[POKhER]

Earlier in the week after having read the board for some time(Specially the past weeks) i went to paradise poker and played.

I got into two situations in which i thought one was WA/WB, 2nd was a value betting situation.

Now i wasn't 100% confidant(As i would be if i read a book) but i was fairly sure i knew where to apply them(The concepts) from reading 2+2 forum. After playing the hands and losing a fair bit i posted the HH's and was told EVERY LINE(Value betting, WA/WB) IN EVERY SITUATION WAS WRONG.

I realised from reading all these threads i hadn't learn the CONCEPTS BEHIND THE SITUATION. I was attempting to play a fancy line in the wrong circumstances DUE TO LACK OF KNOWLEDGE OF THE CONCEPTS!!!!

Then i realised all this time and effort reading board and desperatly trying to understand them(So i could win more and lose less at the tables) had backfired.

I'd developed Fancy Play Syndrome(FPS) so took a step back and asked myself "WHAT MAKES A GOOD PLAYER?".

I came across a thread that wookie posted in and asked him what he thought. He listed things so i wrote them down and told myself i'd revise these making sure i have a strong foundation. As many of these we're covered in SSH I grabbed the book and started reading the whole thing FROM THE START.

I got to preflop hands and read about Little offsuite Broadways(Do you know what they are?). I read a line which says "SO consider who has already limped in before deciding to call" (Pg 74, 4th line down in italics).

It hit me that i never do this, i also realised i didn't know the reasons i was playing QJo(Its strong points). Sure not looking at who limps infront of you and not knowing the finer points to QJo wont make me lose much BUT IT MADE ME STRONGLY QUESTION MY KNOWLEDGE OF THE BASICS OF POKER.

And if i dont know the basics of preflop, Do i know the basics of postflop? And if i dont know the basics then do i know the intermediate concepts/Strategys? AND IF NOT, THEN WHY AM I TRYING TO LEARN WA/WB!?!

So i set myself a task, as i want to play GOOD POKER(Which should convert into GOOD $$$). The task is this...

Every day for one hour read SMALL STAKES HOLD'EM. Everytime i come across a subject i'm not happy i know about i shall write it down on the paper and continue to read through it. Upon completing SSH the list will be huge and i will have already learnt(And refreshed my memory of) many topics/concepts/strategys.I will then systematically go through the list and tick off each concept as i read it.

My list currently says:
Fold Equity, PREFLOP SECTION.

I expect when i get past the preflop the list may well contain:
Hand protection, when a raise will not protect, Free card play, Betting the flop and many other concepts.This one hour would have previously been spent reading 2+2 forum and hopelessly trying to build upon a UNSTABLE FOUNDATION OF POKER KNOWLEDGE(or lackof).

WINNING 2BB/100 AS SO MANY OF YOU MICRO PLAYERS DO, DOES NOT MEAN YOUR GOOD AT POKER! It is also a VERY POOR EXCUSE for not making yourself Re-Read SSH and all the other books you may own.

I'm sure many of you can't be assed to read it, Why bother hey? You winning 2BB/100... Well maybe this splits the ok from the better? Who knows. I'm writing this reponse as a newbie whose attempting to find leaks in his WHOLE game BEFORE CONTINUING TO LEARN the finer points of poker.

In conclusion:
Reading the forums is good sure, But the replys are always situation dependant. learning WA/WB form a forum may seem fantastic but it IS NOT IF YOU DONT UNDERSTAND THE CONCEPT(REASONS) BEHIND THE PLAY.

MAKE SURE YOU KNOW THE BASICS(Through self challenges such as Wookies suggested, or that im doing or any other way you feel you can test them). After all, How are you going to find your leaks if you just continue to slog away winning 2bb/100? Will you only try to find them when you move up to 1/2 and get your ass kicked? Or maybe 5/10 and get your ass kicked?

Sooner or later your lazyness may cost you BB's and depending on the stakes, That could be an EXPENSIVE lesson.