poker strategy blog

[knapple]

Wow- sorry i am new here but I have to add my two cents... Couple things.. Tek is right, observing small subtlties of other players is needed to get an upper hand. But Tek, that seems to be your only agrument and ifoldaces has answered you a few times already. He is assuming you already do that...because your more than an amature who plays the game a few times a year... Another thing, this blog was directed at pros who seem to go on tilt but dont know how to get out of it, and think that changing a techinical strategy will fix it.

IfoldAces is offereing a different approach to get out out of the tilt realm. And its not something you will find in a skalansky book. Its use fuladvice to those of us ( and I happen to be one with much success) who feel that zen is/can be the next level past the mastery of poker probablility and tells. If you dont agree, simply move on. But Tek, your arguments are dead, he answered them. Zen is not needed to be great at poker, but for some peopel it seems to click, maybe you should even give it a try,zen just might help you.

[ifoldaces]

Logic is precisely what we're trying to get away from . [img]/images/graemlins/smirk.gif[/img]

[ifoldaces]

A mind has many limitation, yet you do not. However we tend to limit ourserves well before the limits actually kick in. By believing in inability of particular achievement we, in fact,oursevles are creating such an improbability. We are capable of limitless abilities but it is up to us to make the effort to realize and sieze on the opportunity.

Boris
http://www.TheLeagueNY.com

[EliteNinja]

[ QUOTE ]
If you are going to ignore everything at a live table, you might as well play online.

[/ QUOTE ]

When I'm not in a hand playing online, I'm busy writing notes, observing others' plays on each street, and clicking hand histories to see what they showdown with. Reads are ALWAYS important, on or offline!

[ifoldaces]

That was tek's quote, not mine.

The reads are always important but that's not what this thread is about. In any case, concentrating on the current hand is a very important part of poker, sometimes notes and history observation can have misleading information. Every good player should change up their game every so often. Every player is also aware that others are taking notes of them and they might (as I do) use it to their advantage.

Confidence in your own ability is the number one (concsious) factor in your game. Trust in your own reads takes precedence over everything else and those reads are coming from "gut feeling" alot of the time. This gut feeling is what I am attempting to help people develop and understand on a new level.

[purnell]

I know nothing of Zen, but it is possible be completely focused on the game even if you appear to be daydreaming. I do this all the time. I can't explain it well, but It seems to nme that I can "feel" the action around me.

[purnell]

From watching him play, I get the impression that Gus Hansen does the same thing, only way better than me.

[ifoldaces]

Focus is important. Complete opposite of focus (mind emptiness) is even more important. Its easy to argue this without trying but its not all that difficult to try. Empty your mind and see what you can percieve without conscious thinking. That is my whole point in this post.

[Demana]

I tried doing this a bit last night. Rather than constantly studying what people were doing, I tried to *feel* the table and found that I could read the intentions of the other players in the pot. Of course, maybe it was obvious stuff that anyone else could read too...

[jubeirm]

You keep insisting that meditation and zazen are different. Yet, every zen buddhist center I've practiced with (Denver, Omaha, Seattle) have no objection and frequently use the two interchangably. To quote NZC: "Zen practice begins with zazen (sitting meditation) but it does not end there. Walking meditation (kinhin), chanting, bowing, work, and various art forms – such as calligraphy, painting, dance, music, flower arranging, etc. – are all part of Zen practice." Please clarify. It seems to me what you are asking us to do is more za-zone out at the table.

--Jubei