jasonHoldEm
08-26-2003, 10:55 PM
Hi all,
Well, I’m about half unpacked at this point. Figured it was time to take a break and get caught up at 2+2. Moving home is a little weird, but I think I’m adjusting ok...thankfully, my parents seem to be doing the same. Just wanted to catch you up on the results for my “pro” experiment. It was a lot of fun, and I really wish it could have lasted longer, but in the end it was still a big success.
The first week was probably the most fun I’ve ever had playing poker. Ironically, it was also the hardest I’ve ever “worked” playing the game. I was back from helping my roommate move on Thursday (Aug 7), and I decided to take advantage of Party’s Comeback deposit bonus to get things rolling. I usually don’t go after bonuses because I feel that staying at one specific site is better for a beginning player like myself, you get to know the other players better, are more comfortable with the software, etc. I also have some issues with Party in general, but a $100 deposit bonus was enough for me to put my differences aside.
On Thursday and Friday I worked to clear my deposit bonus and posted a wining session on both days as well for a total profit at the tables of about $150 (plus the $100 bonus for $250 profit total over two days). On Friday night I noticed the “Lucy Jones Bonanza” promotion that was running at the site. In a nutshell, the top twenty raked hand players from midnight to noon Eastern Time would earn an extra $100 bonus. Since I had nothing better to do (being an unemployed bum and all), I decided to give it a shot on Saturday. It was certainly an eye opening experience.
I usually do not play multiple tables, I choose not to because I feel it takes too much away from my observation skills, which I consider the strongest part of my game. Unfortunately, to have a chance at the bonus playing three tables was necessary. From the very beginning I decided that if I felt my play was slipping I would give up on the bonus, as it is very foolish to go chasing after a $100 bonus if you’re going to lose money to get there.
I feel I adjusted well, I’m sure other multi-table players will understand what I mean by saying you start to develop “the stare”. You don’t focus your attention on any one game, but instead are able to look at all three simultaneously and see the action. Obviously it’s not the same attention you would have if you were only playing a single table, but I felt the trade-off was worth it.
The first day was definitely the most difficult. I’ve never played a twelve-hour session before (my longest prior to this was about four at a single table). I took frequent breaks to keep myself fresh, but I feel that I only was moderately successful. By the end of the session I was getting close to the point of burnout and was unsure if I would even try for the bonus again. Despite being cross-eyed after twelve hours I managed to post a win of $150 (ironically, my biggest win during the four nights I went after the promotional bonus) and earned 17th spot on the leader board for an additional $100 (which was really just a rake refund when you think about it).
I was able to get more sleep during the day from that point forward and was able to keep myself “fresh” for the entire twelve hours of play. I posted three more wins ranging from a low of $40 to a high of $85 (plus an additional $100 bonus each day). I also mixed in some other limits to change things up. On Saturday I’d spent the first five hours at .50/1 and the last seven at 1/2. For the rest of the week I played mostly 1/2, but I also mixed in some 6-max 1/2 and some full-ring 2/4. I don’t regret it, but probably would have done better to just stick with full-ring 1/2. My experience in those other areas is limited and playing three tables at once during a twelve-hour session is not the time to try out “new” (relatively speaking) things. Incidentally, I was a winner at everything except 2/4 (where I basically broke even, losing 5 BB for 9 hours of play over 3 days), but I still feel I could have won more overall if I would have stayed focused on one specific level. Live and learn.
You know that sinking feeling you get when you flop a set of aces and then runner runner flush cards fall and you’re bet into? I experienced much the same feeling when I went out for my morning smoke on Wednesday and was greeted by the site of a van from the cable company in my driveway. I can’t say that it was completely unexpected, but it was a bit sooner than I thought it would be. As recent grads, my roommate and I were able to continue under the college student billing plan and we had paid for the “summer semester” which we assumed would run through the end of August when the fall semester started...you know what they say about assuming. I guess they disconnect the people who do not sign up for the fall semester a week early. If I would have had some cash in my pocket I seriously would have tried to bribe the cable guy for another week or two of service...unfortunately I didn’t have my wallet with me (or any cash for that matter).
I guess in some ways it was good that I had decided to take Wednesday off. It would have been very upsetting to get disconnected (for two weeks) in the middle of a hand, or worse yet have been stuck for the day when they pulled the plug, leaving a sour taste in my mouth despite my very good run for the week prior.
