This is my reflection on a Shuffle and flow series episode on DC which is all about peak performance in poker, where the approach taken is the same as towards peak sport.
The goal is achieving the 'flow' - state of body and mind where you are 100% ready and focused and you make your best decisions flawlessly without much effort.
I was a goalkeeper on a high level in floor ball and for me this basically meant clearing my mind and be in the highest possible mode of focus and alertness (as a goalkeeper in floor ball or hockey you don't thing through how to catch a ball/puck that's blasting towards you in a huge velocity, your body just does it and does it the better the closer you are to 'the flow')Previous episodes were on introduction of the flow, how you should approach your resources and the importance of time management. There is a homework after each episode.
-Education: Finish Uni with 2:1 Minimum. Eventually get an MBA if I don't end up with poker and maybe just get it anyway if someone accepts me.
-Keep my GF, start a family eventually, make sick ballers out of my kids.
-Have a job/jobs that can support me/my family AND that I am passionate about. (Be it poker, owning a restaurant, or going into investment or sales or going back to bakery)
-Live a healthy life so I can live 80+ years and live to the fullest until my death bed.
-Regret new things I try and do rather that live a 'what if' life.
EDIT: Not very good examples
'The reason most people never reach
their goals is that they don't define
them or ever consider them as believable
or achievable.
Winners can tell you where they are going,
what they plan to do along the way and who
will be sharing the adventure with them'
-Denis Waitley
What is a goal?
Definition: 1. The result/achievement towards which effort is directed; aim; end.
In poker if you have a clear goal you can start directing efforts toward that goal.
Example from fitness
Goal: I WANT TO GET IN SHAPE
This very common goal is not a good one, because it is not specific and does not include any measures.
Refined goal: I WANT TO LOSE FAT (as a proxy for losing weight).
This is a much better goal. It gives you a specific direction and you can e.g. focus on resources for fat loss. It still lacks specificity though and doesn't give much information.
Re-refined goal: I WANT TO LOSE 20lbs in 8 WEEKS
This is a big step forward. It is a specific and measurable goal. Without measurably you will not know how much closer you are towards achieving your goal.
This goal also provides a deadline, and gives you a sense of urgency. If you fail then your goal was either
A) Unrealistic
B) Your strategy has been infective/not as effective as it should have been
Re-refined goal: I WANT TO LOSE 20LBS OF FAT IN 8 WEEKS BY DECREASING MY CALORIE INTAKE AND INCREASING THE INTENSITY AND DURATION OF MY REGULAR EXCERCISE.
I'LL BE DOING CARDIO 4X PER WEEK AND ENGAGING IN RESISTANCE TRAINING AFTER EACH SESSION. I'LL BE FOLLOWING A PROGRAM LAID BY A QUALIFIED PROFESSIONAL.
Here you have broken down your goal into specific and measurable targets that that you can include in your to-do list, it will be much easier to track progress and feel achievement. You have also decided to swallow your ego and set out to find professional help.
In poker this would mean Watching vids, letting Talented Tom tell you that you hate money.
You can break everything down even further, and break down your goal into steps. You can then introduce these steps into your every day routine and that way you can easily take the steps, each day, and eventually reach your goal.
Application to Poker
Setting results-oriented goals in poker in goal can backfire. Instead you should set task oriented goals.
MOVING UP AND TASK SPECIFIC GOALS
Say you play NL100. A good goal would be to e.g. read like 2 books and take notes, to have 10 coaching sessions or watch 20 videos along with BR requirement before you move up to NL200. You have to achieve these things before moving up even if you have the BR earlier.
By doing this you move up when your skill has increased, rather than when you just ran hot. If you allow your level of improvement to be independent of your bankroll you will become a better player faster.
It is important to break your goal to smaller steps like 1 chapter per day, coaching session every Tuesday or a video every 2 days.
SURROUNDED BY SUCCESS
-Means aligning yourself with people with similar goals and similar/higher level of commitment and drive to succeed.
An active group of people can hold you accountable and improve your motivation.
Although beware of getting into a group with negative attitude that might infect your mind. Try to get involved with even more ambitious and more devoted people that you are yourself.
ENDNOTE/CLIFFS
Setting goals is very important and will help you in achieving whatever you want to achieve tremendously.
Don't set goals just to set goals. Break down your goals (Make them task oriented in poker if possible) so that you can use them in your daily routine. One day at a time baby.
Don't forget to check out LP people's general goals Here and post yours. In order to break down and refine a goal, you need to have an overall general goal in the first place and that is where you can go look for some inspiration.
Poll: Nutrition and poker from same author-would my notes be useful to you?
(Vote): Yes, post your notes after you watch it dude!
(Vote): TL,DR, whatever
(Vote): Useless
Ok I concur. I am definitely not at my previous levels of skill yet..
