surfdoc is in the well

[surfdoc]

[ QUOTE ]
A stranger is being shown around a village that he has just become part of. He is shown a well and his guide says "On any day except Wednesday, you can shout any question down that well and you'll be told the answer".

The man seems pretty impressed, and so he shouts down: Why not on Wednesday? and the voice from in the well shouts back: Because on Wednesday, it’s your day in the well.


[/ QUOTE ]

I have been asked to jump in and do this well thing. I will try and answer whatever I can.

[Frond]

Cool. I was just wondering when someone would do a well. Gracias Doc. Here are a few to get ya started:

1. How long have you been playing?

2. Do you mostly play live, online or both?

3. What limits do you currently play at?

4. What is your opinion of having a poker coach(if you have one at all that is)?

5. What do you consider your best game?

6. List a few obvious mistakes that you see live LHE players make on a regular basis

7. If you are actually a real doctor, what do you specialize in?

[surfdoc]

[ QUOTE ]
Cool. I was just wondering when someone would do a well. Gracias Doc. Here are a few to get ya started:

1. How long have you been playing?

2. Do you mostly play live, online or both?

3. What limits do you currently play at?

4. What is your opinion of having a poker coach(if you have one at all that is)?

5. What do you consider your best game?

6. List a few obvious mistakes that you see live LHE players make on a regular basis

7. If you are actually a real doctor, what do you specialize in?

[/ QUOTE ]

1. I have been playing seriously for about 5 years. I played a bunch of home game crap with friends berfore that but I don't really consider anything before I read theory of poker and HEFAP.

2. I play more online because of a busy family and work schedule but mix in as many live days as I can. I wish it were more but since my wife fired the nanny it is now harder to get out of the house at night.

3. I am one of the biggest limit jumpers you will find. I try to play what I call "fish based poker." This means I move around a lot if I can find a great game with one or more guys burning up chips. I have a fairly risk averse personality which has a lot to do with my real job and training so I tend be more of the grinder type than the guy who pushes up the second the roll reaches 500 bets or whatever. Online I play mostly in the 10/20-30/60 range but occasionally go higher and lower. Live I play 40/80 and 60/120 mainly at the commerce with an occasional shot into the 1/2.

4. I think that poker coaching can be extremely helpful. I have been coached by and coached many players. Luckily I have a core group of friends that are always sharing ideas and discussing hands which is a tremendous help. My aim list is filled with good 2p2ers and we all help each other out.

5. Limit holdem is really my only game. I have a basic understanding with NL but getting good at one game has always been my priority. It turns out this is taking longer than I thought. NL bores me to some extent so it has been hard to spend time developing my NL game.

6. Live players make so many mistakes it is silly. The more common ones are calling raises with dominated hands, chasing with inadequeate odds, and paying off when they are obviously beat. There are so many mistakes it would take an hour to type it up. In general there is just a complete lack of understanding of the game. Most casual players and even a lot of "pros" don't study the game and end up making the same mistakes over and over. Most people are either lazy, unitelligent or both. This is the basis by which we make money with poker. The information is right there but people just don't reach out and grasp it. It is pretty sick since there is so much money involved.

7. Yes, I am an actual doctor. I am board certified in and currently practicing Emergency Medicine. This is a pretty good field for me since I can work as many or as few hours as I want. I am out of residency about 9 years now. Having this job and steady income is great to keep me balanced and growing a bankroll is obviously a little easier. In a way it holds me back a bit as I touched on above with shot taking and climbing up in limits. The main issue stems from how many years of school and training it took, as well as what I have to go through at the hospital in a shift to make 1500 dollars or whatever I make. Coming home and buring through 5k in a bad night at the tables is a pretty trying experience. Many of the younger kids won't get this but the guys who have punched a clock or held a tough job for a while will.

[KitCloudkicker]

wow doc, you're basically what i want to be when i grow up (except I want to be a neurologist). are you from cali?

anyways a few questions for you:

1) how did you get into poker? you said you started playing 5 years ago, which seems pretty late as a lot of us i think start while we're still in school.

2) what were some of the adjustments you made as you moved up in limits?

3) what do you think are the most important traits a limit poker player should have?

4) What do you think is the most profitable playing style? I've experimented with playing LAG vs TAG and right now i'm leaning towards the TAG side. Or maybe it differs from table to table?

5) (non poker related) Do you know what med schools in California are best for neurology?

[bicyclekick]

4) What do you think is the most profitable playing style? I've experimented with playing LAG vs TAG and right now i'm leaning towards the TAG side. Or maybe it differs from table to table?

