What makes you play well?

[shaniac]

I think the most obvious factor I can identify when I play well is how well I have been running and my familiarity with the players. If I have been beating a game all week and 1) I know the players and 2) feel comfortable with the rhythm of the table, I find I bide my time better and make more effective moves and more intelligent plays.

Also, I find that I play better when I am well-rested and/or well-fed, usually a meal with some protein seems to get the old noggin working right.

It used to be I played better when I was playing from behind; having been loose and after having lost a chunk of my bankroll when I first sat down I manage to tighten up and rebound. I still fall into that trap sometimes but I am happy to say not so frequently.

What factors allow you to play well?

shaniac

[Al Schoonmaker]

Shaniac wrote: "I played better when I was playing from behind; having been loose and after having lost a chunk of my bankroll when I first sat down I manage to tighten up and rebound."

Although it's undesirable to play poorly at any time, you should be congratulated for correcting your play after losing. The more common pattern is to play more poorly, trying to get even.

Your pattern suggests that you can learn from your mistakes, a highly desirable quality.

Al

[SittingBull]

the better players,one must---besides having a number of other winning qualities--- /forums/images/icons/smile.gif be mentally and physically fit.
Yes,U need to be well rested and alert at the table.
U need to be "in tune" with poker.
I do this by listening to a poker tape , reading an article in "Cardplayer",or by thinking about one of the the recent poker post on this forum.
I walk a couple of lapses around a long circumference about 4 days per week.

Happy pokering,
SittingBull

[shaniac]

Thanks Al,

Right. On the plus side, I am indeed pleased at my apparent ability to learn from mistakes and correct .

OTOH, the quality is an undesirable one in the first place, heavily tied in with degenerate gambling.

Before I caught the poker bug I played a lot of blackjack. There was no more harrowing feeling than dipping down, say, $700 (esp. after being ahead) and no more gratifying feeling than turning that last $50 into $1000 for a net profit. Early in my poker playing "career" I had a similiar session, where I was down to the felt, stuck exactly $700 in a 10/20 HE game and left three hours later with $1900, for a $1200 profit.

Granted, that was exciting and rewarding, but eliminating ethat pattern is something I aim to do in my poker playing and it has to do mostly with mental toughnes...

btw, Alan, I loved your book. Great to read a new angle on poker understanding that isn't strictly dollars and cents but does justice to the subtleties inherent to the personalities that play.

shaniac

[YourMom]