Plug small leaks and get better at poker (very tl;dr worthy)

[milesdyson]

LOL @ snake trying to find reasons to post that graph.

[RemyXO]

tl;dr
Judging by the graph, you would have been better off if your copy of SSHE got lost by the USPS [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[OziBattler]

[ QUOTE ]
hey oz, great post.

I must admit that when i read it yesterday i skipped straight to your graph because i'm totally results orientated [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img]

having re read it today i can relate to a lot of your poker experiences; kids (well 1 kid) and work taking priority over poker, trying to cram hands in between demanding priorities, playing while tired, tilting etc.

i'm curious to your "drawing a line in the sand" analogy.
i have played 20k hands now and am down some 100BB so far.
now this in itself is not a problem as i too consider this a "poker educational expense" but i realise that i don’t play well enough. And i, like you before, chase losses and tilt when playing patient and disciplined poker only to be sucked out on time and time again by fish that chase cards to the bitter end and then hit them.

Anyway enough about me, I’m replying to your post with a question: how exactly did you "draw a line in the sand"? What did you do to "start afresh"?

[/ QUOTE ]

The "line in the sand" is entirely mental. I havent deleted my data prior to that but I use that as a defining date when checking data in PT. I got sick of thinking "man, my winrate is crap" so the results oriented guy in me asks himself what his winrate is I just use that as my start date in pokertracker. I also use that same date when checking my stats etc.

Remy, I should point out that the downturn after getting SSHE also came when i first moved up to 0.5/1. I probably was due for a [censored] run and due to be crushed anyway...in $ value it wasnt as bad as it could be because i was whoring all the sweet signup bonuses (party etc) so my BR was actually going up despite my losses. hurrah for bonus whoring101

[RemyXO]

[ QUOTE ]
Remy, I should point out that the downturn after getting SSHE also came when i first moved up to 0.5/1

[/ QUOTE ]

I hear you, brother! You should see my graph when I moved to $1-2. Looks like sliding down the Grand Canyon slope.

[ QUOTE ]
hurrah for bonus whoring101

[/ QUOTE ]
Second that! \~~~/ <--- here's to bonus whoring

[QueBob]

Coming out party on an upswing, lemme guess... 2+2 player?

[OziBattler]

[ QUOTE ]
Coming out party on an upswing, lemme guess... 2+2 player?

[/ QUOTE ]

lolol...but if you read my OP you see that I stated (which of course you could call BS on but you would be wrong) that I wrote up it over a period of time much of which was before the upswing.

holla to upswings and holla to playing better [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

Par-Tay

[PacketPuppy]

Subscribed.

[OziBattler]

NNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIIINNNNNNJJJJJJJJJJAAAAAAAAAAA!

Yes, Im bumping my own thread

Why?

I think its timely and might inspire some of you who either didnt see it the first time or need a pick me up. Basically there have been alot of posts recently about how tough and possibly unbeatable the games are these days at limits around 0.5/1. <font color="red"> IM HERE TO TELL YOU THAT THE GAMES ARE STILL VERY BEATABLE...YOU JUST GOT TO ADJUST AND PLAY BETTER AND MAYBE EVEN DIFFERENTLY DEPENDING ON THE ACTUAL GAME YOU ARE IN.</font>

BTW Yes! You get graphs! All graphs are fullring. Yes, I play fishmax but not alot. I wanted to prove to myself, and continue to do so, that I can beat FR consistently. Most of the hands are at 0.5/1. FWIW Yes, Im probably running good but Im playing much better too and part of the reason I want to make this post is to point out that for me, W2SD wasnt the be all and end all...Illl get to that in a moment!

Recap and Update
When posted this in late 2006 I professed to have actually gotten better at poker. 6+months on I want to give an update. My sample size isnt huge but most of this is 3-4 tabling playing what I consdier to be nice aggresive ABCD poker........first graph is my graph that basically follows on from the one already posted in the OP...the second it 2007 only.





As you can see, whilst not a big sample size (you can run good for many thousands of hands LDO) it shows Im doing something right. I know I still make lots of boneheaded mistakes but I do think Im winning the battle of mistakes against my opponents.

Random Comments about my adjustments
The really short answer is that I continued to get better at poker.....Ive still got work to do but Im getting there.

