I don't bonus whore, r/* hunt, rely on buddy list...

[Chomp]

I don't bonus whore, I don't have a *** system in place, and I rarely hunt down people on my buddie list.

Why?

Becasue I think all of these are peripheral ways of making money and are a distraction from my primary goal: learning how to beat the game.

I don't want the distraction of jumping from site to site hunting bonuses or ***. I don't want the hassle of bonus clearing. I don't want to go from table to table hunting down idiots.

I just want to be able to sit down at my stakes and beat the table by playing better than them.

Is this approach stupid?


(Mods: I put this in SS as I think it may only be applicable at SS so might better here than IG or THE. Thanks.)

[yad]

Sometimes I wonder about all this table selection business we try to do. In some sense I agree with you: the best thing to be doing at SSNL is finding the toughest table you can and try to beat it -- that way you get the education you need for higher stakes without having to lose at the higher stakes to get it.

[avfletch]

You make it sound like the game is defined by the stakes you play at. Sure there is a general trend that players improve as the stakes go up but I've played some really fishy $100 tables and some hardass $25 ones. Learning to pick out players you can outplay and those you can't is an important skill. Likewise, bonus whoring, if you only have a small bankroll its probably the best way to avoid redepositing.

[The White Rabbit]

[ QUOTE ]
Is this approach stupid?

[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, you're lazy. Learning about table selection is part of learning how to beat the game.

As for bonus hunting: I don't care too much.

[The White Rabbit]

Learning about table selection is far more +EV then learning how to beat a "tough" $25 table.

Do you prefer the toughest $25 -> toughest $50 -> toughest $100 ->... road over fishiest $25 -> fishiest $50 -> fishiest $100? You must hate money...

Also, playing the fishiest tables allows you to move up way faster.

[terp]

[ QUOTE ]
Sometimes I wonder about all this table selection business we try to do. In some sense I agree with you: the best thing to be doing at SSNL is finding the toughest table you can and try to beat it -- that way you get the education you need for higher stakes without having to lose at the higher stakes to get it.

[/ QUOTE ]

this is a good point and does bring up a good discussion - our goal is to play in the most +EV fashion. sometimes passing up larger EV edges can have a long term higher yield. thus, picking harder tables can still possibly be justified here.

i'd still prefer the donkey hunt i do every time i fire party. at 100nl, there will be at least one decent to good TAG at any 6m table i open. i'm not going to play with five, but if i have to tangle with three to get a chance at two donks, fine.

i really do think that even if you number one table selection goal is sitting with terrible players, you will still encounter enough challenging situations with good ones that you will still improve. not to mention that it's still worthwhile to learn how to best play against bad players - check out my post from last friday where i faced a 235BB river call with a straight versus an idiot that made me [censored] my pants.

[Mercman572]

If your goal is to maximize hourly rate, this is a terrible approach. You can do all of the above and still progress at a constant rate, although I do agree that mindless bonus whoring can be very distracting t learning how to play well.

[darkcore]

if your main goal is to improve, this is a good approach. but fwiw i'm in it for the money first.

and as long as you are not a (proven) consistent winner at the small-stackes, take all the good bonuses you can. they are a tremendous help to reduce your learning costs.

[Ness3]

real quick.

the point of the game of poker is to win all the monies. whether you play for a living or for the challenge--winning $$ is the point of the game. Whoever ends up with the most money has done the best.

table selection/seat selection is not a distraction, it is a part of the game. it is also a luxury that online poker makes very easy--take advantage of it.

you will be much better served punishing the fishy 25NL (or w/e stakes you are playing), rather than trying to beat these "tough" 25Nl games you speak of.

ness

[Gelford]

Is there really such a thing as really tough 25NL tables ?