#1
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I\'m bad at poker, and that\'s...okay.
Admittedly, I have not spent the time on poker needed to convince a person that they have learned enough to become a winning player. I have only read WLLHE by Lee Jones, Theory of Poker, Poker Essays vol. 1, and I'm in the middle of SSHE. I read the forums a lot, and despite most of my posting being in OOT, I have spent a lot of my 2+2 time reading threads to which I can make no contribution. I don't post that many hands as there have been requests that the number of threads be reduced in favor of fewer threads with higher participation and content, which I agree with. I started out sort of lackadasical, but have really picked up the studying aspect lately.
I also have 3 professional poker players at my disposal to clear things up for me when I need it, egregious errors in my game don't last very long. This also means that I'm constantly part of an ongoing poker discussion between my successful poker playing friends, from which I have gained much information. I have played an embarassingly small amount of poker. I credit my slow progress mostly to this. I don't play too many tables, I try not to multitask too much, and I use PT and gametime+. Overall, the problem with this aspect is that I don't have the sheer volume of hands and hours needed to make one truly comfortable at a poker table. I also seem to have tilt issues on occasion. Nothing too bad really, just the occasional open fold or raise simply because they shouldn't have me beat. I have many leaks in my game to plug, this being a big one, not because it loses me tons of money, but because it hinders my learning. The problem is, the more I learn, the more I feel like I don't know. I don't mean "the more there is for me to learn," I mean new information and new things to consider confuse me at the table. I think it's a bit of a plateau. I play .5/1. I recently took a shot at some 1/2 b/c I had the BR and decided "why not?" I lost 200bb in 13k hands...I'm starting to question everything I thought I knew. While I do admit, of course, that this is a downswing augmented by bad play, I have recently begun to consider that maybe it is, in fact, a losing player evening out after an upswing. What I'm getting at here is: is this a matter of lack of experience? Is the plateau effect natural? I feel like this can no longer be considered a downswing. Lately I have been having trouble with even the most pedestrian of concepts, and I don't think dynamically enough to apply what I do know to different situations. Do I have to consider that I'm just not the kind of person who becomes good at poker? Or can I chalk it up to learning curve? Is it natural that the rate of improvement should slow down at a certain point? |
#2
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Re: I\'m bad at poker, and that\'s...okay.
[ QUOTE ]
I also seem to have tilt issues on occasion. [/ QUOTE ] If by "on occasion" you mean several times a week, then this is a true statement. In my opinion, this is what I have observed to be most detrimental not only to your winrate, but also to your retention of poker concepts. What I mean to say is that when a correct play doesn't work out and it tilts you, I see a clear reluctance to repeat the play in the next appropriate situation. Also you need to correct this blind aggression. In the beginning, you and I were both told that aggression wins the pot. Sure enough, it does. However the key to aggressive play is tightness, and I don't just mean preflop. If tightness is not the right word, then think of it like this: you need to practice 'selective aggression', and accept when, although you were a heavy favorite pre-flop, your hand may become no good and NEEDS TO BE THROWN AWAY. I do think you know more about important concepts than *ahem* a person on a rediculous tare who happens to have a higher WR, but unless you are applying these appropriately and consistantly it won't matter. Lastly, understand that you are paying dues. Better to lose 200bb at 1/2 than 300+bb at 5/10, which is what happens when you move up faster than your skill level. edit: you're not bad at poker. |
#3
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Re: I\'m bad at poker, and that\'s...okay.
Do you enjoy playing poker?
Your tone reminds me of Sunday mass. |
#4
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Re: I\'m bad at poker, and that\'s...okay.
[ QUOTE ]
Do I have to consider that I'm just not the kind of person who becomes good at poker? Or can I chalk it up to learning curve? Is it natural that the rate of improvement should slow down at a certain point? [/ QUOTE ] Sean, You're not bad at poker. You said it yourself: You've played an embarassingly small number of hands. Have you already forgotten the tournament at my house that you *won* that featured me, pizownored, stingy and several other solid players? 200 BB can be heartbreaking, I know. I lost 165+ BB at 2/4, over around 15,000 hands. Hell, I'm on a 100 BB losing streak right now in the 1/2 6-max game, having dropped 75 bb in 300 hands yesterday! There's no shame in playing .5/1. What you should do is let your bankroll work for you a little. Get the Paradise bonus. Do all the Party/Empire/PokerNow reloads. Get the UB bonus if you're feeling feisty. Next time there's a Stars reload, get that too. Do all of this playing .5/1, until you regain your confidence. Keep reading hand posts in micro and small stakes. Post advice... even if you think you're wrong. Someone will correct you and you'll learn more. When your bankroll and confidence have recovered, you will play the 1/2 6-max game. You''l have to submit to facepunches and ballkicks if you try to play the 1/2 full again. |
#5
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Re: I\'m bad at poker, and that\'s...okay.
SomethingClever is quite right on all counts. He posts g00t.
However, [ QUOTE ] [T]he more I learn, the more I feel like I don't know. [/ QUOTE ] is way true. For everyone, I would wager. And not just in poker. |
#6
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Re: I\'m bad at poker, and that\'s...okay.
[ QUOTE ]
Is it natural that the rate of improvement should slow down at a certain point? [/ QUOTE ] "plateaus" have been a big feature of my learning process. I've also had the same worries that maybe I'm not a natural cardplayer. I've been certain of it at times, actually. But then I'll learn something new, go back to the game that was causing me anxiety, and everything will make complete sense to me. Lack of confidence slowed my learning process down a lot. You're probably comfortably better than you think you are. |
#7
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Re: I\'m bad at poker, and that\'s...okay.
You do realise that posting in OOT sucks poker knowledge out of your brain?
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#8
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Re: I\'m bad at poker, and that\'s...okay.
Our avatars are disturbingly similair (sp?)
gus |
#9
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Re: I\'m bad at poker, and that\'s...okay.
[ QUOTE ]
Our avatars are disturbingly similair (sp?) gus [/ QUOTE ] Change yours. |
#10
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Re: I\'m bad at poker, and that\'s...okay.
"learning curve" is a poor description for poker and many other games - i view the learning process of a game like poker to be a random collection of sharp inclines spread out between long plateau's
worse still you dont consciously know when the inclines happen - at some point you may look back at something you did routinely months ago and realise your a better player now because you dont do it but that will be as close to feeling like you have progressed in your ability to play as you will get reading a heap of books wont help a lot - applying the ideas contained in those books is more than 100 times harder than understanding them - getting the advice of experts is also of limited assistance - most experts have long forgotten what they learned playing is the only way to get better personally i like poker because to learn it and be good at it you need more perseverance than any other game i have come across - its a fine test of character - the money is cool too stripsqueez - chickenhawk |
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