Every single time ever I have been 4 tabling before the break no matter at what limit I was a 3-5BB/100 winner, and my only issue was that I return to multi-tabling and dump stacks when I burnout (Read my old blogs with 'Tutbotilt' in them).
Well, now thats really gone and whats more I can't even 6 table breakeven NL50.
My focus has been on advanced topics after my break, but I think in all that excitement I forgot to refresh the absolute basics.
And this is me 4 tabling NL50 before my break/before I started playing dota 8 months ago: + Show Spoiler +
The concepts below are basics that I need to refresh, at the end are important points. I will write this in several blog posts as I go through the basic concepts.
[ BLUE] - Flaws in my current game/logic
[ Green] -My comments
Index
-I will post various basic topics as I see fit/when I have time and energy and in the end combine everything into one blog post with index etc.
Let me know if there are any specific topics that you have trouble with (As I am likely to have trouble too) and I will try to research them/summarise and post them with my comments.
1) What is NL Hold'Em and how do you make money? + Show Spoiler +
Every time you play a hand differently from the way you would have played it if you could see all your opponents' cards, they gain
-David Sklansky
Long-term success in poker doesn’t primarily depend on your cards or your opponents. Nor does it depend on whether you‘re playing low or high limits, or even the final table of the World Series of Poker tournament in Las Vegas. Regardless of stakes, cards, or opponents the key to success is always the same: making as few mistakes as possible and making as much money from your opponents‘ mistakes as possible.
Typical mistakes of SSNL Players are:
-They play too many hands and, as a result, many hands that are too weak.
-They play too passively.
-They have difficulty folding, and end up paying too much for speculative hands, for instance.
-They bluff too much and at the wrong times. Often they unnecessarily inflate pots with pure bluffs.
-They don't factor in their position at the table.
-They don't practise good bankroll management and anxiety about their money dictates how they play.
How to exploit the mistakes:
-You only select hands that are worth playing.
-You play aggressively.
-You don't have a problem with folding, if the situation becomes unprofitable. You don't get “attached” to your cards.
-You don‘t bluff much but when you do, you do it at the right time. You don't bluff when you're playing for a big pot.
-You adapt your game according to your position at the table.
-You manage your poker bankroll well and can make moves because you know they are profitable, without worrying about the fact that you might sometimes also lose the hand.
The Aggressive Player
You have already learned that your profit is a result of your opponents' mistakes. And when do people make mistakes? When they have to make an important decision under pressure.
You will earn considerably more money with Texas Hold’em when you constantly force your opponents to make decisions, put them under pressure, and so force them to make mistakes. You can achieve this by playing aggressive poker.
At the same time you will save a lot of money if you avoid situations in which someone forces you to make a decision. If someone pushes you into a defensive position, you ought to feel very uncomfortable.
I didn't realise this as a factor, I always push small edges and play one street whenever its +EV. However the thinking of Giggy and Galfond, the two sickos from which you'd expect to seek tough spots seems to be the opposite.
Things like 3betting Q9o in HU deep against aggressive villain will put you under a lot of pressure in many hands and you will make mistakes=> you will lose money based on Sklansky's definition.
I need to not only think about profitability of one street, but also consider the likelihood of forcing myself into a spot where I am very likely to make a mistake/lose money and consider that when calculating EV for my action on one street. This goes especially into PF raising hands or bluffing without 6+ clean outs.
Cold-calling, which means going along with an opponent‘s raise pre-flop, is practically a deadly sin. With very few exceptions, it will lead you into situations, which are hard to control. For most cases you are limited to hoping to hit a strong hand, which doesn’t actually happen as often as some people think.
- I need to have a plan when calling PF, especially OOP. I call against unknowns just with the plan of C/F when I miss, which is OK with pocket pairs but sucks with everything else
Purpose of a continuation bet is:
-You want to force everyone to fold and win the pot directly.
-You want to protect a made hand against draws and make the next community card too expensive for opponents on a draw to see.
-You have a made hand and want to get money out of weaker hands. You maximize the value of your hand.
When to make a cbet:
1) You have TP+. why: protect your hand and get money into the pot.
2) You have strong draw HU. Why: Semi-bluff with outs - cbet has to work much smaller %. Remember, a semi-bluff is ultimately just a bluff and is only profitable as a tool when you can get players to fold. A draw alone isn't enough to justify a bet/bluff. Unless you have a true monster draw, your chances of winning just aren't high enough.
3) You have air/weak draw/weak made hand.
Your continuation bet is a bluff if you have a weak draw, a weak made hand, or nothing at all. Bluffing against several opponents and bluffing against opponents who won't fold is a waste of money. Never bluff against more than two opponents with a weak hand.
You will encounter the next situation quite often: You raised before the flop, one or two opponents called, and you didn't really hit anything big. Should you make a bluff contibet? The answer depends on the community cards and your opponents' actions.
When you look at the board, ask yourself two questions: Can you represent a hand? Could your opponents have hit the board?
