Monday, 30 January 2012
Beware of river flush draw slow played my 6 set and lost pot
My bad - lesson learned. I slow-played a set of 6s on the flop and built the pot but wasn't thinking about the flush draw which villain to my right collected and took the pot down with. I lost the pot because I wasn't flush draw aware. Another one I need to be aware of as well as yesterday's straight draw losses. That's why I'm practicing first and using whatever means necessary without incurring a real dollar cost.
The art of Poker Judo and straights
The strategy of Judo is to allow your opponents aggression and strength to be their pitfall. Similarly with poker allow the LAG’s aggression to be their pitfall. Call their aggressive raises / bets through until the river and then pot size raise them. If they call then fold, otherwise if they’re holding lowest pair then hold on FTW...
A LAG will show aggression raising all the way through for the backdoor flush/straight draw, but if they miss on the river they will fold to a raise call.
Straights are a stealth hands = beware of them... I've been coolered by them a couple of times on Facebook poker today - my Ace set cooler-ed by a straight on the river, raising and counter re-raising until going all-in on the turn, but villain wouldn't fold. It reveals my weakness lack of straight awareness. A pitfall identified and plugged in my poker education.
Friday, 27 January 2012
Finished re-reading Crushing the Microstakes - thoughts
Have just finished reading Crushing the Microstakes by BlackRain79 and I'd like to record thoughts whilst the book is still fresh in my mind.
Poker is a game of details
It has struck me while reading this book how much attention to detail there is even at 2NL and 5NL level. If I am to take this game seriously then I would like to establish good habits from the very beginning of my hopeful poker career. Establish or lay the foundation. Build upon solid ground not sand. Jesus told a parable about the wisdom of building upon rock not sand. I want to build upon rock. In poker terms rock means learning and practicing correct +EV play. IT also means establishing good mental and emotional habits from the beginning. These practices include designing a daily routine of review and journalling of lessons learned, key points taken from the day, and just generally keeping a record for future reference and comparison purposes. This blog is partly about that.
Key decision points communicate information to other players
Call, fold or raise are decisions we make in response to our read on the unfolding game play. These decisions communicate information to other players just as other players decisions communicate information to us. The skill in poker is in learning to be good at interpreting the information communicated through our decisions. When we lack verbal and visual communication clues, we are thrown back onto what is present and available in a game of poker and these are our decisions which are in turn based upon our position, our opponents position, the cards we hold, our stake, our read on historical stats, and any historical dynamic relationship with another poker player. I sum it up in communication awareness. Use every means available to listen to what your opponents are telling you. Vice Versa be aware of what you are telling your opponents.
- Poker is a game of details
- Key decision points communicate information to other players.
- Poker is a game of complexity and variables
- Poker is not only about the mathematics, ratios and odds; poker is also about the people who play this game. their style, their tendencies, their impulsiveness or conversely those who don't step outside their comfort zone.
Poker is a game of details
It has struck me while reading this book how much attention to detail there is even at 2NL and 5NL level. If I am to take this game seriously then I would like to establish good habits from the very beginning of my hopeful poker career. Establish or lay the foundation. Build upon solid ground not sand. Jesus told a parable about the wisdom of building upon rock not sand. I want to build upon rock. In poker terms rock means learning and practicing correct +EV play. IT also means establishing good mental and emotional habits from the beginning. These practices include designing a daily routine of review and journalling of lessons learned, key points taken from the day, and just generally keeping a record for future reference and comparison purposes. This blog is partly about that.
Key decision points communicate information to other players
Call, fold or raise are decisions we make in response to our read on the unfolding game play. These decisions communicate information to other players just as other players decisions communicate information to us. The skill in poker is in learning to be good at interpreting the information communicated through our decisions. When we lack verbal and visual communication clues, we are thrown back onto what is present and available in a game of poker and these are our decisions which are in turn based upon our position, our opponents position, the cards we hold, our stake, our read on historical stats, and any historical dynamic relationship with another poker player. I sum it up in communication awareness. Use every means available to listen to what your opponents are telling you. Vice Versa be aware of what you are telling your opponents.
Crushing the Microstakes by BlackRain79 study
Today has largely focused on studying Crushing the Microstakes by BlackRain79 an ebook I purchased from Nathan's website www.blackrain79.com in December 2011 and I'm now on my second reading.
