Maybe something to try.

[Bob T.]

I've been running so-so for a couple of weeks. Not anything bad enough to whine about. But at the same time not anything to brag about either. Just a lot of sessionns, where I really get surprised a couple of times at a showdown. 'Did I really fold that winner', or 'when should I have figured out that I was that far behind?' Enough, so that I thought that I might not be playing that well.

Anyway, the other day, I decided to try something. For 24 hours, I would not play more than one table, but I was going to try to know everything I could about every player at my table. Every time there was a showdown, I was going to check the hand history as soon as possible and figure out how they got to the showdown, and what mistakes, or good plays they made along the way. I was also going to think a lot about the adjustments that I was going to make when any player entered the pot.

Well for that period, I played on four tables, posted four wins. I also played one small tournament, and placed second, although when it was headsup I had my opponent all-in twice while he was drawing, so even though I came in second, I think I played well enough to win. One of the tables I played on, I only won a small amount, but I realized that the table dynamic was wrong for me(strong aggressive players on my right, and weak loose behind me), and I escaped without letting them do a lot of damage to me.

Anyway, during my 24 hour experiment, I found that I was making a lot of plays that I wouldn't usually make, based on the reads that I developed by paying more attention.

The day after I single tabled, I played two tables, and I thought that the game was a lot simpler, and a lot clearer than it had been for me for a while. I also made a couple of reads that allowed me to make or save an extra bet or two.

I don't plan on single tabling a lot in the future, but I think that playing that way occasionally, can help get your game straightened out and back on track.

Maybe I was just running good for the last couple of days, but I think that I was also playing better, and getting the most out of the good things that happened to me.

Good luck,
play well,

Bob T.