If you answer the first question with a yes and the second with a no, you're looking at a suitable flop for a bluff continuation bet. Flops with high cards, are good for contibets, too. You can represent a high pair with your bet.
Types of players to consider when cbetting:
Loose-passive
It's hard for a loose player to lay down his hand, which means you can't bluff against them effectively. A loose-passive player will rarely show aggression, but will call a lot of bets. Your strategy against him does not revolve around forcing him out of pots, but rather patiently waiting for a good hand and then putting your money in. You know he will call with a wide range of hands.
LAG
A loose-aggressive player has trouble laying his hand down, too, but he also plays aggressively. This type of opponent is also more likely to bluff. They see a paired board as an invitation to attack the pot. You should refrain from bluffing this type of opponent. Your strategy is to let him pay you off when you have a strong hand. Give him the small pots when you don't have a hand, and take down the big ones when you do.
Tight-Passive
You want to make your bluff contibets against tight-passive players. They are quick to fold and only show aggression when they have a strong hand. You will often make continuation bets against them. If it doesn't work, you'll know you're beat.
I KEEP CONTINUING BLUFFING/PAYING OFF WAY TOO MUCH AGAINST PEOPLE THAT ARE INCAPABLE OF BLUFFING/VBETTING THIN ON TURN AND RIVER
TAG
You are a tight-aggressive player. You play strong hands and avoid marginal situations. This is why you can bluff against tight-aggressive players. This also means players can bluff against you. This isn't a disadvantage - good players have to be bluff able.Fuck, sometimes I think I am not a good player :/
You can attack a lot of pots when facing so-called TAGs, but not as many as against tight-passive players. If he is multitabling, you can make regular contibets against him. He is probably playing his standard game and folding every time he misses the flop.
Points to think about
Pay attention to how your opponent plays before and after the flop. Some players patiently wait for a good starting hand, but turn loose as soon as they've seen the flop - a good sign that he won't fold to a contibet. There are also lots of players who like to see the flop with any two cards, but immediately get out of the way when they don't hit. You should like this type of opponent, since he plays often and rarely has anything after the flop.
Good players tend to make contibets between 65-75% of the time, and more often in than out of positionI have just realised a weird trend in my game where I always cbet OOP but check down IP a lot People fold more OOP so it should be the opposite . On average, however, a good player won't make a contibet with 25-35% of the hands he raises with. The 65-75% of the time he does it's either a bluff or a playable hand.
You should almost always bet against a single opponent, unless he is loose and won't fold on the flop. You need a good flop before you can make a contibet against two opponents, and then only if you know they can fold.
How to react to a raise
You will obviously have to fold any weak or worthless hand, such as a small or middle pair, or a weak draw. You can continue to play a strong combodraw, such as a nut flush draw + OESD, or nut flush/straight + a pair, aggressively. With more than 12 clean outs you can even go all-in.
You can call with just a flush/OESD/double gutshot draw if you're getting the right (implied) pot odds.
If you complete your draw, you can expect to win another 1/2 of the pot size on the turn by the showdown. As a general rule: you can call as long as you don't have to pay more than 3/4 of the pot size (including actions before you).
You can expect to win even more from passive opponents, whose raise indicates a strong hand. Any poor players still in the hand are also likely to pay you off. In such a situation you could pay as much as the full pot size (including actions before you).
If a made hand, top pair or better, the cards in the flop should be of particular interest. Raise and protect your hand on a draw heavy board. You could just call on a drawless board to keep your opponent in the hand if you think it's likely that he has a weak hand or is bluffing.
You can usually fold weak hands like top pair with a low kicker to a raise. You should only consider staying in the hand if you know your opponent is very aggressive.
As poker is a game of incomplete information, you have to literally suck up every available bit of information like a sponge. With every piece of information you gain, your advantage over your opponents increases, and that is reflected in a higher profit at the end of the day.
It is important that you don't depend too much on HEM stats, because they only give you the average values of the hands played. This means that two players could have pre-flop values of 30 VPIP and 24 PFR, but still play in completely different ways: one of them could be a very good loose-aggressive player who pays attention to position, while the other one is simply a fish and raises hands whenever he feels like it, without giving it much thought.
Yup, I pay too much attention to small samples as TT pointed out -.-
Don't make the mistake of determining the post-flop competence of a player based on a good or bad pre-flop game, because many players might have a solid pre-flop strategy, but make many devastating mistakes post-flop.
6 folds, CO raises 4BB, Hero raises 12BB, 2 folds, CO is All-In.
What a great spot. You hold aces and have the opportunity to go all-in before the flop. It's a straightforward call. It should be obvious that you will make a profit (the EV is greater than 0).
What if we want to know the exact EV? First we need to determine the possible outcomes. You could win everything that lies in the pot, 100BB from your opponent, 12BB that you have already invested and 1.5BB from the blinds (a total of 113.5BB).
