Some words of wisdom

[EMc]

Im in a good mood today, and lately feel as if there are some basic issues that uNL is having trouble grasping or never really grasped, which are important. I see a lot of you guys and see what I was about a year and a half ago. Learn from my mistakes and what I did. Here is just some stuff Ive learned:

Bankroll and moving up: AJ said it best, your BR will grow faster than your skill. You may have the BR to play 50nl, but mentally, you arent there yet. The games do get tougher as they go up, despite with some pompous egomanaics say. ZOMG 50nl as just as easy as 25nl. No, its not. Dont let people fool you. It may seem that way to them now, but when they moved up, they beat to a different drum.
Im sure you have all read Fimbulwinters post about when to move up and then munkeys links regarding those, but that isnt hte end all be all. When you are ready to move up, you will know. It shouldnt been when your BR says to, it should be when you feel as if you can beat that game. I have a roll that some people play 200nl on, but I know that my current game isnt ready for 100nl.
Over the summer, I moved up in July. I finally ran good at 100nl, and bam, I thought I was king and then went to 200nl. I got rocked there, and contiuned to get rocked at 100nl. My BR>Skill, and it caught up to me. A lot of these players you see with sick graphs, quick move ups, etc ran hotter than they can imagine and assume its normal. When they start to run normal or worse, they cant take it. Dont let your BR decide when to move up, let your skill decide when to move up.

Making things hard:I see a lot of posts where people are making things harder than they appear for the sake of making things harder than they appear. They start getting fancy, start doing things that well, just dont work well in this level. Do not make this game harder than it has to be. In uNL, work on your print ABCs, not your cursive ABCs. Sure, cursive is a hella lot more fun, but not as effective. ABC poker is probably the best strategy at this level, at least below 50nl. Even then, when Im playing 50nl, and im losing, its cause im getting to fancy. ABC poker is like Novacaine...just give it time it works all the time"

Using this forum:There is a ton of great info to be learned in uNL. Doesnt mean its gonna be handed to you. As I said in the Microbrew, you need to figure out why a poster may suggest what he does, and then see if you think thats right. If not, tell him. Just cause Im green doesnt mean im always right. Just cause someone has 8k posts doesnt mean they are always right.
To get the most out of this forum, post hands that gave you trouble, whether you won or lost. And then see what others say. Get in a debate. Talk it over. Ask why. Also too, read others hands. See what they did. See why they did it. Then apply it if you think its good, question and criticize if its bad.
We are a community. Remember that. We are all here to make each other better. I suggest you find players that you think are good, or you respect, and talk with them off the forum. That helps a ton.

I already know this stuff. Theres not much more I can learn: EVERY SINGLE ONE OF YOU WILL SAY THIS OR HAS SAID IT. Its wrong. Im learning more every day. You need to keep an open mind. You think you know everything, but in thinking that you actually know very little. There is always more to learn. Always.

Reads/stats: A lot of new guys and even vets get too caught up with stats. They are there to give you a general idea, but shouldnt be used as an end all be all read. I know this is said a lot but you just arent getting it. Stats can tell you a player profile, thats about it. you can tell that a 40/3 is weak, call station. Thats about it. A 22/18 has some TAG tendencies, but thats it. He may be a good tag or a bad tag, that is for you to decide. You can use stats to get a general idea, and then work from there. And remember, players are consistantly changing, keep track of that.
Likewise, dont play just to be a certain stat level. I run 16/14, thac runs 22/18. Doesnt mean hes right, im wrong, im right, hes wrong. Dont go "I wanna play 22/18 cause someone else does" Play what you think is optimal, ignore your stats for the most part. They can be used to point out leaks and flaws, but you shouldnt tailor your game to run a certain stat level.

Well thats it for now. Maybe ill think of more later. But these are important fundamentals which a lot of guys arent grasping and its holding you back.

EMc

[fees]

FIRSSSSSSSST smell that? ITS THE SMELL OF STICKY

[Vyse]

I've played 10 NL most of my career, and moving up to 25 NL, I'm noticing that there's a new level of what you can and CAN'T do. At 10 NL, I did too much that was too advanced, and obviously at 25 NL you can do more. My point is this: we should come up with a semi-arbitrary list of things that, for the most part, you can or can't do profitably (or as profitably) at a certain level.

i.e. at 25 NL you can steal and re-steal blinds much more easily, but at 10 NL re-stealing / squeezing doesn't work as often, and stealing blinds in itself is less profitable (though you should still do it).

Just a thought.

[creamfillin]

Haven't read yet but it looks tasty, nice post

[Sir Winalot]

[img]/images/graemlins/heart.gif[/img]

[C4LL4W4Y]

Excellent stuff.

Just to add (regarding differences in levels), is that we're playing the players and not the level. I've seen tables of 25NL that were 10x tougher than the average 50NL table. I think it comes down to good BR management and a sound, logical thought process. To quote (or abridge lol) ZeeJustin: "You must have a reason for everything that you do."

[dirtylobster]

There could be an argument about whether you learn more by using, let's say everything over $2000, from your bankroll to take shots at NL100, or if it's better to grind it out at NL50 until you 'feel ready'. If the competition is harder you learn more/faster. It's easier - for me at least - to grow when I keep challenging/pushing myself.

Just my 50 cents.

[avfletch]

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Bankroll and moving up:

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This is excellent advice but I'd also like to add. Don't be afraid to run bad. I stayed at NL25 waaaay too long and I'm regretting it now. Take shots, move up and learn just don't be too proud to drop back down. Set aside a few buyins for the next stake up and go for it. Worst case scenario you go back to grinding. Best case scenario it sticks and you're back to grinding, just at a new level [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

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Making things hard:

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As a corollary to this. When a decision is hard, don't just look for the best play at that decision point. Analyse the rest of the hand to see what, if anything, could've made it easier.

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Using this forum:

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As well as trying to figure out why a poster says what they do encourage them to post the reasons themselves. When you post don't just tell us what you'd do but why you'd do it. That way we have a better explanation or a better starting point to help fix your leak, it's win-win.

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I already know this stuff. Theres not much more I can learn:

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If this is true then why aren't you beating the nose bleeds? Nuff said.

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Reads/stats:

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Reads >>>>>>> stats. Turn your HUD off from time to time and play the least number of tables you can without going crazy and donking off your roll. At the end of it write a paragraph describing each of the player's biggest mistakes and how to profit from them. Then ask yourself why you weren't doing it while you played [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

[monkover]

Sticky!!

[Xanta]

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Reads/stats:

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Reads >>>>>>> stats. Turn your HUD off from time to time and play the least number of tables you can without going crazy and donking off your roll. At the end of it write a paragraph describing each of the player's biggest mistakes and how to profit from them. Then ask yourself why you weren't doing it while you played [img]/images/graemlins/wink.gif[/img]

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This is a sick idea, thanks a lot. To make it even better, do it on a table with a bunch of regs, people that you will play again and again. Whenever I see that I've played 200+ hands with someone and I have no or little notes on them, I feel complacent and stupid, since they had to have done something interesting in that span.