The Well: Aba20

[aba20]

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1. What would you say is the most important trait in nosebleed stakes NL players? E.g. fearlessness, not tilting, hand reading, disregard for money or other.
2. What transition in stakes was the most difficult for you (e.g. 50/100 -> 100/200)
3. Is 100/200 the highest you've ever played?
4. Can we expect to see you vs. bad_ip at 200/400 any time soon?
5. How's the PLO going? Do you think the transition from HSNL -> HSPLO is a hard one to make?

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1) Honestly emotinal control and not tilting is very very important. It is so easy to tilt when playing HU and shorthanded.

2) probably 5/10 to 10/20, but the hardest of all transitions was 1/2 to 2/4 and 2/4 to 3/6. I thought those jumps were really rough.

3) no I have played 200/400 live

4) yes I am working on my HU game. It needs another 6 months tho before I am ready for that. If there was a 6max 200/400 game I would play it. I would be willing to play all the way up to 500/1000.

5) PLO is very swingy, which can be frustrating. There are so many times where the money goes in as 60/40 favorite or 55/45 favorite that it can seem like a crapshoot. But I believe that an expert plo palyer could ahve a much hgiher winrate than a expert NLH player. My earn is much higher in NLH right now but I think with another month of plo I could have a better earn that my current NLH earn.

[ahnuld]

aba,

I respect the fact that you moved up quickly and took some shots. It was a slight risk but it definitely paid off for you. Im just curious when you decided to move to the big games, ie over 2knl, and how you did at the begining against good players.

I have a really big roll for 1knl and a pretty big roll for 2knl yet I mainly play 1knl becuase on party the 6 max games are full of EM2, Samo, BldSwttrs, lolo, Tizerd and such players. I feel like it would be a little silly to move up just so I can play those guys on 6 tables every day. Do you think I should stay at 1k, move off of party, or play some other games on other sites. I feel like a giant vagina after reading your story becuase we were in the same place in february, and while im very proud and happy with my results, I see you and think that I could be doing more. This was a little rambly, but any ramblings or feelings you have on the subject would be interesting.

[aba20]

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First of all, thanks for doing this!

Can you give some examples of ways in which smart SSNL players don't really seem to understand the game?

Have you looked at any of the posts in the SSNL Master Sticky thread? Can you give your thoughts on any of them?

What are some examples of "AHA" moments you've had, either via 2+2 posts or other discussions about poker?

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I see comments all the time from respected posters like "don't go broke with one pair". Usually blanket statments like these are wrong and each hand needs to be analysed individually.

No I haven't but I read all of fimbulwinters stuff and that really helped my game. I would reccomend everyone read his stuff.

One "AHA" moment was shoving with hands which have good equity against your villians calling range. Example which would you rather go AI with assuming you have a pot sized raise left on a 249 board. You can go AI with 55 or KQ. Well shoving with KQ is much better than shoving 55 because KQ has alot more equity against villian calling range (66+ and any 9).

Another thought I had alwasy watch and analys the play of yoru opponents that give you the most trouble and incoroprate that into your game. I know I used to hardly reraise preflop until I ran into some aggressive opponents who constantly repoped me preflop and made me realize how powerful aggression is preflop. I then incorportated that into my game and now I think I have some of the best preflop ranges of any poker player.

[aba20]

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Great responses so far and thanks for posting in the well...

What did you play on the rugby pitch?

Did you ever play Caltech RFU? I don't think UCSB is ever in our schedule but I'm interested to know if you've heard of us.

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I was a locke. No I never played caltech.

[aba20]

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A couple more: at SSNL, we can gain a pretty big edge by just not doing obviously dumb things most of the time. You play against a lot of tough players all the time. What sorts of things do you think give you an edge over these tough players?

What are some counterintuitive things you've learned that help you out? (for me, things like just how strong combo draws are, and how much of a difference there is between saying someone's range is "AA,KK" or "AA,KK,AK," but feel free to answer this one however you want!)

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I often just play in a straightforward manner. Playing your big hands (made and draws) fast and aggressively really confuses your opponents. Yes combo draws are incredible powerful. Yes AK has many more combinations than AA and KK combined. This is why I love pokerstove because if I know someone will make a play with AK, AA and KK it will appropriately weight the likely hood of each hand. Pokerstove is a great program and I recommend everyone play around with it and learn how to do equit calculations.

[aba20]

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Thanks for your time Aba20 !

I'm kind of a weak tight player.

What's the best book, DVD, recipe for learning aggression?

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www.cardrunners.com

Edit: I am now affilated with cardrunners but I want to say I gain nothing from anyone going there. But I used and use it as a tool and I thinkk it is great way to improve your game.

[aba20]

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aba, thanks for taking the grilling. Having you in the well, right on the tails of El Diablo, is a helluva learning opportunity for us.

One thing El D said in the well (and Gigabet has said in posts) is that in every single hand, he tries to put his opponent on an exact holding. Do you do the same?

I suck at hand reading and I suspect so do many SSNLers. What are your thoughts on how improve one's hand reading skills -- anything more to it than just putting in the effort?

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When I am playing I will often say to myself what do you have and imagine diferent possiblies (small pairs, suited aces etc.) But often for anaysis I use a range. So I more put people on a range of hands and see the equity of my holdings vs that of there range. Unfortanatly there is no easy way to get better at hand reading and having a feel for the game. All I can reccommend is countless hours of play and slowly it comes to you and you improve.

[poincaraux]

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One "AHA" moment was shoving with hands which have good equity against your villians calling range. Example which would you rather go AI with assuming you have a pot sized raise left on a 249 board. You can go AI with 55 or KQ. Well shoving with KQ is much better than shoving 55 because KQ has alot more equity against villian calling range (66+ and any 9).

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AHA! I don't know exactly how to work this into my game, but I'll certainly file it away. For those of you playing along at home, it's about 90:10 and 80:20, or a 2x difference.

[aba20]

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I am a former SnG player who is just starting 6 max cash games. I have $400 and play 50NL currently. What strategy could you give me to move up in the levels the most efficient way possible?

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Don't tilt, post 2 hands a day. Play 1K hands a day and in no time you will be at 5/10. All it takes is some hard work. I would also reccomend playing 25NL until you have 600 dollars before trying 50NL as 8 BI is not alot.

[Ratamahatta]

I asked this questein when dbitel was in the well. I would like to hear what you have to say:

In your opinion, what does it take to be a good poker player (let say good enough for crushing 2000NL at Party)? Do you think everyone with good discipline, willingness to work/studdy hard and IQ equal or higher then 100 can achieve this goal, or do you have to be born with some special gift? Or is there something else?