We will call this result x1 = 113.5 BB.
The other possibility, it the loss of 88BB, that you're yet to call, hence x2 = −88BB
Now we need to determine the probability of both outcomes. If you assume your opponent holds QQ, KK, AA or AKs your share of the pot is 80.4% which leaves your opponent with 19.5%.
Hence your EV is:
- EV is amount that you win*chance to win - amount that you lose*chance to lose.
This shit is too Brain Intensive lol. I will expand this section with the basic calcs/equations after I watch WoT's series and read all math articles on pokerstartegy
Remember/cliffs:
-DO NOT BLUFF IN BIG POTS
-ONLY RAISE HANDS WORTH RAISING.
-CONSIDER LIKELIHOOD OF MAKING A MISTAKE(=LOSING MONEY)IN FOLLOWING ACTIONS WHEN YOU ACT ON ONE STREET.
-HAVE A CLEAR PLAN WHEN PLAYING MARGINAL HANDS/WEAK DRAWS
-Consider how profitably cany you play a hand based on position, villains AND your current state of mind. If you are tilted and are likely to make mistakes tighten up! Also, always be able to clearly say what is your plan on the next street (including when raising PF!)
-DRAW ALONE DOESN'T JUSTIFY BETTING
-GOOD PLAYERS HAVE TO BE BLUFFABLE
-CBET MORE IP THAN OOP, CONSIDER VILLAIN AND BOARD, DO NOT CBET DRAWY BOARDS
-DO NOT PAY PEOPLE THAT ARE INCAPABLE OF BLUFFING OR VBETTING LIGHT
-DO NO CALL RAISES WITH WEAK HANDS
-DO NOT OVERESTIMATE PF STATS POSTFLOP AND SMALL SAMPLE SIZES
End note
I have applied these things and my red line instantly flatted out instead of going down and money won went just right up.
This thinking used to be the foundation of my game and is all coming back. I have even started talking out loud and explaining what exactly am I going to do on the next street before seeing it, just as I was doing automatically before but have forgotten since. I also suddenly remembered how I used to fight for the small pots and bluff like a madman and appear aggro, but when the big pots came I had the better hand most of the time.
All the study time and hand analysing is for nothing when you don't have the basics down and apply them in everyday grind.
Below is my adaptation of an article I have found recently that seemed very helpful to me. Here is my personalised version/notes:
When you scroll through LP and online forums you will see the miserable impression that online poker profitability is plummeting into horrible depths. Many people talk about throwing in the towel and getting into a regular job just for that reason.
Fuck them, you are smarter than that. Here is a refresher of reasons for playing this this game:
''More DIfficult'' does not mean ''Not Worthwhile''
You all hear the stories from old schoolers about the Party days. Waiting for aces and stacking off with TPTK and make bazillions with no effort. The games these days are much more difficult than back then. They are becoming increasingly more competitive and challenging, and it’s not as easy as it once was to earn $500k/year. I know, you are thinking what I am right now “So the hell what?”
You can still make extremely high hourly rates and income; all you have to do is work hard. That's it, there is no golden pill, no hidden passageways to poker oracle, no secret societies not even the Free Mason’s are involved.
Poker success, like most things in life, is based on your willingness to put in the ability and effort. You can still get dramatically more dough than with most other jobs, assuming you are disciplined and aggressive with your poker efforts. But poker is not just about dough for bitches and ho's. You also get the additional benefits of:
-Mental and physical freedom
-Flexibility
-Creative Outlet
-Competitive Challenges
-Exponential potential with virtually no or a very thin ceiling
Success: Process vs Product
Take this Guy, John Wooden. He is the only person ever to be inducted into the basketball hall of fame both as a player and a coach.
To him, success was not the output, but the process. If you work hard and strive to be your best then regardless of the outcome you have succeeded. This outlook is brilliant and not only because of its simplicity.
At first it might seem that the idea behind this is that success shouldn't be measured by the tangible and material. What is the real point and what is the most important however is that this approach draws attention to the level of discipline and enjoyment in work that is at the core of your excellence. By focusing on the process rather than outcome, you will see preparation as an end in itself. Our output, and in poker it is cash for bitches and ho's, is then a by product of our energy given to the process, and not the main goal and focal point of our energy and attraction.
If you look at poker in this light, your motivation can be geared towards to simply become a better poker player, and not just towards making the most money. We of course all look towards our bottom line, that’s why many of us play poker and want to succeed, as ho's are getting real expensive if you don't just move to Thailand like many LP perverts. Upon reflection however, you should see your learning and improvement as the measure of our success. This not only increases your potential to succeed but will also drastically alter your perception of and sensitivity to the definition of happiness you employ and derive from your work.