I would have loved to spend more time at the tables, but I don’t think getting disconnected was catastrophic. My results were very good and I consider the “pro” experiment to have been a smashing success. I was able to gain an incredible amount of experience (playing 60 hours+ overall, ~50hrs at 3 tables simultaneously). I was averaging around 2,200 hands per twelve-hour session and if you add those four sessions to the first two days of the week I’m pretty sure I came close to playing 10,000 hands during the week long pro experiment (something I have no intention of EVER repeating). I fell just short of $1,000 in earnings ($989, $500 of which was promo/bonus money). I was able to cash out my initial deposit, and I now have a roll for 2/4 that is over 300 BB’s.
More importantly than the money, I’ve gained a completely new understanding of the game through my experience. Playing 2,000+ hands a night gives you an “instant” appreciation for the long run. You see things much more clearly than if you spaced those hands out over multiple sessions. In other words you can see how your edge in the game works. I think this understanding was most apparent in two areas of the game that I used to be very concerned about, namely bad beats and swings.
Bad beats are a good thing. Yes, that’s right...a good thing. Some people (myself included until recently) get so caught up in the “best starting hand deserves to win” bull [censored] that they can get put on tilt when some foolish opponent successfully hits his runner runner long shot hand. What people fail to notice is (while unfortunate) those suckouts are the best possible thing that can happen because they only reinforce that player’s bad habit. This means he’s going to continue drawing with those horrible odds over and over again until he is broke and you have all his money. Bad beats mean that you’re in a good game...if you’re one of the foolish people who get so upset with bad beats that you leave the table (in search of players that “have a clue” or “play correctly”), please let me know so I can take your seat.
I’ve also developed a real appreciation for fluctuations...what a difference a few weeks has made. Less than a month ago I went through a losing streak where I dropped $150 and started panicking....Tuesday night, during my last twelve hour session, I was stuck for $150 during the middle part of the night and it didn’t bother me at all (I rallied to post an $85 win). Fluctuations happen because of luck, pure and simple. Luck is all that a bad player has on his side, and some nights his luck is going to run better than yours. In the end, luck is going to even out and all that will be left is skill. Since you are more skillful than your opponent you will end up with the money.
In the end, I think that I’ve really grown as a player this last week. I know I still have very far to travel on my poker odyssey, but this week has made the big picture a little clearer, and I really think it was worth the time I invested. I know I said I’d never play another 10,000 hand week, but if the opportunity presented itself I just might do it again. Perhaps sometime down the road when I need a reminder of the lessons I learned. I would highly recommend this “experiment” to anyone who wants to see more of the truth behind the game. It’s quite an ordeal to accomplish, but (if you can keep your focus) the journey is worth it.
* * *
The second week of my “experiment” was naturally more laid back. With no internet connection (or TV /images/graemlins/frown.gif ) there wasn’t much else to do except for reading and packing. I managed to chew through Poker Essays I and III (I don’t own II...yet), and the first half of TOP. The Poker Essays books were great. With the exception of one or two articles on the Internet, I’ve never read any of Mason’s stuff and I find I really enjoy the way he writes. Poker Essays helped to broaden my poker horizons because he deals with such a wide variety of topics.
In the past I’ve tried to read TOP about a half dozen times, but just couldn’t get through it. Maybe its the way Sklansky writes, or maybe I just wasn’t “ready” for the material...either way I’d get a few chapters into the book and then put it aside. This was unfortunate because it’s quite possibly the greatest book ever written about the game. This week I finally gotten over the hump...truthfully, the only reason I put it down was because I had to pack. Everything makes sense now (well...you know what I mean), I understand the concepts better at this point and because of that I’m able to see what Sklansky is saying. I can’t wait to finish the book and then move on to HPFAP...and then reread them over and over again.
During my second week I was able to take a quick trip home to visit my folks and get some things in order for my move. I talked to my dad briefly about poker, and the results were not as good as I had hoped for. My dad is somewhat stubborn at times and has taken the view that poker is a “luck” game and that (eventually) I’ll lose all my money. I did my best to explain what I had learned (and how hard I’ve worked to get to this point), how much I’d won over the summer, etc, but he would not budge. As I’ve mentioned before I said I would be willing to quit playing (temporarily) out of respect for living in his house, but (thankfully?) he has also developed the attitude of “You’re a grown man and I’m not going to tell you what to do.”
It will be interesting to see how things work out. For the moment, I have every intention of continuing to play, as I don’t feel that I need my parent’s blessing (although I would appreciate their understanding). Hopefully, in time, my father will see how seriously I take poker and perhaps I can convince him of what I already know, that it is a skill game that can be beaten (given enough hard work, patience, etc). If it turns into a major issue I might decide to quit or at least cut back my hours, because I also don’t think poker is worth causing any family problems over. I guess only time will tell.