I talked about adjustments...well here is a quick summary, today, of what I feel I do differently
- Its not just about W2SD....
- I play in +EV spots where possible
- my basics are pretty solid (Some posters think they are solid but they arent and they demonstrate it in their posts....harsh but true. deal with it)
- understanding how pot size affects decisions
- trust my reads
- stop spewing...no really....stop spewing (yep, its okay to call down in good spots rather than always damn raising bros!)
- I got better at picking my spots to 'make plays'
- prudent table selection and even better seat selection and pick my targets (you just cant target fish anymore...you have to adjust bros, tight does not equal good it just means that you have to work a bit harder to get their money
- checkraise more in big pots with hands that need protection (tight players hate that and how the respond is usually telling)
- have specific reasons to many fancy plays...and know what you want to achieve and have a plan if it all goes pearshaped.

Its not just about my W2SD
My OP discussed me not being a showdown monkey but theres more to it than that. Often by the time you get to the river the pot is so big that you probably should call cos you cant be 90% certain you are beat. Part of my problem was that I used to make too many loose flop and turn calls and felt compelled to call a river bet (often correctly sometimes not)....a prudent fold early in a hand can save multiple bets. Dig it!
can

+EV play
I play when I have the best of it. Sounds simple but it has different aspects to it. I table select well and I seat select even better. I try to 1/2 when possible but I wont play it if the tables suck, Im tired or for some other reason Im just not feeling up to it.

One thing that I look for in a table is PREDICTABLE opponents...this is important. I have quite a few players who i have a simple comment on such as "Dont bluff, do value bet" and "Bet = HAND".

On the other hand, i try and avoid tough spots against LAGs. Yes thats right gentemen, if Ive got a marginal hand and LAG checks to me on the turn there are spots when you can check and snap off a bluff. You can also call down LAGs with made hands that could be beat....trust me, LAGs hate that! And further more you can avoid expensive 3 bets.

BTW Im just rattling off a few things here without being specific so Ill stop it [img]/images/graemlins/smile.gif[/img]

I know what those damn stats MAY mean (but I also understand read count too LDO)
This means that Im familiar enough with my stas, they way I play to get them (esp VPIP and PFR) and thus I can better relate to other players stats. Part of this comes form just getting a feel for how different player types play whilst also understanding that this is just a guideline and each player isnt the same. I understand which stats converge quickly and which dont. And most importantly, Im better at exploiting what I see on that there HUD.

Fancy Plays
I will mention that I dont fancy play preflop. I DO punish limpers and Im raising alot so let me be clear here...I might raise light but Im NEVER limping those AA, KK, AK damn monsters. See, I dont need to cos raising enough preflop to leave my opponents guessing and I get action most of the time (if Im not getting action then refer to my comment about table selection)......Shania Shania Shania! If you want Shania explained just ask and someone will give a much better explaination than I could.


Well thats enough....Ive done what I wanted to do. Maybe this is a partial brag post but I wanted to do it to show you that you can still beat the game but that it just takes more work these days. I know Ive still got leaks to deal with but as long as Im winning the battle of mistakes (got that from Ed's new NL book) then Im Im getting the best of it. And getting the best of it, my friends, feels damn freakin good!


And BTW my stats look like 17/10.3/2.4 with W2SD of 34 and W$SD 55....See you, dont have to play 25/12/2 to win at the micros.

Goodluck at the tables

OziBattler

[Bona]

Sir. Would you expand as much as you are willing to on table selection and seat selection. What to look for? Is pot size more relevant than VPIP etc? Do you continue to shop for tables and move to better ones while you are playing? What are your minimum standards for playing at a table? What about seat selection? Do you wait for the right seat to open up? Or do you move when a better seat opens? It seems the moving option is often closedbecause of waiting lines and the same is true when you start a a table. What are your minimum standards for staying at a table? The fact that you multi table will probably make the mechanics of this a little different from those of us who 1 table but the fact that your win rate is 2+ times mine tells me I need to learn something here. The more detail on your seat and table selection criteria and processes the better.

[McNeese72]

[ QUOTE ]
Sir. Would you expand as much as you are willing to on table selection and seat selection. What to look for? Is pot size more relevant than VPIP etc? Do you continue to shop for tables and move to better ones while you are playing? What are your minimum standards for playing at a table? What about seat selection? Do you wait for the right seat to open up? Or do you move when a better seat opens? It seems the moving option is often closedbecause of waiting lines and the same is true when you start a a table. What are your minimum standards for staying at a table? The fact that you multi table will probably make the mechanics of this a little different from those of us who 1 table but the fact that your win rate is 2+ times mine tells me I need to learn something here. The more detail on your seat and table selection criteria and processes the better.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, please expand on the above.

Especially getting the right seats. With the waiting lines sometimes seen, how do you get the right seat? I hate when I end up with the TAGs to the right of me and LAGs to the left.

Do you constantly table shop while playing? Do you move down limits whenever needed to find good tables and seats?

Doc