Doomed to fail?

[youngladyfriend]

I need some help from the poker gods.... or maybe just some fellow players. Here it is.. short and sweet.
I've been playing Hold'em seriously for about a year. I feel I've come to be an above average player. I know the mathematical basics, I have a good ability to read tells and I am ahead in the money. I desperately want to be a better player... I've been reading books and trying to implement stratiges that poker professionals such as Sklansky, Hellmuth and Caro discuss. The problem is that the confidence in my game decreases considerably when I try to use my newfound knowledge in the poker room. Am I just doomed to never become a better poker player? Maybe these strategies are too advanced for me. I feel very comfortable with how I presently play, but I know there is still opportunity for me to increase my winnings more often. Therefore I feel ready to advance my game.
Has anyone else struggled with improving their game? How did you overcome your failures when new practices didn't work out they way the book told you it would happen?

*youngladyfriend

[scotnt73]

i came here and have never looked back [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[MicroBob]

ummmm.....not using the names Sklansky and Hellmuth in the same sentence would be a good start.

read, study, read, study, play, etc etc.
the confidence should come with the knowledge.
some knowledge is a bit more valuable than others.

[Homer]

- Read poker books that give quality advice (Theory of Poker, Winning Low Limit Hold'em, Hold'em Poker for Advanced Players -- throw away Hellmuth's book)

- Play in low-limit games online

- Post questionable hands in the Small Stakes or Micro-Limits forum

- Purchase Poker Tracker to keep track of your play (you can download a sample version at www.pokertracker.com that allows you to import up to 1000 online hand histories)

-- Homer

[Homer]

Additionally, if you are going to play online, get maximum value out of the various bonuses offered. For more information, post on the Internet Gambling forum or PM me.

-- Homer

[Webster]

Yea -take Hellmuth out of you vocabulary is a good start.

I've found that when ever I find a nice nugget and try to use it in a game it back fires. Then I put it away and use it later and it works.

I think sometimes ideas are great but NEW ideas (or fresh ones) are used at the wrong times or maybe used for the sake of using them.

Just take your time - you have a whole life ahead of you to learn - relax - it's only been one year. You are not even done building a foundation.

[Mike Gallo]

Friend,

Just do it [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

You will feel and become more confident after each session that you play.

Has anyone else struggled with improving their game?

Every day.

[harboral]

I've been playing since 1978 - and I still make mistakes everyday, but if I am aware of them, I can improve. I have been reading this forum for a few months and I KNOW I have improved my game since my readings started. Don't be afraid to fail........Play your best, and ask yourself after every hand what went wrong - and what went right, and this includes when you are not in a hand. Smart players learn from others mistakes, and others good play. Enjoy.

[LetsRock]

It's pretty common to be uncomfortable when implementing new concepts or tactics. You're used to doing things a certain way, and it can be very disconserting to do something a different way.

This is a little different, but it will give you an idea how basic this is: Try writing a paragraph with your non-dominant hand. You'll find that you can do it, but it's extremely uncomfortable - you "know" how to write, yet you'll have trouble getting your "off" hand to listen to your commands. I'd guess this is how we felt when first learning to write. After months (years) of practice, we think nothing of the act of writing. If you were to spend months (years) practicing writing with your "off" hand, it too would become second nature. The same thing goes with any new skill. Practice will make it comfortable.

I would reccommend implementing new stratagies at the lowest limits you can just to get used to doing them, to get the new routines inside of your comfort zone.

Also be careful to implement new tactics at appropriate times. I think we often tend to be so eager to try something new, that we don't always consider all of the variables of a situation before putting it in to play. Most advanced moves require very specific situations in order to used correctly.

Keep at it.

[Gildersneeze]

[ QUOTE ]
Also be careful to implement new tactics at appropriate times. I think we often tend to be so eager to try something new, that we don't always consider all of the variables of a situation before putting it in to play. Most advanced moves require very specific situations in order to used correctly.

[/ QUOTE ]Very important, pay attention to this man. I used to do the same thing with just about every tactic I could in online RTS games, or poker playing. "What? Check-raising when you've got a good hand? Brilliant! I'll use it right away!" But check-raises are something you have to use in very specific situations, not all the time.

It can be tough to implement a new tactic into your standard play. Mine is moving from weak/tight, as the books have taught me to be, to tight/aggressive, as some members of this forum have taught me to be.

Sure, I have more variance in my sessions, but overall, I've won much more money simply by playing high draws and TPTK like you're supposed to, rather than "ooooh, dear. What if my hand gets busted or I don't make my draw? Ooooh, I better go into check/fold because I don't have the nuts."

Took me a while to get up the cojones, but now that I have them, people respect my bets and raises a lot more.

However, at first, I forgot to remember the cardinal rule of aggressive play, which is to know when you're beat. Just like with check-raising, there's a time for aggression, a time for trying to get to the river as cheaply as possible to see if your draw pans out, and a time to cut your losses and head on to the next hand.

But now that I think I've got things a little more structured and can apply them in a more appropriate manner, I'm able to incorporate aggressive play and tricky things like check-raises and semi-bluffs into my game in their proper way.