Thanks for reading,
jHE
Well, I’m about half unpacked at this point. Figured it was time to take a break and get caught up at 2+2. Moving home is a little weird, but I think I’m adjusting ok...thankfully, my parents seem to be doing the same. Just wanted to catch you up on the results for my “pro” experiment. It was a lot of fun, and I really wish it could have lasted longer, but in the end it was still a big success.
The first week was probably the most fun I’ve ever had playing poker. Ironically, it was also the hardest I’ve ever “worked” playing the game. I was back from helping my roommate move on Thursday (Aug 7), and I decided to take advantage of Party’s Comeback deposit bonus to get things rolling. I usually don’t go after bonuses because I feel that staying at one specific site is better for a beginning player like myself, you get to know the other players better, are more comfortable with the software, etc. I also have some issues with Party in general, but a $100 deposit bonus was enough for me to put my differences aside.
On Thursday and Friday I worked to clear my deposit bonus and posted a wining session on both days as well for a total profit at the tables of about $150 (plus the $100 bonus for $250 profit total over two days). On Friday night I noticed the “Lucy Jones Bonanza” promotion that was running at the site. In a nutshell, the top twenty raked hand players from midnight to noon Eastern Time would earn an extra $100 bonus. Since I had nothing better to do (being an unemployed bum and all), I decided to give it a shot on Saturday. It was certainly an eye opening experience.
I usually do not play multiple tables, I choose not to because I feel it takes too much away from my observation skills, which I consider the strongest part of my game. Unfortunately, to have a chance at the bonus playing three tables was necessary. From the very beginning I decided that if I felt my play was slipping I would give up on the bonus, as it is very foolish to go chasing after a $100 bonus if you’re going to lose money to get there.
I feel I adjusted well, I’m sure other multi-table players will understand what I mean by saying you start to develop “the stare”. You don’t focus your attention on any one game, but instead are able to look at all three simultaneously and see the action. Obviously it’s not the same attention you would have if you were only playing a single table, but I felt the trade-off was worth it.
The first day was definitely the most difficult. I’ve never played a twelve-hour session before (my longest prior to this was about four at a single table). I took frequent breaks to keep myself fresh, but I feel that I only was moderately successful. By the end of the session I was getting close to the point of burnout and was unsure if I would even try for the bonus again. Despite being cross-eyed after twelve hours I managed to post a win of $150 (ironically, my biggest win during the four nights I went after the promotional bonus) and earned 17th spot on the leader board for an additional $100 (which was really just a rake refund when you think about it).
I was able to get more sleep during the day from that point forward and was able to keep myself “fresh” for the entire twelve hours of play. I posted three more wins ranging from a low of $40 to a high of $85 (plus an additional $100 bonus each day). I also mixed in some other limits to change things up. On Saturday I’d spent the first five hours at .50/1 and the last seven at 1/2. For the rest of the week I played mostly 1/2, but I also mixed in some 6-max 1/2 and some full-ring 2/4. I don’t regret it, but probably would have done better to just stick with full-ring 1/2. My experience in those other areas is limited and playing three tables at once during a twelve-hour session is not the time to try out “new” (relatively speaking) things. Incidentally, I was a winner at everything except 2/4 (where I basically broke even, losing 5 BB for 9 hours of play over 3 days), but I still feel I could have won more overall if I would have stayed focused on one specific level. Live and learn.
You know that sinking feeling you get when you flop a set of aces and then runner runner flush cards fall and you’re bet into? I experienced much the same feeling when I went out for my morning smoke on Wednesday and was greeted by the site of a van from the cable company in my driveway. I can’t say that it was completely unexpected, but it was a bit sooner than I thought it would be. As recent grads, my roommate and I were able to continue under the college student billing plan and we had paid for the “summer semester” which we assumed would run through the end of August when the fall semester started...you know what they say about assuming. I guess they disconnect the people who do not sign up for the fall semester a week early. If I would have had some cash in my pocket I seriously would have tried to bribe the cable guy for another week or two of service...unfortunately I didn’t have my wallet with me (or any cash for that matter).
I guess in some ways it was good that I had decided to take Wednesday off. It would have been very upsetting to get disconnected (for two weeks) in the middle of a hand, or worse yet have been stuck for the day when they pulled the plug, leaving a sour taste in my mouth despite my very good run for the week prior.
