I'm beginning to lose sleep over this.

[acekingoffsuit]

my post at the "Just finished reading CARDS by Maxwell" thread in Books/Publications. please help me out.

"the thing is that this book, and the responses, has gotten under my skin, and made me question my poker understanding, and the understanding of others. and this is really annoying the hell out of me, making me wonder if i need to do some deep rewiring in my thinking.

but, very possibly not, because through life experience, i've seen how stupid masses and majorities can be, so i'm not just going to go with the flow on anything.

like i've said before, i think "Mic Jameson" is an intelligent player who is frustrated with his life, and this leads to unfortunate plays. I DO NOT think he's stupid: I think his analysis, when not intimidated or angry, is ABOVE AVERAGE, BETTER THAN MOST PEOPLE HERE.

Now if I'm wrong, that's fine, great, i'm the better for it, but the more i try to get this book nicely filed away in my mind, the more confused i get. Mic seems to be a pretty smart guy to me, his plays are VERY thoughtful, it seems to me.

so instead of making useless comments, please help me out and talk specifics.

I'm not going to win a World Series, but I have made more money than I've lost inpoker, and my friends regard me as one of the sharks in our local games. But maybe I'm just a fish a little less fishy than them.

very confused,

AKo"

[doh742]

ok

i have not read the book...but don't stop reading. i can tell you this, if you win more money than you lose at poker, then don't worry about it. if you think the player is above average, have the confidence to trust your own analysis and stop looking for others to justify that analysis with confirmation. For every legitimate "good" card player on this board, there are 50 who have read theory of poker and supersystem once, in two sittings, and think they have the game clocked. there are also a bunch of people who reduce poker to math equations that would make a rocket scientist confused (and we are supposed to believe they commit this to memory or do the math at the table). the truth is, most of them are full of crap. you obviously liked the book, and thought the player worthy, and, you win money at poker, which means, you understand the game better than most, so be confident in that opinion. finally, realize most of the world never succeeds at anything they do beyond marginal, insignificant levels, and even more fail at the lowest levels. if the majority of the people out there don't agree with you, thats probably a sign you are thinking clearly and on to something.

[jlocdog]

You have to understand that in poker as in anyhing else in the world that you would like to accomplish, get better, or master, you need practice, patience, and the will to succeed. Every book out there has something to offer, wheather it be one page or cover to cover. What you have to realize though, is that these are all little snipets of the greater picture. You need to incorporate all of your readings into one style that you call your own. Success is not a magic formula. It is what you make of it. It varies far and wide and is ever expanding. If serious about delving into this complex game to become successful (by your terms not the mass population. I mean you don't need to win a WSOP to feel like your where you would like to reach in this game). You need to practice, observe, practice what you observe, talk about your good and bad plays alike (if you always bring up bad plays you will lose the confidence you need to achieve, plus it is good to reinforce the positive. It reminds you of what do do in situations and shows you that you CAN do it), and finally practice some more. Just cause Doyle says one thing and Skalansky says another does not mean that one is wrong. There is always the subtlties of the game that shapes our decisions. Recognize your comfort zone and try to prosper from there. It is not a sign of failure if you ever need to step down a level. Infact doing that when needed shows signs of understanding where your level is at, where it needs to be, and what you still need to learn to move up. It's alot easier for the average guy to move up than move down. The ego is a big thing. Don't let that cloud your goals or it just might squash them all together.

[acekingoffsuit]

Wow. thanks alot you two. I'm stunned that there are people out there that would take such effor to be so kind. Well, i'm still confused, but you picked up my spirits much more than i'd hoped. Thanks so much for the advice, and pep talk.