i want to improve...am i doing the right things? (a bit long)
 

i'm quiet new to the forum so bare with me. i picked up poker back in january a month or two after learning the game i thot i was all good and went to play on pp, ended up losing almost all the allowances i had. (i'm a 20 yr old college student btw) i actualy went through a lot of trouble, ie having negative balance in my bank account, over withdraw, excessive tilting, etc.

this semester i transferred to UC Irvine and started a new life style, whic apparently effected my game. i began picking up boooks and reading them everyday while also reading 2+2 recently...here are some of the books i have

winning low limit holdem by lee jones
SSHE
TOP
SS2
HGIYLH
HPFAP
tao of poker, zen and art of poker (for going on tilt)
harrington on holdem

basically, i have read a lot, but i'm not satisfied with my game. i want to improve. i also have bought PT and poker ace and have been loggin some stats. i will be re-evaluating by posting here once i get to a decent enough sample size. i log bout 1k hands per day at PP's 1-2 holdem and now i have about $900 of bankroll.

i paly pretty much abc poker but i tend to go on tilt quiet a bit. not only tilting at the poker table but also at the blackjack table, so i had to remove all the bj buttons n stuff. anyways, i would like to knwo what i can do to improve more, and what kind of goals are realistic for me, for say the month of december.

feedbacks are greatly appreciated. thanks

Re: i want to improve...am i doing the right things? (a bit long)
 

I'm gonna have to state the obvious & say work on your tilting. If you go ape-$hit everytime your aces get cracked (whcih they will regularly on 1-2 PP games), you are going to have many headaches to come. Apparently tilting less is a skill you aquire over time (i dont have it) ... but I would say just be careful & play within your means ... your described history seems very gamble-happy.

In terms of your game itself - it seems you are doin the right things, reading posting, playing etc.

Re: i want to improve...am i doing the right things? (a bit long)
 

Nice work getting rid of the blackjack buttons. Damn game cost me $50 last night after a not-so-great live 3/6 session. I'm pretty new here too, but I have a few bits of advice. You should read Inside the Poker Mind (2+2, by John Feeny). Get rid of that tilt thing.

I've also found that keeping a daily journal is great for self-evaluation. One thing I've found useful is to try to keep track of some specific mistakes, how much they cost you, and how you could have played the hand better. Never being satisfied is a step in the right direction.

Re: i want to improve...am i doing the right things? (a bit long)
 

yeah, i have to be honest to say that i'm a bit gamble happy. and i think if i can work out my emotional part of the game, i will be a much better/winning player. i tilt away a lot of my winnings in a short amount of time. is there any articles/books/ways i can read/do, to improve this aspect of my game

Re: i want to improve...am i doing the right things? (a bit long)
 

this is how gamble happy i was (hopefully)

i played party pp, after gettin some bad beats, i had like $300 left, played $100 a hand, made it ALL the way up to 4k, unbelievable, but lost about $2.5k of it bak. scary ass game

Re: i want to improve...am i doing the right things? (a bit long)
 

the best way to eliminate tilt is to understand and apply the basics of poker theory. When you understand the game from an analytical point of view, one that is espoused in TOP, it's pretty difficult to make emotional decisions.

Re: i want to improve...am i doing the right things? (a bit long)
 

[ QUOTE ]
the best way to eliminate tilt is to understand and apply the basics of poker theory. When you understand the game from an analytical point of view, one that is espoused in TOP, it's pretty difficult to make emotional decisions.

[/ QUOTE ]

yeah, that's basically it. Watch the tilt and the gamble-happy mentality and you'll live.

Re: i want to improve...am i doing the right things? (a bit long)
 

Dude, it really sounds like you need to get some discipline before you try to go for any long-run +EV. I'm not talking about tilting, but about making ridiculous gambles. It sounds like you were playing with 10BB, which makes me really think you need to make sure you have a grasp of the nature of gambling. And if you suspect you may be the type to spend 6 months building a roll then blowing it on one high-stakes game, you may want to reconsider this endeavor entirely.

Re: i want to improve...am i doing the right things? (a bit long)
 

thanks for the insight guys, i'm ordering inside the poker mind right now.

Re: i want to improve...am i doing the right things? (a bit long)
 

Ace on the River by Barry Greenstein also has a lot of insight to the mental and other aspects of the game besides the card, as well as being an awesome book in general. Not much specific strategy, but it will help you analyze all situations better.


Steve