If my goal every day is to get better, to improve as a poker player, to review hands and concepts and get comments, play around with theory and discuss poker with friends, my profit/loss for the day has no effect on my perception of my own success for that day. I don't give a shit that I lost 20 buy ins in a day when I analysed 20 tough hands learned two new concepts and found a way to be a better poker player like Here.By approaching poker this way my feelings of accomplishment and happiness are protected.
As poker players and gamblers of any kind, we all know that the actual monetary output each day is irrelevant. What matters is the long run. The day to day, week to week, sometimes month to month (perhaps year to year for live and MTT donkeys) fluctuations are not of primary importance, and may or may not mean much. We train ourselves to ignore it. Unfortunately though, we are still human and it’s difficult not to in some way feel the influence of our results for that day.
CHANGE YOUR DEFINITION OF SUCCESS
A large part of the reason why we let our rational mind falter and be smashed by the rocket of the BFG called negative emotion is that our rationale already has holes in it. It’s not strong enough to withstand the impact of our rushing hormones as they rise from the sub-cortical depths and try to rein havoc on our reasoning capabilities. Part of the deficiency in our thinking is the fact that as poker players, we focus way too much attention on the bottom line, and not the work it takes to get there.
By putting the spotlight on discipline and improvement, we not only feel more gratified, but we become much better poker players. In one swoop, we are both improving our level of happiness and satisfaction, while simultaneously increasing our output (and getting those ho's). Success is achieved before the war begins. Preparation and discipline then become the primary contributors to victory.
Start with the process
Okay so now you are considering the notion that maybe the games aren’t the problem, it’s your focus and drive. To that you add acceptance of a definition of success that centers on discipline and motivation, and not on the score at the end of the game. Now what are you going to do about it? Where do we begin to expend this flurry of positive and hopeful energy, that will actually allow you enjoy this game and not be one of them miserable people?
Start with the process. Spend more time of your day studying, reviewing, reading and watching, instead of actually playing poker. Think of your poker sessions as the secondary initiative, the primary one is simply to learn and try to get better. I don’t mean to say that you should necessarily play a lot less poker then you do. I mean that you should probably be putting more effort into improving. Become curious again.
Why do we take the lines that we do?
Why do we bet as much or as little as we do?
Why do we fold the third nuts with 100 hands on villain?
Why does opponent x always perform action y in situation z as you notice while reviewing your hands against him/her? What can be done to exploit that next time you happen to find yourself on the same table?
INVEST MORE TIME FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF YOUR GAME!
Reviewing your own sessions is one of the most important contributors to your success. Not only are you establishing reads on opponents you will almost surely play again, but also your knowledge of ranges stays very sharp. Essentially poker is about narrowing ranges to identify our opponents’ cards. When you’re not reviewing, take some time off every day and simply watch some of the other regulars play. Whether it’s players at your stakes or much better ones at higher stakes, watching others perform will help tremendously with the two objectives mentioned above and with countless others as well.
As poker players in 2010, we have a wealth of information to satisfy our poker curiosity. Books, forums, videos, articles, public reviews or a free session from AndrewSong that you get after awesome blog post are all there because people are interested in getting better. Yet not many poker players actually view their improvement as the primary objective. This mentality alone can be a great contributor to you separating yourself and rising above the pack. Utilized properly and effectively, it can make you soar to new heights. Take advantage of all that our modern technological information age provides and start trying to be better poker players.
Motivation: The key to unlocking process for progress
Many poker players and humans in general for that matter, suffer from a lack of motivation. It really does get hard to go to school when you don't give a shit, or to be reviewing your hands when its much easier to just fire up 9 tables, mindlessly grind and post a whine blog. Now of course some less eager people will tell you they’re fine that way, and in their eyes they’re not suffering at all but actually quite content with their energy level and how much they care.
That’s fine, but for those among us who strive to move forward and always grow, lacking motivation can be quite the ailment. This is in fact so common, important and complex, that it requires its own hours of videos, miles of articles, textbooks and courses at universities. Oh wait, it does have all that and more. You can just go out and get them. To mention a few:
Physical Activity
Our brains and bodies were not evolved to sit around all day in front of a screen. Sitting on our ass all day without much physical movement will hinder our brain’s natural propensity to release hormones which make us feel energized and happy. Whether it’s going to the gym, playing sports, shagging ho's in Thailand running or dancing, staying active is integral to our success.
Isolation
Another potential obstacle is isolation, and is a consideration that would requires its own article. Online poker can also be a very isolating job. We don’t travel to offices in a flurry of traffic and get bombarded by bosses or employees with demands, deadlines and other nuances of the traditional working environment. Although a welcome departure from the conventional aggravations, the subsequent loneliness of the online poker player at work can threaten our productivity. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Our physical and mental freedom demands we take all areas of our lives into our own hands and to push forward independently. This is true not only of our work ethic but also of the substance in our social lives. After all, unlike other professions we can decide, at all times, who we talk to, for what reasons and for how long. We have control over where we work, at which times, which days and on which continent.In that light, the nature of the poker profession allows for a level and flavour of social interaction more dynamic and fulfilling then that which a normal job could generally provide. When you get stuck in a busy office all you will ever know are your close colleagues. People hardly get together with others as you see on How I met your mother. Your social interaction will be limited mostly to your peers and family, as there simply isn't time and energy for other interaction when you work 60 hours per week.
