Author Archive
Overcoming bad beats (part I)
We all know about bad beats. But why exactly are they so difficult for us to deal with? Perhaps the answer lies in our “expectation.”
Exploitable patterns in NLHE
It’s interesting to see how players in NLHE copy the way they see other players bet. They think they’ve “figured out” the game by betting in certain patterns, like if player 1 does x, then I react with y. Monkey see, monkey do I guess.
Those of us that have been around the block a bit have long ago stopped thinking of poker as a game that can be solved, and rather a game where you instead react to what others are doing with the best counter strategies.
More on moving averages
Amarillosb was asking me about the moving averages I spoke of in my last post, and as I started to answer her question it got a bit long so I figured I’d share it as a blog entry.
A moving average is a very simple concept used in stock analysis. Among other things, it smoothes out closing prices for stocks that are very volatile. There are actually two types, simple and exponential, but for poker results the simple MA seems to work best. As poker players, our results are very volatile. Because of this, our emotions often get caught up in following our results; I know mine have many times. If we concentrate more on our moving average than our individual results, life can be much less stressful.
January results and moving averages
January was a change of pace for me as I played almost exclusively online MTTs. I had started mixing in a bit of online tournaments back in December, but was still playing a lot of live cash games which has been my preferred discipline in the past. But after living primarily in Las Vegas for the past three years, I am now back in New York and except for the occasional western trip I will likely be staying here for the near future.
Information gathering
In a recent entry from Short Stacked Shamus, he made reference to a David Sklansky comment regarding the difference between writing about poker theory and actually playing the game. Within those comments some players may find a valuable branch, especially those players who feel their success is not on a par with their understanding of the game.
So what are the differences between analyzing a poker situation and actually playing it? In a nutshell, I think there are three differences:
1) time
2) resources
3) information
Learning poker with matchsticks
We can read poker books, discuss hands, watch videos, etc. but we don’t learn poker this way, what we learn here are the theories and ideas that form a base. If you approach these resources as if you were a sponge, you cannot succeed. Poker is not a test of the rote level of learning where you try to absorb everything you can and then repeat it back during the game. This is because no two situations are identical. In poker, we must develop true insight, practicing and developing these theories and ideas to meet our own game and style, strengths and weaknesses.
Stars replays
Was just watching the Stars replay of last weekend’s 5K winner take all tournament with Barry Greenstein and Daniel Negraneau. While it lacks the explanations that you might get on a training site, the ability to see all the hole cards and actions in real time is an invaluable learning tool for tournament play. While I might not like the idea if I were one of the players, as a consumer it’s the best bargain out there.
Starting the year off well
After being on the road for the last week, I finally sat down last night to play my first poker session on 2008. I’ve been playing more MTTs recently than ever before, enjoying the fact that I can play numerous tourneys over a few hours. Between 5:30 and 7:30 I saw 5 tourneys that interested me, one NLHE rebuy, three PLO8s, and one PLO High. I wound up making 3 final tables in fields of around 200 players and winning one, plus a 4th and a 5th. The win was for around $1100 and the cashes totaled around $1800 for just a total buy-in of $116. So a good start to the year.
The true power behind New Year’s
Every New Year’s people come out with a list of goals. A list of things they want to change about themselves. A list of things they did wrong this past year and how they will change for this year. Why?
Comparing winning and losing
I’m wondering how other people feel about winning sessions and losing sessions. Three questions for anyone who can take the time out to answer.
Is it harder to sleep after a big win or a big loss?
In comparing your satisfaction over a big win to your disappointment over a big loss, which is greater?
How long does the dissapointment over a big loss stay with you and how do you best get rid of it?