I know you're not asking me but it's LAG and it's not close

[surfdoc]

[ QUOTE ]
wow doc, you're basically what i want to be when i grow up (except I want to be a neurologist). are you from cali?

anyways a few questions for you:

1) how did you get into poker? you said you started playing 5 years ago, which seems pretty late as a lot of us i think start while we're still in school.

2) what were some of the adjustments you made as you moved up in limits?

3) what do you think are the most important traits a limit poker player should have?

4) What do you think is the most profitable playing style? I've experimented with playing LAG vs TAG and right now i'm leaning towards the TAG side. Or maybe it differs from table to table?

5) (non poker related) Do you know what med schools in California are best for neurology?

[/ QUOTE ]

1. Well, I played a lot of poker in high school and college but it wasn't serious. I didn't study the game. 5 years is roughly how long I have been playing every day. I have always had difficulty with sleep cycles and I started playing at oceans 11 on the night after I worked my string of nights. This was important to keep me awake until at least midnight since falling asleep in front of the TV at 8 would result in me waking up at 2am and being totally screwed by having to turn around for a 9 am shift. Poker was basically the only thing stimulating enough to keep me awake. I used to play stud8 and realized that there was money to be made just through common sense and tilt avoidance. That's when the lightbulb went off, I started reading all the books and posting on 2p2, swtiched to holdem and that was it.

2. As you go up in limits, the biggest adjustment is dealing with the aggression. This is especially true online. The call button is your friend.

3. I think those that can avoid tilt, game select well, seat select well, and recognize the need for constant self re-evaluation will always be successful in poker.

4. I think the most profitable style is the one that you are comfortable with and good at. This without a doubt will depend on the table and being able to change gears will be optimal. Many players don't have the postflop skill to play as many hands as say stox would suggest and will burn up their rolls very quickly. I think Tommy Angelo was the one who said "I'd rather be weak-tight than loose broke." I tend to keep that one in mind when people accuse me of playing too tight. Gradually adding hands that you can play profitably will almost always be better as you are developing than trying to come out of the gate trying to be a bona fide LAG. Many of my friends started off on different sides of the middle and we are all starting to gravitate back toward the center.

5. Neurolgy has historically been a less desirable field and therfore a bit easier to land a spot in the match. You really want to know which residency programs are best since the medical school is not as important. Maybe a younger doc like ssmallz will know better than me. As far as med school, I suggest you go to the best and cheapest one you can find. If you can get into UC anything that would be awesome. I trained at UC Davis but being in Socal with waves was always a priority. Never leaving unless the throw me out.

[James.]

man, this is awesome of you to do. thanks for stepping up.

a couple for now.

what 2p2 poster most influenced your evolution in understanding LHE?

what are your favorite 2p2 threads ever(feel free to provide links) in terms of "turning on a light"?

[James.]

also, i've seen you in the limit to NL forum. how's the NL game going?

[surfdoc]

[ QUOTE ]
what 2p2 poster most influenced your evolution in understanding LHE?

what are your favorite 2p2 threads ever(feel free to provide links) in terms of "turning on a light"?

[/ QUOTE ]

I think Mike L. has had more impact on my game than anyone else. He used to post so many hands that required out of the box thinking. It sort of helped that he lives 15 minutes away and we became friends a few years ago. So many times when we were in the car or sitting around in a group with a variety of guys like JustinA, Gonores, Andyfox, Gabe, Deathdonkey, and several others it just seemed like the one who most consistently got it right was Mike. He has for a few years been my first call on the way home from a tough session to run through the questionable hands.

Unfortunately the 2p2 software has deleted a lot of my favorites. When Ed Miller was still posting as Major Kong there were so many gems. Stuff like this.

There are so many others but I don't really have the energy to dig them up. I am fortunate enough to be able to recall the gist of a lot of these big threads and after being around the forum for this long it is suprising how often I play a hand and actually recognize the exact scenario from an old thread.

[surfdoc]

[ QUOTE ]
also, i've seen you in the limit to NL forum. how's the NL game going?

[/ QUOTE ]

I am pretty torn on the issue of playing more NL. I see some guys who were good limit players and friends who have made the switch doing pretty well. If I wasn't gradually increasing my hourly and monthly win rates there would probably be more energy focused on NL but honestly it is sort like if it ain't broke don't fix it. I haven't ever run this good for this long and it is starting to feel more like just my expectation although I know that at anytime the switch can flip even if playing well.