Of course, we have to actually work at our social life and are not simply flung into a social atmosphere and forced to interact as people thrown into a job are. If you are not sociable person it can be tough to make non-poker friends, and you will have to put hard work into overcoming that. Well, you still will be in a way better position that some IT guys who work 60 hours per week and are not flung into the interaction with actual humans.
POKER GIVES MANY POSSIBILITIES, USE THEM
Fortunately for us, we are now focusing on the process and simple improvement is our success. The result is more time out of our normal grinding environment. This could mean spending more time reviewing in nearby coffee shops, broadening our poker circle for more diverse viewpoints, or taking more time out of our lives to simply socialize with friends and meet new ones. Our goal is to augment our satisfaction and happiness by altering our definition and feelings toward success, while diversifying our methods.
Of course, by changing our definition of success to process rather than output, we create a greater variety of success inputs. Spending more time on studying now renders us more successful. Exercising and socializing more to increase our energy and happiness is a success in itself. The days of looking at our stats software to get an idea of how to feel are over. If it helps, erase your win-rate and profit from your stats software and take a look at it once every so often to get an idea of how you’re doing. Ultimately though, as long as you’re striving and working, those numbers will not matter; you are succeeding.
Going Forward
The Party Poker days are over and you can't just overlook these things. More work is required, more focus and dedication, more discipline and training and more health and happiness. You know what? This is actually a welcome challenge. If attacked properly and with vigor, the challenge of making it and excelling in the online poker environment of today will be a massive boost to your personal energy, mental strength, health levels and it will enthral you with diverse and exciting experiences. This is why poker is so damn attractive to me. Unlike the office, where a weak day/hour, sloppy off the job time management, or eating crap will not make your work performance and output/wage significantly lower, in poker these days you always need to challenge yourself and lead a balanced life or or your performance will be immediately affected and you will lose your edge.
Our objective now is to make the best decision on every action in every hand, and continuously strive, both on and off the tables, to ensure we accomplish that task to the best of our ability. By altering our definition of success and consistently improving, increasing and diversifying our efforts, we can reach new heights.
The games aren’t “dying”, the challenge is just beginning.
In my down swing post I mentioned the importance of confidence and that I lose it too easily.
Well today I saw Giggy's vid on Playing A Game. Really sick timing and here are my notes:
Confidence
- The most important factor in Playing A Game
The opposite pole of confidence is Fear.
Fear makes it impossible to play your A game. It is arguably even worse than tilt and anger.
Players often face the following fears:
1) Fear of losing money
This is the biggest factor. Most people have problem even starting session because of fear of losing money. You will see many people that do not put the volume in and think they are not motivated, a lot of the time its just plain fear of losing gains that puts people off putting in volume.
Solution:
-Either Face your fear, or at least be able to control it.
-Treat poker like a video game.
-understand how your brain works and find solutions tailored to your own psyche.
Giggy personally likes to always have 7+hours for his sessions, just to be able to get unstuck and not get the fear of losing money next time. He plays actually better when he is either stuck or is winning a lot, and it doesn't matter to him if he is stuck 2 or 20 BI in a session.
He also mentioned that some people fear losing a lot during one session, and stop loss will be great for you if you do that, as when you know you never lose more than the 'acceptable' amount you will fear losing much less.
2)Fear of other players
When you fear a player, he will crush you. He WILL FUCK YOU UP.
You have to be confident that you can pull some moves on every single player that you are playing against.
You can still be modest and respect other players, and you should, but you should absolutely not fear them. They really are not crushing your soul in every single spot, that is not possible unless they hit some sick heater of hands. Every single player is just a human and has his leaks that you can exploit.
3) Fear of the unknown
Example: Players without imagination always take new untried lines only with the nuts. They know they have the best 100% of the time and there is nothing unknown that they can fear. But when it comes to bluffs they take a different approach because they fear trying new lines and the unknown reaction of the opponent
Others: Fear of pulling the trigger, fear of not being good enough for your limit, fear of playing bad
When you play bad you fear to continue to keep playing bad, which makes you play even worse because of your fear.
The same goes for hitting a few bad sessions at your limit: You fear that you are not good enough, you lose your confidence and you suddenly really are not good enough.
Endnotes
You have to understand yourself to play your A game. What makes you confident and what makes you play without fear. ALL YOUR WORST FEARS WILL BE REALIZED
-Well not quite, but close to it, and it is especially true in poker. If you fear something, it will happen.
You have to be realistic and realise poker is just 1 long big session.
You have to be also honest with yourself.
