LC: Post #5,000 - Ask me whatever

[Paul B.]

I couldn't really think of anything specific to write about so I'll just rant about myself and stuff I think about.

I'm 22 (23 in a week) and I've been "pro" for over a year now, but poker has been my primary source of income for around three years. Jobs I've had in the past: real estate agent, transcriber for the movie "Super Size Me," copy editor/writer for my school newspaper. I have a BA in Economics.

Here are my results from when I used to play SNGs (not entirely accurate due to TM not recognizing some buy-ins):



And yes, I do realize spacegravy is on pace to top my entire SNG career in one month. I have money against him [img]/images/graemlins/frown.gif[/img].

Anyway, I now play MSNL (came a long way from .5/1 Limit) and I've had a lot of success, so I'll give you guys three simple tips on how to improve as a player:

(1) Be humble. I see so many guys who think they're the best and claim they're just running bad (e.g. FGators). There's always room for improvement, even for the best players in the world. There is no shame in hiring a coach.

(2) Be willing to learn and work hard. Study the game and take initiative. Don't be one of those guys who makes zero effort and posts questions that can easily be answered by Google or the search function (p.s. please don't spoonfeed these people). There is a plethora of information in the archives that can make you millions -- take advantage of it.

(3) Focus less on grinding and more on improving your win rate. Make sure you table select (properly!). Try to understand the purpose of every action and the math behind them. Think about your opponent's hand and what he thinks your hand is.

If you do these things, you will be a huge winner. I realize some of that stuff is really general, so I'm willing to answer questions on more specific stuff for the next day or two. I don't really like to share secret stuff I've learned on my own, so make the most of it.

[Sh@i'tan]

highest sng limit uve ever played?

what are you currently doing to work on your game?

your poker story?

what happened to your blog?

better graph, fgators or my sharkscope one?

[Jbrochu]

Regarding coaching for NL cash: I believe you've been coached by several different people. Can you tell me a little bit about the different methods your coaches have used and what you find to be the most effective for learning?

[sean457j]

Is there any less well known resources for learning you would recommend?

Specifically things like a less well known poker book, the posts of a particular 2p2er or a site that offers sound insight into the game.

For anyone who is interested I would recommend The poker mindset by Taylor and Hilger. I think it is one of the few poker books I have bought that I will be reading again in a years time.

[Paul B.]

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highest sng limit uve ever played?

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Regularly, $215 on Partypoker. One time thing, $555 turbo on PokerStars (not counting some HU SNGs in the $500-$1K range).

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what are you currently doing to work on your game?

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Right now I'm trying to break into the 5/10 game on Full Tilt. One thing I noticed the regs all play differently, so I compiled a list of about 30 regulars and now I'm studying their hands/stats in PT. Each reg takes about an hour of studying and I've gone through about 5 so far.

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your poker story?

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I deposited $50 into Party for fun a few times in my freshman year. Went semi-busto in my sophomore year playing 15/30 LHE and took a break. In my junior year I started bonus whoring. Online casino bonuses were very profitable at the time and I amassed a $20k bankroll pretty quickly (was playing .5/1 LHE at the same time). After casinos started drying out I had to take poker more seriously. Went from micro LHE to SNGs (up to $215s) to mid-stakes LHE (up to 10/20) to SSNL to MSNL.

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what happened to your blog?

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Got lazy and stopped updating it.

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better graph, fgators or my sharkscope one?

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His is a classic, but yours is funnier.

[Green Kool Aid]

Did you have a really funny story about banging a hooker, or am I thinking of someone else?

[Pudge714]

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Did you have a really funny story about banging a hooker, or am I thinking of someone else?

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IIRC it was like $100 for 30 mins and like $125 for an hour and he took 30 mins.

[futuredoc85]

why did you randomly shortstack 2/4 on stars for like a week one time?

[Paul B.]

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Regarding coaching for NL cash: I believe you've been coached by several different people. Can you tell me a little bit about the different methods your coaches have used and what you find to be the most effective for learning?

[/ QUOTE ]

Live coaching has by far been the most helpful for me. I had him watch me play and give me feedback in real time, and that was really beneficial for my game. I recorded our sessions and I can review them whenever I want. Also, I was lucky that most of my coaches knew how to coach (some people are good at playing but bad at coaching/teaching).

The next best thing IMO is using Skype & Unyte (lets the coach see the student's screen). However, to best honest I don't really like the way that most coaches coach. For a novice player, there should be certain things that the coach should go over before starting sweating his student, like how to play certain "standard" hands and why, and stuff regarding software and table selection. Almost no one does this.

One more thing, if you find a coach who you think is a good bargain, set up sessions as soon as you can. A couple of years ago, I had the opportunity to study whitelime in person for a nominal fee (he was playing 5/10 at the time), but we couldn't arrange anything because of schedule conflicts. Now he's wrecking higher stakes games and charging 6x as much.

[slimon]

Hmmm why why do I always think your inyourface? Who is better at poker? What makes you better than me in cash? I play 50NL right now. What's the fastest way to get better? What hands should I 3-bet and when to?