

Instead of answering your question as asked, I'm going to revise it a little bit so that I can give the answer I want to give. :-) Let's pretend you had asked:

Should I aim for an unemotional reaction to both situations rather than try to filter good and bad emotion?

And the answer is...

YES!!

Losing to two-outers and winning with two-outers are both emotional spikes. It so happens that when you win with a two-outer, it means someone else lost to a two-outer, so the increase in EV that you feel isn't just from you feeling good, it's also from them feeling bad. The perfect player in my opinion collects from the other person feeling bad, but he doesn't need to gain extra EV from feeling good since he just plays like a rock-star all the time anyway. And, spikes of elation are caused by the same things as dips of despondency. To whatever extent you diminish one, you will diminish the other.

Meanwhile, it's fine and sensible to prioritize filtering out the bad emotions since they rate to be the most expensive, financially and otherwise.

I'm still very much in the learning process.

As are we all.

Tommy

I enjoyed this episode. Anticipation was the most interesting thing in this video for me.

About anticipation:
I am bluff monkey, sometimes I can't help myself and I just make a bluff for my entire stack,
when I shove the river, do I need to anticipate on a call?
Or is the hand over once the stack is in the middle?

I enjoyed this episode. Anticipation was the most interesting thing in this video for me.

You and me, both. Second only to Breathing. Both take a LOT of practice. If I could do anything over, I'd put more emphasis on anticipation. This is one of Tommy's biggest secrets. He anticipates so well that he is already in position to be calm before something happens.

I can't do it...yet.

I'm glad you brought this up because I think we didn't hammer it enough and this is my opportunity to do just that.

Thanks.

THE MUSIC TO THIS SERIES IS SO CALMING! LOVE IT! TOMMY UR VOICE IS VERY SEXY IYAM!

About anticipation:
I am bluff monkey, sometimes I can't help myself and I just make a bluff for my entire stack,
when I shove the river, do I need to anticipate on a call?
Or is the hand over once the stack is in the middle?

Anytime all your chips are in the pot, the only things to anticipate are what you are going to do if you win the pot, and what you are going to do if you lose the pot. I do this every time, and besides it helping me make good quitting/staying/rebuying-amount decisions, it also helps a ton with remaining focused and on my A-game when I lose the pot.

So back to your questions -- "Do I need to anticipate on a call?" -- the answer is yes. If you know you will lose if called, then you should anticipate what your next decisions will be if you are called, as in, quitting, changing tables, staying, and how much to rebuy for.

"Or is the hand over once the stack is in the middle?" Yes, the hand is over for you the moment your chips go in, but the game plays on.

Tommy

Tommy,

I think I might be the opposite from Wayne with regards to C-game. When I'm on my c-game I play too tight and make my decisions too quickly (typically while multi-tabling online). In the games I play in, most of the regulars play as many tables as I do (or more in some cases) and my C-game seems to consistently beat theirs. I know if I cut the number of tables I play in half that my overall win rate would go up, but it wouldn't double.

I was in vegas a few weeks ago and I found that I was in my C-game a lot. I was making decisions as if I had 3 other hands going at the same time. Even though my c-game leads me to making pretty decent overall decisions, I know that I would be playing better if I thought through each hand. While at the tables, I noticed I was not playing my best but had trouble pinpointing what the problem was. Now I know that I was making decisions too fast, but if I had known that at the table then I would not have been on my c-game.

I guess the problem is that my multi-tabling A-game that makes me money is really a C-game for someone playing in a live setting. While I don't play live often or for serious income, I know that developing different poker skills (be it live, heads up, or a different game) will benefit me in the long run.

What do you do to mentally prepare to play your A-game? I can only play one table of a heads-up game online, would that be a good place to work on my A-game? I feel that if I simply cut back on the number of ring game tables that I play, I'll still bring my C-game like I did in Vegas.

Thanks.

critikal,

It sounds to me like you've got good awareness as to what your C-game is, when it appears, and some things you can do to reduce how often it shows up. One thing you might consider is to move making-the-most-money-I-can to a second level priority for a while. If you think you play better by playing half as many tables, but that your hourly earn will go down, well, that doesn't mean that playing half as many tables is a bad idea. I think that if you look at the long run, it's more important to learn how to play your A-game consistently than it is to make a few extra bucks today. If you feel that way too, then now is the time to make some changes to that end. Think of it as training. As to what changes to make, I don't know you well enough to suggest any particulars.

What do you do to mentally prepare to play your A-game?

Oh my lordy. Lots. What I eat, how I sleep, how I walk, how I sit. Pretty much everything I do you could think of as A-game prep. Oh, you asked about mental preparation and everything I said was physical. Well, I guess my mental preparation is done by leaving my mind out it and just trying to be present while I'm playing.

Tommy

If you really aply what tommy angelo says in his book and only already this 2 episodes your tilt reduces a lot,
but I found its a constant battle to contain A-game

The hardest battle in poker. I think all DC member can be very lucky with this serie

Big up for Tommy and Wayne

Sickness!

This is the best poker series ever made on any training site.

after playing 5k hands of my c game and loosing about 1$/hand I need to get rid of it, thanks to my awful C game my winrate looks so small....

Sickness!

This is the best poker series ever made on any training site.

Without doubt! Tommy Angelo you're the king and I don't think the series would be this great without Wayne since you two guys toghether make this series perfect.

Do you think that your win rate would be better in the middle of the day with all the pros playing or on a friday night when you're a little tired but there are less pros / more inexperienced players playing.

I struggle with this a lot, and part of the reason i don't play in the day. Maybe I should start playing in the day because I'm more awake?

I think it's better to make playing your best and feeling your best the priorities. If you have to play when your tired in order to pay the bills, that's one thing. But if you don't, don't.

That is exactly the case for me too. Trying to reach targets instead of thinking "I hope I'll play x-stake in a year" etc is changing my mindset.

Thank you guys for making an excellent series!

Time Link to 00:25:27

That's what she said.

first time I see the series but great thumbs up,
the best tilt control: watch this series of videos

just discovered it and its delightful!!!