Stupid things I do.
 

Background: I am a winning (1.9/100 over 75k hands atm at 2/4) low limit player on Party. But, like most good players, I SHOULD be a much bigger winner than I am. Unfortunately, I do some stupid things. Here are the most common stupid things I do. I bet many of you do them too.

1) Playing Tired.

This is the #1 most common stupid thing I do. When I play very tired, i simply don't fold as often as I should, miss bets/raises, or make terrible raises/bets in the wrong spots. Unless I am VERY tired, I may still be a small winning player at these soft games, but Id be much better off just getting some sleep & trying again tommorrow.

2) Trying to get unstuck.

I hate losing sessions/tables, and often I'll try to play my way back into the green. Often this results in playing tired late into the night, or playing at tables where my edge is marginal or non-existant, when there are certainly better tables to be found.

3) Poor table selection

I could pick virtually any 2/4 table on PP & have an edge. But some tables are certainly better than others, and I SHOULD seek out the softest tables I can find to exploit bigger edges, rather than being lazy & settling for smaller ones.

4) Playing vs. the idiots idiotically

I sometimes find myself spewing chips against people simply because it doesn't make any sense for them to have a hand. If I raise KK preflop, some idiot cold calls & I get heavy action on a 229 flop, sometimes the guy really does have a 2 (for the 3rd time in 3 orbits!) he cold called with, and I am sometimes too stubborn to ever slow down. The same goes for playing blind defense against the guy who ALWAYS tries to steal, and other situations where it's easy to get frustrated.

5) Quitting while Im ahead

Hey! I've made a quick 30 BB in my first half an hour! What a soft table! No sense taking any chances though, I'll just leave now while Im ahead. Right? Wrong. I SHOULD take that momentum & continue to crush horribly soft tables like these, but instead I have been known to make a short night of it.


As you can see, 4 of the 5 things I think are my biggest "leaks" have absolutely nothing to do with cards at all, but I'm sure they are the difference between being a 1.9/100 player & being a 2.5+/100 player.

jvs

Re: Stupid things I do.
 

[ QUOTE ]
Here are the most common stupid things I do. I bet many of you do them too.

1) Playing Tired.
2) Trying to get unstuck.
3) Poor table selection
4) Playing vs. the idiots idiotically
5) Quitting while Im ahead



[/ QUOTE ]

Yes, many of us do them, but these aren't even close to our biggest leaks... (well, OK, #3 is significant)


Tom

Re: Stupid things I do.
 

#2 is a big leak for a lot of people, myself included. I suppose it's tied to #3, but a lot of the time you're stuck, it's because the table is tough. So, rather than eat your losses and move to another table, you doggedly try to get your money back when you don't have much, if any, edge. And then there's the propensity to go on tilt, even if just slightly, in this 'chasing'-type situation.

If you expand #1 to not just include playing tired, but playing when you're not able to concentrate on the game, then it can be a really big leak too.

Re: Stupid things I do.
 

1) Playing Tired
Check, I'm not sure how bad this is though, since I'm still a winning player. As a non pro going to sleep and trying again next morning isn't always an option.

2) Trying to get unstuck
Check, I'm trying to convince myself I'm playing better and more focused when I'm losing, but that's not likely the case...

3) Poor table selection
At this point, I'm not guilty...

4) Playing vs. the idiots idiotically
Check, but primarly because they get me to tilt...

5) Quitting while Im ahead
Not guilty. I always end up losing [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

Re: Stupid things I do.
 

[ QUOTE ]

4) Playing vs. the idiots idiotically


[/ QUOTE ]
This is the one I agree most with for me. This was a good reminder, thank you.

Re: Stupid things I do.
 

1) Playing Tired.

I'm not a pro so I'm always awake between 5 and 7 in the morning in order to head into the office. Get home at 5, eat some dinner, hang out with the wife and dog... usually it is 9 or so before I log on for a couple of hours of play. After a while you get that need to sleep, zoned out feeling. If I'm ahead, or even relatively square, I can easily shut it down and call it a night.

However combine this with...

2) Trying to get unstuck

A deadly combination. Playing Zombie-like ABC poker because I can't focus on much more rarely leads to the desired result. It isn't that I miss obvious bets/raises but any creativity is gonzo. But that desire to obliterate any Poker Tacker red is strong...

3) Poor table selection

Since moving up to 5/10 I have been much more cognizant of this factor. I won't hesitate to p/u and move tables - I'm always on waiting lists. When a new table pops up, I reassess my current tables and make the necessary moves.

4) Playing vs. the idiots idiotically

I can generally avoid this. I'm occasionally guilty overplay when defending ( I want to make my point!) but otherwise I can stay out of this sort of trouble (I have enough of my own leaks to contend with without taking on those of others)

5) Quitting while Im ahead

Not much of an issue. The only advantage to being ahead (other than the money of course) is that I can shut the game down more easily when I'm feeling tired and unfocussed. Nothing like going to bed happy after a good session.

Re: Stupid things I do.
 

1. Playing tired
I never do it. If my eyes start getting heavy Im outta there. Or if my mind starts day dreaming.

2. Unstuck
I used to do this before but I am getting better at it. I set a # of hands or time limit to play. I adjust this by winning or losing. If I am winning constantly at a table and time is up I stay till it levels. If I am losing I have set rules to to make me stop. whenever I go against these losing rules I placed for myself I lose more. Bad mojo just doesn't stop when its rolling downhill no matter how bad the players are... its just not your day.

3. Poor Tables selection
Never I pick the fishiest. If I see too many good players pop up I leave. My HU tools also helps identify shark pools. Since they play the most my PT has stats on em. Some tight players I still play against but only ones with low aggression and low VPIP (tight passive).

4. Playing vs. the idiots idiotically
I discovered there are only 2 things occuring when you get popped with AA on a 229 board. Your either way ahead or way behind. So play it that way don't keep reraising because its impossible that UTG called with 92o.

5. Quitting while Im ahead
I play till the good mojo stops or I am tired.

Biggest problem? Tilt. When in 700 hands your winning 20% of your showdowns to idiots when you should be winning 48-55%. How I fixed it: I realized because I was not using a HUB I was thinking too much about my players and burning out my brain. With the HUD it does a lot of the player reading work for me so my brain does not stress so much, thus play more tables, thus also less tilt.

There comes a point your you excercized your brain too much and now its tired and irritated. I found that contributes to tilt. HUD takes some of the excersize away with the information it provides.

http://www.texasholdempoker-stats.com/

Re: Stupid things I do.
 

[ QUOTE ]
I could pick virtually any 2/4 table on PP & have an edge. But some tables are certainly better than others, and I SHOULD seek out the softest tables I can find to exploit bigger edges, rather than being lazy & settling for smaller ones.

[/ QUOTE ]

I think you're over-estimating your skill. Given the rake, I think there are a lot of 2/4 tables where a lot of regular posters don't have an edge. However, over the long run it goes unnoticed because if you add 2 idiots you have position on you have a huge edge. Also, consider seat selection. A worst seat at a pretty good table can have a huge different in value from the best seat at a pretty good table.

Re: Stupid things I do.
 

I don't recall ever seeing a full party 2/4 table that had more than 4 people other than me who could possibly be winning players. if I am playing solid poker, I have an edge at a minimum of 95% of 2/4 tables.

I would not however say the same thing about the 3/6 game.

jvs