I had one key takeaway thought whilst reading the book at a point where Nathan was listing the types of hands he would fold at various positions and certain circumstances, and the realization struck me that if I had of begun playing online before learning and studying this game I knew I would have played precisely the hands Nathan was advising not to play which would make me a fish!!
This strategy - identifying pitfalls and scout the territory of poker first is already paying dividends in terms of identifying potential future costs to my game, and it is these costs which if left unidentified for any length of time, can build into entrenched negative Equity Value behavior and strategic play, and poor game historical statistics.
I can measure the progress I'm making by comparing the percentage of understanding I'm gaining this second reading compared to the first reading of Crushing the Microstakes. My poker studies began in earnest the start of December of 2011, I created this blog end Jan 2012 and I purchased BlackRain79's book mid December 2011. A lot of the terms and concepts in my first reading one month ago were unknown to me, but now as I re-read through the book I can see how much I've learned since. I've been spending time on Two plus Two poker forum, and reading various other poker books which I will cover in a future blog as I re-read each of them in turn.
What I've taken away from Crushing the Microstakes in this second reading is I still think like a fish and I would have played like a fish - playing low to middle pair in early position, playing too loosely in all positions, I would have called a lot more than I am going to now. Now I'll begin my poker career playing tight and aggressive - opening up from a very tight range in early position to a wider range around to button, and I'll play the top of my range aggressively, pot bets at each street with sets, that sort of thing.
I had one key takeaway thought whilst reading the book at a point where Nathan was listing the types of hands he would fold at various positions and certain circumstances, and the realization struck me that if I had of begun playing online before learning and studying this game I knew I would have played precisely the hands Nathan was advising not to play which would make me a fish!!
This strategy - identifying pitfalls and scout the territory of poker first is already paying dividends in terms of identifying potential future costs to my game, and it is these costs which if left unidentified for any length of time, can build into entrenched negative Equity Value behavior and strategic play, and poor game historical statistics.
I can measure the progress I'm making by comparing the percentage of understanding I'm gaining this second reading compared to the first reading of Crushing the Microstakes. My poker studies began in earnest the start of December of 2011, I created this blog end Jan 2012 and I purchased BlackRain79's book mid December 2011. A lot of the terms and concepts in my first reading one month ago were unknown to me, but now as I re-read through the book I can see how much I've learned since. I've been spending time on Two plus Two poker forum, and reading various other poker books which I will cover in a future blog as I re-read each of them in turn.
What I've taken away from Crushing the Microstakes in this second reading is I still think like a fish and I would have played like a fish - playing low to middle pair in early position, playing too loosely in all positions, I would have called a lot more than I am going to now. Now I'll begin my poker career playing tight and aggressive - opening up from a very tight range in early position to a wider range around to button, and I'll play the top of my range aggressively, pot bets at each street with sets, that sort of thing.
Thursday, 26 January 2012
Steps 1 and 2 - baby steps or crawl first
The beginning of my poker journal and journey with a twist - I've yet to play a single online game of poker, except Facebook poker!!
I've never particularly had an interest in poker as such. I've never been a gambler; hated horse races, have only ever purchased less that 10 lottery tickets in my life. The only card games I've played with any enthusiasm is Canasta, Euchre, and 500 (not sure if 500 is the commonly known term).
So why poker and why now at this middle time in my life, hence the title of my blog Half-life poker? For the challenge. For the financial rewards. For the brain training exercise from calculating odds, ratios and hand equity on the fly during a game. I work out at the gym on my body, so working out my brain in poker is an extension of my attitude towards continual improvement in as many areas of life as I can extend.
Never stand still. Always seek goals and move towards the future.
So, I intend to journal my fears and desires and expectations and ambitions; what I’m reading about regarding poker, whatever thoughts pop into my head. Uncertainties and doubts. That sort of thing.
I have a strategy I came up with in this half-life poker journey of mine. I intend to read study and learn for a period of 18 months, all the while resisting the urge to just start playing. The big thing about this strategy for me is I'm in a scouting phase, an exploratory phase, a preparatory phase where I look over the poker territory, discover others playing styles, gain some insight in to pitfalls, and learn from mistakes others have made in their beginning foray into the poker 'verse.
I jot down my thoughts as they rise in my consciousness "I need to do exactly what I am doing now. Don’t worry about jumping in yet, be patient and learn just learn, and absorb it all into my unconscious competence".
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