Very Very Frustrated... any advice?

I´m sure that many of you agree that while losing hurts, it is nothing compared to playing poorly and losing.


For the past month and a half, I´ve been working as hard as I can to better my NL/PL game. My live and online results have been fantastic. Through practice and religiously studying this forum, I feel that I have added some dangerous stuff to my skill base. I have managed to eek out profits even in my most luckless sessions. With this behind me, I entered a tournament last night. My opponents were a very mixed crowd... lots of loose aggressive locals, a few tight passives, and many many solid players (I had two WSOP champs at my table).


Here´s my problem: I played the worst poker I´ve played since I began playing NL. I made terrible raises, bad calls, and atrocious re-raises. Basically, I played my cards. That was it. Never once did I take advantage of my position or what I knew about the other players.


I have a theory about this. First of all, I felt uncomfortable playing in a full tournament that was not online. For some reason, I found their presence distracting. Also, I was intimidated by the number of other entrants (about 250). Another factor seemed to be that I had trouble adjusting from live real money poker.


I left the casino bewildered by my performance. There´s another tournament tonight, and I want to get your opinions on the aspects of the game that I should be focusing on.


What adjustments should I be making in moving from live to tournament NL poker? Does anyone else have trouble adjusting from online to casino poker? How do I fix this?


Anything you can think of will be greatly appreciated.....


-Marlow

Marlow,


I have experience in live PL/HE and NL tourneys. I have recently started the transition from NL tourney to cash games. But I'm doing it with the micro limits at UB, where the buyin is limited to $25.


Your transition is the opposite of mine. Going from live to tournament NL.


You say you're up against a large field and some of the participants are solid players, even past WSOP champions. Well, I would say I can't blame you for feeling uncomfortable. I would want to get my feet where the ponds weren't filled with so many sharks.


Maybe try the lower buy-in tourneys, where the competition isn't so tough (although I tend to play better). If you live in Vegas, they're all over the place, everyday.


You wrote, "Basically, I played my cards. That was it. Never once did I take advantage of my position or what I knew about the other players".


Although you still can (and should play the player and situations) in PL, IMO it is more important to do so in NL.

I have noticed 2 things for myself.


It is much easier to be intimidated at a live tourney. The intimidation can be caused because of a large field as well as the face to face contact with your opponents. I try to focus on my one table and my specific opponents. If I feel that I am becoming to passive then I make sure I change things up.


The other thing I have had issues with is raise amounts. On-line when it comes to your turn it is easier to decide how much to raise or re-raise. I have had a few issues in live tournies where I put in a raise but realized I raised too much or too little.


Once you know your problems, with a little more focus or concentration you should be able to overcome them. Before the tourney starts think of the things you need to work on.


Ken Poklitar

ohKanada@hotmail.com

Thanks for the help, guys. Ken, I think that you are right on when you say that my concentration is the issue. It´s all too easy to forget the most basic things in a sometimes complex game.


Just one hand at a time. Calm down. Play my game.


Thanks again!!


-Marlow

Too late for the next tourney, but a couple of things to remember:


You're just getting you feet wet. Take it easy, it takes time to develop any skill worth developing.


One reason you were distracted was that you were receiving so much more information from the live players. In the long run, as you learn to process it, it can only help you.


Divide and conquer. Pick one aspect of your performance, like position or bet amounts, and work on it. Look on it as a learning experience- relax and enjoy it.