Variance
One thing Giggy edited later in his video. Accepting the fact that losing 50 flips in a row is just a reality of poker is absolutely basic and vital. If you don't accept the luck factor and get tilted and start fearing every time you run under EV you are FUCKED.
Stare at the wall for 2 days straight or do whatever you can, but you have to realise this fact and come in peace with it, Tackling fears mentioned earlier will not help you if you can't accept the basic reality of poker.
Actually, I've been wanting to talk about something for a while now, and this seems like a good opportunity.
I realize I have a reputation as kind of nitty, specifically when it comes to game selection (and BR management). While I understand where that reputation comes from, I think that my personal philosophy on game selection is misunderstood.
People judging me for that reputation is one thing, and that's fine, but I realize that some poker players(especially BFP members) will make some of their career choices based on my opinion (or based on what they think my opinion is), which is why I'd like to clear this up.
I am in a situation unlike 99+% of pro poker players. The pool of games that are available to me are very unlike the pool of games available to most of you. Because of that, the 'off the table' decisions I make don't neccesarily reflect the decisions I believe you should make.
Basically, there are games that run at 200/400-500/1k (and equivelant for limit games), then there are games that run at 25/50. The 25/50 games run semiregularly, and the bigger games are very sporadic. Sometimes they are great, sometimes they're completely dead.
The larger games are definitely not 'soft', but when you look at how tough they 'should' be, they come in below that. What I mean by that is that the difference in skill between levels like $1/2, $2/4, $3/6, $5/10, $10/20 is somewhat uniform... as you go up in stakes, the games get a little bit tougher. Some people could beat 5/10, but can multitable and crush 2/4, and they realize that's a better use of their time.
Anyways, I was going to get into a long explanation, assigning toughness values to different stakes, but I realize now that most of you will get the point anyways. The skill difference between 25/50 and 200/400 is MUCH smaller than the difference between .50/1 and 5/10 or 10/20. A guy eeking out a small winrate at 10/20 would never drop down to .50/1 and multitable it and expect to make more money. However, that's comparable to the situation I'm in with nosebleeds and 25/50, in terms of the drop in stakes.
Basically, if I can beat the nosebleeds (I think I can), my earn rate there is substantially higher than my hourly at 25/50, and there is nothing in between.
Because of that, being too broke to play in the big games would be exteremly costly for me. And because of THAT, I need to avoid risking putting myself out of nosebleed action at almost all costs. This means passing up on +EV, high variance situations left and right.
Yes, HSDB and other sites will tell you I've made a lot of money playing poker. However, I've paid a lot in taxes and spent a ton on my home. Anyone who assumes I'm sitting here with an active, liquid $5m bankroll isn't thinking very hard.
With the insane stakes and swings that are possible there, I need to be very careful in order to stay in action. (Yes, if I lost a lot, I could sell 75% of myself and still play, but what's the point then?) This means not playing games where I expect to be making 1pt/100 or less, or games where I'm not even sure I have an edge but I might. I can take small shots in games like that, but I can't play them long term.
So, back to everyone else. What do I think you should be doing? If you're planning on being a long term pro, and you are living comfortably enough that you don't need your monthly winnings to pay bills, I think you should be playing in tough HU matches all the time.
That's right. I, Phil 'nit' Galfond, believe that playing in tough games is a good idea.
If you look back at the career of any nosebleed player, you will find a history of playing tons of tough hu matches and tough 6max games. It's absolutely neccesary in order to reach your potential as a player.
Many people didn't pay attention before a couple years ago, but on my way from 5/10nl to nosebleeds, I played almost everyone, at every level. Most of my upswing on my way to nosebleeds came from HU NL matches. I definitely played many HU matches as an underdog, and many many more that were too close to know who was best. I played in pretty much whatever 6m game was running at the stakes I was playing. (I also had terrible BR management... for example, playing Ivey at 300/600 with a 300k roll, but I don't recommend doing that)
If there were 50/100 and 100/200 games running regularly, I'd be taking on anyone HU when there were no other games running and I felt like playing poker. It's fun and interesting, and it's EXTREMELY good for your game.
As far as what you should do, you obviously shouldn't spend 100% of your time playing in neutral EV games. However, when there aren't as many good 6m games, or you aren't getting soft HU action, you should absolutely be taking on a reg, in my opinion. Sitting at your computer, waiting alone on 10 HU tables while you talk to your friends on AIM is not helping your career as a poker player. Even when you do snag a fish, you're much better off in terms of overall EV 6 tabling a tough reg than 1 or 2 tabling a semifish with 50bb.
If you lose a bunch of buyins at $3/6, you can step down to $2/4 and your hourly won't be hurt much. I don't have that option, which is why I have to be nittier, and why this post probably sounds hypocritical.
Please understand, this is not at all an "I'm frustrated I get no HU action and wish worse players would play against me" whine post. Yes, I'd love it if there were always 15 25/50 games running and I could just hop in anytime an grind and the games wouldn't break. That't far from my point.
