slowing down NLCASH

[ryanj247]

i play 6max. i'd like to play more HU, perhaps even move to mostly HU. but i'm not sure if it's right for me or not. on the one hand, i feel like i have a much better understanding of HU play and a stronger game in general than most of the small/mid stakes HU opponents. however, while i've come a long ways in managing tilt and thinking clearly in 6max games, it's a real challenge for me HU.

one specific problem area:

i find that there is a tendency to get into a fast paced rhythm HU. the vast majority of hands are small pots, usually taken down with a cbet on the flop. but i'm finding that this lulls me into being less than sharp in the big pots. this problem is compounded by the fact that i'm playing small stakes, and when i'm making decisions too quickly, i have a tendency to make loose calls in big pots because a) the $ is not particularly meaningful and b) it's easy to chalk up tough spots to "this is just HU variance, i can't lay down two pair HU" (/lame excuses). i also have a tendency to be a bit reckless with double and triple barrel bluffs.

i've tried phases of trying to slow down for every decision, but the small decisions are just so basic and the typical flow of the matches so monotonous that it's incredibly boring and tedious to try to process every decision so deliberately.

when i watch CR videos, the pros seem to do a great job of taking the appropriate amount of time for their decisions. of course, there's a much more substantial amount of money involved there, so it's inherently somewhat easier and more natural to do so. i'm sure this is something that most players improve with experience also. granted my question is a bit vague, but i'm wondering if anyone has any specific suggestions to help me improve in this area.

[xSCWx]

I think it would help you a lot just to waste like 3 seconds before taking each action. It seems stupid, but you would be surprised how much that 3 seconds of time to think might adjust your play.

[ivvaen]

I know exactly what you mean, and I had the same thing going when I started playing HU. After a while I started using 3-4 seconds just to think about the hand before clicking. It is good cause you'll think more clearly about every hand, and it also removes your timing tells.

I have slipped back to old ways now though, but spend a lot of time thinking about the big hands. Maybe I should start taking more time for the small hands as well.

[Stealthy]

Whenever I know that a raise or bet by my opponent is going to create a tricky spot I move my cursor to the far right of my 2 screens (my open tables are always on the left one) and let go of the mouse. I force myself to consider the situation properly instead of make a knee-jerk play.