Spicymoose
11-26-2005, 11:59 AM
I recently created a video so that TStoneMBD could coach me, and I found the experience extremely useful. On top of the things I gained from TStone's comments, I also thought it was really helpful to get comments from the general 2+2 crowd.
Videos are good for an array of reasons. First of all, they let others see the exact circumstance you are in, with all the stats of people at the table, and it is in an easy to view format. Second, it shows ordinary plays you make, rather than situations you consider difficult. This is good because it allows others to point out leaks in your standard play that you had no idea about. It also helps the general public see things you do, and it may help them to plug their leaks. Another reason videos are good is because going over lots of hand histories can be a pain, but it is extremely easy to look at a video for a few minutes.
Although there is something to be said about creating of a video of how you normally play (ie, multitabling), I think creating a video of you single tabling is better. For the person creating the video, this is good because you can really focus, and try to play your "best" game, and make as few mistakes as you possibly can. If you are multitabling, a lot of people will waste their and your time with point out mistakes that you know are wrong, but you simply made because you couldn't focus on everything. That is something you need to improve on your own time, and I think you can benefit more from a video if this kind of thing is ommited. Another benefit of a single table is that you can easily edit it to make it straight to the point. Multitabling you cannot easily take out any significant part of the times you arn't playing, but when you single table, you can cut out a ton of garbage, and only show when you have cards. A 1 hour video of you playing turns into about 15 minutes of nonstop action. This is mainly a benefit for the viewers, as you don't want to waste their time, and you get more benefit if they can spend more time solely on things that matter.
I think we all play poker to make money, so I can understand some people not wanting to "waste" an hour or so of time single tabling, when they could be making more multitabling. Single tabling can be beneficial for several reasons. First of all, not many people spend the time to truly think about their decisions (away from 2+2 that is), and it is good to think harder about your plays every once in a while. You can't really do this as well multitabling. A thing that I have been doing is playing 1 limit above where I normally play when I multitable. If you have sufficient bankroll, I think this is a great idea. When doing this, you should massively table select, and seat select. Before making a video, I open up 10 tables of 10/20 (my normal limit is 5/10), and wait about 10 minutes. Then I close out any tables that I know I am not going to want to sit in, and keep any that I am unsure about open. I open up any more tables that I can, and wait a few more. Then, I choose the best tables, and put myself on the waitlist. Once I have a table that I like, I start my video. I almost always find a 10/20 table that is full of players worse than my average 5/10 table. If the table ever seems to get tough, or if the fish leave, I go to one of my other selected tables that I like more. Since I am concentrating harder, and table selecting better, and playing a limit above where I normally play, I think my winrate is pretty close to if I were 2 or 3 tabling my normal game. Another benefit of doing this is that it helps you to take shots at the higher games, and see how they are different from your normal game.
Finally, when you make a video of you single tabling, you can go through it and edit it to cut it down to only the hands you are in. While doing this, you are forced to look through your own play, and possibly spot out any mistakes that you know you made. One thing that I rarely do is look through my own play. I know I should, but I just never seem to do so. This is one way to force me to do it.
I hope I didn't miss anything. Making a video is easy, and I will make a post explaining how to do so.
Spicymoose
Videos are good for an array of reasons. First of all, they let others see the exact circumstance you are in, with all the stats of people at the table, and it is in an easy to view format. Second, it shows ordinary plays you make, rather than situations you consider difficult. This is good because it allows others to point out leaks in your standard play that you had no idea about. It also helps the general public see things you do, and it may help them to plug their leaks. Another reason videos are good is because going over lots of hand histories can be a pain, but it is extremely easy to look at a video for a few minutes.
Although there is something to be said about creating of a video of how you normally play (ie, multitabling), I think creating a video of you single tabling is better. For the person creating the video, this is good because you can really focus, and try to play your "best" game, and make as few mistakes as you possibly can. If you are multitabling, a lot of people will waste their and your time with point out mistakes that you know are wrong, but you simply made because you couldn't focus on everything. That is something you need to improve on your own time, and I think you can benefit more from a video if this kind of thing is ommited. Another benefit of a single table is that you can easily edit it to make it straight to the point. Multitabling you cannot easily take out any significant part of the times you arn't playing, but when you single table, you can cut out a ton of garbage, and only show when you have cards. A 1 hour video of you playing turns into about 15 minutes of nonstop action. This is mainly a benefit for the viewers, as you don't want to waste their time, and you get more benefit if they can spend more time solely on things that matter.
I think we all play poker to make money, so I can understand some people not wanting to "waste" an hour or so of time single tabling, when they could be making more multitabling. Single tabling can be beneficial for several reasons. First of all, not many people spend the time to truly think about their decisions (away from 2+2 that is), and it is good to think harder about your plays every once in a while. You can't really do this as well multitabling. A thing that I have been doing is playing 1 limit above where I normally play when I multitable. If you have sufficient bankroll, I think this is a great idea. When doing this, you should massively table select, and seat select. Before making a video, I open up 10 tables of 10/20 (my normal limit is 5/10), and wait about 10 minutes. Then I close out any tables that I know I am not going to want to sit in, and keep any that I am unsure about open. I open up any more tables that I can, and wait a few more. Then, I choose the best tables, and put myself on the waitlist. Once I have a table that I like, I start my video. I almost always find a 10/20 table that is full of players worse than my average 5/10 table. If the table ever seems to get tough, or if the fish leave, I go to one of my other selected tables that I like more. Since I am concentrating harder, and table selecting better, and playing a limit above where I normally play, I think my winrate is pretty close to if I were 2 or 3 tabling my normal game. Another benefit of doing this is that it helps you to take shots at the higher games, and see how they are different from your normal game.
Finally, when you make a video of you single tabling, you can go through it and edit it to cut it down to only the hands you are in. While doing this, you are forced to look through your own play, and possibly spot out any mistakes that you know you made. One thing that I rarely do is look through my own play. I know I should, but I just never seem to do so. This is one way to force me to do it.
I hope I didn't miss anything. Making a video is easy, and I will make a post explaining how to do so.
Spicymoose