I get sad and embarrassed when I look at the FTP or Stars midstakes tables.
This post is a "It would be better for you personally, for the poker economy, and for the enjoyment casual players get from poker if you played in tougher games"
-Phil
PS. - Some side notes:
-Think of how embarrassing and not fun it must be for a casual player to step into the NL games at the stakes you play.
-I realize that I still COULD play tough HU games at nosebleeds, and that some people still will disrespect the fact that I don't, even after my explanation. I think it's not a wise career choice for me, which is why I don't do it, but I definitely understand people thinking that's not cool. I have a ton of respect for the guys who take on everybody, even for seemingly large chunks of their roll... Tom, Ivey, Gus, Patrik, Niki, Isildur, Benyamine, etc. They are more brave than I am and they absolutely should be respected for that
-Phil Galfond's blog, 2010.
Time to challenge myself. I found the rake at NL50 to be ridiculous to play HU as money is just vaporising when playing an equally good/better active opponent.
Right now I am taking constant shots at NL100 by mixing in a table or two with NL50, and when I do get there and get those 50 BIs, playing HU will be a great option.
I absolutely agree that sometimes I get the feeling like I am not challenging myself, start posting on LP whle playing, chating etc. I am trying to see a session that doesn't produce hands worth thorough analysis as a failure.
Stagnation leads to boredom, boredom leads to tilt and not caring which leads to spewing of stacks. Hope you liked the read, post your opinion.
P.S. Personal update -I did play poker despite planning otherwise as I started and finished the 3.5k report on Considerations of cultural differences when internationalising business generally and in Iraq during 5 hours. Next report is due next Thursday.
Last 10k hands snapshot (pure 3-4 table, mixed HU and a couple NL100 hands). You know I don't post these and I don't think they are relevant but Uptown questioned my ambitions as a pro and I know you guys do care about these snapshots, so I am showing it to get some respec' xD + Show Spoiler +
I saw some 30 videos on DC and BFP in the last 10 days as I was ill most of the month and still am.
(Raging Bull series - Brochen is in one of them , Where the buffalo roam series, 3 NL50 vids, 5+ DC Shorts, 5 Thin redline vids (sick sick hands in the last one!), some DC homegames and FWfiend vs Krantz HU, Krantz v some NL50 kids HU, and I think also some other fun stuff I clicked on.
Galfond has new 2/4 vids on BFP and its awesome as always
I reccomend all of these pretty much)
I also keep reviewing hands and marking shit spots/getting into marginal spots with creative lines at NL50. My NL100 strategy is pretty much nit it up and abuse my image after people get hands on me to play without risk as my edge is much smaller.
Also, I believe I induced Night to post a blog on HEM analysis by my insulting comments which led in return to me fiddling with HEM filters and Leak buster for some 6 hours straight and seeing where I am losing money. Good stuff, LP doesn't provide much valauble content tbh but the contacts and motivation I get here are priceless.
I need to take a break for the rest of the month to work on uni stuff.
I got 2500 word report incl. research due in 24 hours and I haven't started (I studied a lot for it and know the theory, but still I need to do a lot of research.
This month was heavily influenced by the fact that I have been ill for 2 weeks out of 3, my mindset was sub par and and the run bad affected me more than I'd like.
Basically I exercised heavily, got ill, got back to exercise too soon and fell ill again.... This shit sucked, and I need to be 100% before I go swimming/weight lifting again.
My game has been volatile as well, and I started robot playing, playing too much oop and being a POW on the river, its easy to get into a rot with multi tabling.
The adjustment was that I started to play too tight, folding blinds and my red line bombing because of that.
I focused on HEM filters to identify where I am losing money, and it was the BB/SB - I was folding too much there by playing passive/folding too much.
SB/BB Graph:
You can see around 7k hands where I ran the filter and realised I need to look for spots where I can exploit people from the blinds.
I was always doing this, but I never managed not to spew massively oop, and I need to choose my spots in the blinds carefully and not be too obvious/imbalanced against the regs.
One thing I have also noticed how NL50 at Stars has changed over the span of 1 year since I was playing there seriously/not just weekends. 4bet bluffing is now a complete standard, and most non-weekend regs are 24/18/ 6-10% 3bet Tags, and there is so few fish compared to the past that simple bumhunt+avoid regs 100% of the time doesn't cut it anymore.
Being aggressive with picking spots carefully and playing a non-spewy game does
P.S.
As always, if you could click on my hands and post comments that would be awesome!
Contact Users: 494 Active, 0 Logged in - Time: 05:23
, Where the buffalo roam series, 3 NL50 vids, 5+ DC Shorts, 5 Thin redline vids (sick sick hands in the last one!), some DC homegames and FWfiend vs Krantz HU, Krantz v some NL50 kids HU, and I think also some other fun stuff I clicked on.