I would have loved to spend more time at the tables, but I don’t think getting disconnected was catastrophic. My results were very good and I consider the “pro” experiment to have been a smashing success. I was able to gain an incredible amount of experience (playing 60 hours+ overall, ~50hrs at 3 tables simultaneously). I was averaging around 2,200 hands per twelve-hour session and if you add those four sessions to the first two days of the week I’m pretty sure I came close to playing 10,000 hands during the week long pro experiment (something I have no intention of EVER repeating). I fell just short of $1,000 in earnings ($989, $500 of which was promo/bonus money). I was able to cash out my initial deposit, and I now have a roll for 2/4 that is over 300 BB’s.
More importantly than the money, I’ve gained a completely new understanding of the game through my experience. Playing 2,000+ hands a night gives you an “instant” appreciation for the long run. You see things much more clearly than if you spaced those hands out over multiple sessions. In other words you can see how your edge in the game works. I think this understanding was most apparent in two areas of the game that I used to be very concerned about, namely bad beats and swings.
Bad beats are a good thing. Yes, that’s right...a good thing. Some people (myself included until recently) get so caught up in the “best starting hand deserves to win” bull [censored] that they can get put on tilt when some foolish opponent successfully hits his runner runner long shot hand. What people fail to notice is (while unfortunate) those suckouts are the best possible thing that can happen because they only reinforce that player’s bad habit. This means he’s going to continue drawing with those horrible odds over and over again until he is broke and you have all his money. Bad beats mean that you’re in a good game...if you’re one of the foolish people who get so upset with bad beats that you leave the table (in search of players that “have a clue” or “play correctly”), please let me know so I can take your seat.
I’ve also developed a real appreciation for fluctuations...what a difference a few weeks has made. Less than a month ago I went through a losing streak where I dropped $150 and started panicking....Tuesday night, during my last twelve hour session, I was stuck for $150 during the middle part of the night and it didn’t bother me at all (I rallied to post an $85 win). Fluctuations happen because of luck, pure and simple. Luck is all that a bad player has on his side, and some nights his luck is going to run better than yours. In the end, luck is going to even out and all that will be left is skill. Since you are more skillful than your opponent you will end up with the money.
In the end, I think that I’ve really grown as a player this last week. I know I still have very far to travel on my poker odyssey, but this week has made the big picture a little clearer, and I really think it was worth the time I invested. I know I said I’d never play another 10,000 hand week, but if the opportunity presented itself I just might do it again. Perhaps sometime down the road when I need a reminder of the lessons I learned. I would highly recommend this “experiment” to anyone who wants to see more of the truth behind the game. It’s quite an ordeal to accomplish, but (if you can keep your focus) the journey is worth it.
* * *
The second week of my “experiment” was naturally more laid back. With no internet connection (or TV /images/graemlins/frown.gif ) there wasn’t much else to do except for reading and packing. I managed to chew through Poker Essays I and III (I don’t own II...yet), and the first half of TOP. The Poker Essays books were great. With the exception of one or two articles on the Internet, I’ve never read any of Mason’s stuff and I find I really enjoy the way he writes. Poker Essays helped to broaden my poker horizons because he deals with such a wide variety of topics.
In the past I’ve tried to read TOP about a half dozen times, but just couldn’t get through it. Maybe its the way Sklansky writes, or maybe I just wasn’t “ready” for the material...either way I’d get a few chapters into the book and then put it aside. This was unfortunate because it’s quite possibly the greatest book ever written about the game. This week I finally gotten over the hump...truthfully, the only reason I put it down was because I had to pack. Everything makes sense now (well...you know what I mean), I understand the concepts better at this point and because of that I’m able to see what Sklansky is saying. I can’t wait to finish the book and then move on to HPFAP...and then reread them over and over again.
During my second week I was able to take a quick trip home to visit my folks and get some things in order for my move. I talked to my dad briefly about poker, and the results were not as good as I had hoped for. My dad is somewhat stubborn at times and has taken the view that poker is a “luck” game and that (eventually) I’ll lose all my money. I did my best to explain what I had learned (and how hard I’ve worked to get to this point), how much I’d won over the summer, etc, but he would not budge. As I’ve mentioned before I said I would be willing to quit playing (temporarily) out of respect for living in his house, but (thankfully?) he has also developed the attitude of “You’re a grown man and I’m not going to tell you what to do.”
It will be interesting to see how things work out. For the moment, I have every intention of continuing to play, as I don’t feel that I need my parent’s blessing (although I would appreciate their understanding). Hopefully, in time, my father will see how seriously I take poker and perhaps I can convince him of what I already know, that it is a skill game that can be beaten (given enough hard work, patience, etc). If it turns into a major issue I might decide to quit or at least cut back my hours, because I also don’t think poker is worth causing any family problems over. I guess only time will tell.
Thanks for reading,
jHE