Confessions of a Mediocre Poker Player

[nolanfan34]

Hi Barry,

Well, the thing is, not everyone can be good at poker. Maybe it's time to move on to something else if you can't do any better than 40-80....

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[sublime]

Barry-

we are in the same boat brother, what i am doing to work on my technical problems is learnind stud so i can better understand TOP, and spending tons of time talking to players who i feel have the skills that i lack (mainly reading hands and making better calls/folds on the river)

you should probably set up a meeting with Tommy and work on the emotinal aspect. i hear he is worth the money. i would do it myslef, but then i would feel bad when i go on tilt.

[daveymck]

I'm assuming that you came up via small stakes which slowing down on the turn when faced with agression against most players when holding say tptk ot tpmk is almost standard. From what everyone says 15/30 is more agressive so I guess against some types of player you have to fight back and get out the extra bets. Maybe have a stint at 6 max if you havent already?

But I would also say if you are winning and have a style that suits you dont force the change, you are aware of it look for opportunities and situations where you could increase the agressiveness but dont force it just let it evolve. Too many players here try and change their game because they read it or cos someone else has different stats not because of increased understanding and end up losing money.

Emotionally its sounds like its a time thing you must stop immediatley and take a break when you feel yourself going, there may be breathing excersises or other mental things you could try, maybe do a gooogle on stress relif and see if anything like that could help you.

As I said I havent played those limits so have no real idea but hopefully given some food for thought.

[Barry]

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you should probably set up a meeting with Tommy and work on the emotinal aspect. i hear he is worth the money.

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I did and he is.

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but then i would feel bad when i go on tilt.


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And I do!

[Rushmore]

My honest opinion is that any regular here at 2+2 should be able to beat the Party 15/30 pretty easily, two tables minimum.

I find it impossible to accept that mike l. might not be able to do so. I think he is being falsely modest.

[Rushmore]

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Here is at least part of the problem: when facing aggression on the turn when I have a decent, but not great hand, I don’t seem to have a good handle on whether I’m ahead and should raise or so far behind that I should fold, so far too many times I go into call down mode. When I should fold, it costs me 2 BB’s and I give up perhaps 1 BB when I should raise. I certainly need to get a better handle on this and narrow down the “call down” corridor.


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I'm not sure how you got inside my brain and read my thoughts, but I imagine it is a valuable skill to have.

I would say that this aspect of the game, more than any other, is one that requires nearly constant re-examination, and is absolutely player-dependent.

But remember: the Party 15/30 isn't played behind any ropes. These guys are not the toughest competition on the planet.

For instance, what's the move du jour? As you know, it's the turn semi-bluff raise, right?

The decision you face is whether or not you want to play in a game where everyone's in love with a move that moves a lot of chips.

My honest opinion is that the number of guys in this game who pay off like a slot machine with 2nd pair more than makes up for the trials and tribulations the turn semi-bluff players might put you through.

NOTE: I talk about the turn play particularly, because this is where the more dificult decisions come, IMO.

[surfdoc]

Barry,
Very good post. The ability to self evaluate is something most people and even fewer poker players can do. I am much more of an up and coming player (and should therefore cut myself some slack) but still find myself making the same mistakes and doing things I know I shouldn't be doing. To some degree this behavior is healthy and will usually be a big part of the successful players/persons makeup. (As long as the self beating doesn't get out of control)

I also think you need to look at the people you are associating with. You may not be in the top 1% of 2+2ers but you are probably in the top 1% of poker players. Just walk into any B&M 20/40, sit down and count the horrible mistakes your oponents make. Then you can smile, rack up their chips, and not worry too much about calling down a turn CR in the party 15 with top pair good kicker.

[sfer]

Learning and getting better is fun. Knowing oneself is sublime.

[SinCityGuy]

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I find it impossible to accept that mike l. might not be able to do so. I think he is being falsely modest.

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Mike L. would destroy the Party 15/30 players if he was playing in a live game against them. However, he doesn't use any tracking software when he plays online, which is a huge disadvantage.

[skp]

I just got PT and am still learning its ins and outs so what I am about to say may well be wrong and if you think that I am wrong, please let me know.

But I wouldn't put too much stock on the PT postflop aggression ratings. Nor would I put much stock on trying to achieve the Tight aggressive/aggressive icon for your handle on your PT.

I am said to have a 1.8 postflop aggression rating and I am described as semi-loose aggressive/passive. Suits me just fine TYVM. I have only logged about 7k hands in PT so far but I suspect that these things wont change too much for me even after 150K hands.

Postflop aggression is a wholly overvalued concept (and the tactic itself is often misused) when the pots are headsup or even 3 way by the turn which is what usually happens on Party. Just calling down is often the best play to make in these games beyond the turn. That will lower your postflop aggression rating but so be it. Ultimately, it's bb/100 hands that count.

As for player descriptions, in many ways I would rather play a guy described as TAA as opposed to TAP or SLAP or SLAA.