A look inside Mikey's Mind

The key to being a true professional poker player is to play mistake (total mistake)free poker. I spent 2 days 2 nights at the Trop in AC playing

4-8 Hold'em, to alot of you it may seem like a childs game but the same rules apply. I have been playing hardcore serious poker for about a little less than a year now. There were some mistakes I made such as paying off w/top pair, top kicker when I knew damm well I was beat, other mistakes include not betting when I should have and letting people see a free card which either helped them to beat me or didn't help them to beat me and then i didn't get paid off when I won. I thought I was a very very good card player; actually I am a very very good card player. When I sit at the table I know that I am the best one there (this is the attitude you have to have) My greatest strength in poker is self discipline to sit and wait and wait and wait. I played 4-8 Hold'em on Thursday from 10:00am to about 12:00am, about 14 hours with little breaks inbetween, rag after rag after rag I was being dealt, my hands were hitting the muck, I had never in my life seen such rags ever, 84o, 92o, Q3o, A3o, you name it and they were coming. Now you can say that I played too long but to you and everyone else that is a fallacy because I played ABC poker. I must admit that some hands before the flop were a little loose such as calling with 9Ts UTG, 67s, 89s in early position. I would just like to say that it is not easy at all (BELIEVE ME) to be a Poker Pro, I don't understand how you guys do it. (Dynasty, Clarkmeister, Tommy Angelo)-and all you others who post on here whom I'm sorry I didn't mention. I know in Poker you should give up when you are beat unless you have odds to chase, well listen to what happened on Thursday, and I kept my cool, and moved on right to the next hand. I would have rivered my set both times on the river to win but I gave up because I knew I was beat on the flop. It was so annoying to see my Q hit the river when my opp had KK, I don't care who you are, your poor little heart drops to your knees. But I kept total control!!! I had a lot of bad beats these couple of days, but I'm not going to lose my cool. Examples:-(and please these are not to ask for sympathy) just to show you what can happen and to keep your cool after these things happen. I'm in late pos. w/ Jd9d, 5 people take the unraised flop. Flop is Td, 8d, 4s. Turn Qs. River Ks. my opp had 8s6s. I managed in about 22 hours of play to lose about $120. To all of you making a fine living playing this game God Bless You, you guys and gals are great!!!


On the plus side i got to meet MK420, great guy and solid player, too bad he didn't get to play long enough at the 4-8 game because we honestly could have cleaned it up. I'd like to put a quote up here that MK420 told me today, he says "as beginners we tend to overvalue hands." I knew exactly what he meant too, for instance you have AA, and the flop comes 6 7 8 turn 9, we over value the AA, because HELL it's AA, but as we progress we tend to undervalue hands not that much but we do tend to undervalue them. My rememedy to this is if you play long enough you'll meet your equilibrium and know the true value of the hand.


-Ok everyone see you at the Trop in AC, I'll be wearing a blue visor and a tank top and eyeglasses, come and say HI, I'll be either at the 4-8 game or the Pink game. Good Luck.

"I would just like to say that it is not easy at all (BELIEVE ME) to be a Poker Pro, I don't understand how you guys do it."


I use a set of keys, but this isn't one of them ...


"The key to being a true professional poker player is to play mistake (total mistake)free poker."


In this area, my key is to play mistake-riddled poker, and know in advance that I will make so many mistakes that I'll eventually not even be able to define the word "mistake," or want to.


On a semantic technicality, this leaves me playing mistake-free poker. Go figure.


Tommy

Mikey,


Too bad I couldnt play longer Wednesday night. The player in the one seat had to donate well over $500. The most frustrating part about playing against those "mutts" is not getting the ammo to do battle.


I need to pay attention more at the table for tells. When the guy to your left asked "How much to me?" I should have mucked KQ. Thats the classic Caro tell, weak means strong. I also missed his trembling hand when he three bet his Queens full. The funniest part, was that he checked down the best hand from the turn on. He lost 2 big bets. This player only raised preflop with Aces or Kings. I knew he would give all of his money away.


I have learned one valuable lesson from playing in this game. Probably the most important lesson. I make more money from my opponents mistakes than I will from my own good play. Yes, some might say I play an unimaginative straight forward game, however thats what takes down the pots at this level. Case in point, the boat I had against the older guys flush. The board paired and he still bet into me, after I raised him on the flop. He had second nut flush, and he thought I had a better flush. Only after I showed down the boat did he realize a full house existed. He just laughed and said, "I didn't see the pair". Only you knew I had a full house. Nobody else even seemed to pay attention.


Against these players we will get outdrawn on more than we will outdraw on them. Jim calling a raise on the flop and a bet on the turn with a 68 offsuit can only make me money in the long run. He has 4 cards that can help him. Only a 7 helps him. Yes he hit his hand, however he went for the check raise against me on the river after he hit his draw and didnt bet it. In the long run Jim will go broke drawing to that inside straight in a head to head pot when he doesnt get the right odds.


Thanks for the kind words. If solid play means folding hands like AQ offsuit to a two bet from you, then thank you. I think I played average at best. I paid off the guy to my right when he hit his flush. I paid him off only because the pot was big and I had top pair. Thats a poor excuse to make a call on the river.


This Wednesday I should get to the Trop before 9 so we can wage a longer war against the "mutts".


Good meeting you, and talk to you soon. And yes you probably were the best player at that table, right behind me...lol..


MK

I know I've said this before, but the only real mistake is assuming you won't make any.


There is going to be a natural sort of blur around optimal play, of 1/3-bet-sized mistakes that both you and your opponents make, and which cancel out.


The difference is, whether you waste all your mental and emotional energy trying to narrow that band on your side, or whether you can make asymmetric 1-bet plays.


If you can come in with a crazy read angle, which your opponent can't match no matter how well he plays by the book, he can never overcome it.


Moreover, when it comes to this asymmteric edge, if you can't do it drunk and tired, you probably weren't very good to begin with.


eLROY

as long as your 'playing' well, and the folding hasnt worn on ya, stay. sometimes you have to wait awhile for a hand. just make sure your still playing good once in awhile to make sure...

boredom can be a great equalizer. i watched a tougher player play on my table. i was playing a little looser than him, and want watching myself close enough when he was in. so he was getting the best of me. my mistake. finally i adjusted and minimized him. but a funny thing happened later in the session. after about 5+ hours, he started tiring. and playing looser and not as good. he ended up giving his chips back and then some. read on him: wait him out. i never played with him long enough to realize this hole. ill be watching for it again, just to make sure it wasnt a fluke night for him though...


a couple loose calls? not the end of the world, and if it were a passive enough game, may be right to play anyway...


"Now you can say that I played too long but to you and everyone else that is a fallacy because I played ABC poker"


ABC poker doesnt always maximize your winnings. but its nice to fall back on when you cant get any cards. the fallacy is that's all you need to win. maybe on some games, but better players know how to take advantage of a strict ABC player. BUT on a good game, the better players effect may not be as signifigant. just beware when he's in with you.


b