Two Plus Two Older Archives  

Go Back   Two Plus Two Older Archives > General Gambling > Psychology

Reply
 
Thread Tools Display Modes
  #1  
Old 11-14-2005, 07:47 PM
pyroponic pyroponic is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: 7-tabling Party $3/6
Posts: 301
Default Unlearning implicit (procedural) poker knowledge

Hello, I have played over 400k of limit hold'em poker and unsurprsingly it has become a monotonous, repeitive task (I play $10/20 6-max out of all games). I am learning in my Cognitive Psychology class that explicit knolwedge which requires consicious effort becomes automatic procedural knowledge with enough practice. This is apparently what has happened to me since i'm at the point where I can multitable for hours on end without paying much attention. This however has become a problem, as it has stunted my growth and interest in the game, and I make many routine mistakes without thinking. I was wondering if it is possible to make poker more of a explicit task than an implicit task? Anyone have this problem and corrected it? (Maybe verbalizing my thoughts before every decision is a start...)
Reply With Quote
  #2  
Old 11-14-2005, 08:06 PM
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Unlearning implicit (procedural) poker knowledge

i lost for the first time in about 3 months in a brick and mortar. I was playing your typical 3-6 hold em. It was a kill pot and i had Aces in early position and thought my 6 bet was a raise but i didn't realize it was a kill pot. As a result, i let too many people in on hand due to my inattentiveness.

I had A/10 in big blind and wasn't paying attention when it came A/T on flop.

This happens because you focus on same game too much. For me, I play different limits, different games....stud...omaha...i play freeplays too. I do this to not get too bored. I find that it enhances my game in other areas.

Nowadays i do a rotation of stud sit n gos (pokerstars), limit hold em (at UB), freeplay/cash tournaments (bugsy)

i do a little bit of everything to keep it exciting.
Reply With Quote
  #3  
Old 11-14-2005, 08:14 PM
pyroponic pyroponic is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: 7-tabling Party $3/6
Posts: 301
Default Re: Unlearning implicit (procedural) poker knowledge

Hrm interesting, although my main concern is improving my performance and reating my potential in my main game (and hence my main source of income). Maybe mixing in some NL would be a good idea?
Reply With Quote
  #4  
Old 11-14-2005, 08:40 PM
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Unlearning implicit (procedural) poker knowledge

Unless your multi-tabling is necessary for your cost of living (which I imagine it is), you might want to bring down the number of tables down to one or two for a week or so while also raising the limits. This will help shock your brain and let you enjoy the game while still developing your skills as a player.
Reply With Quote
  #5  
Old 11-15-2005, 12:54 PM
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Unlearning implicit (procedural) poker knowledge

Try playing some NL tournaments (singles or multis) one table at a time. Also try playing a micro-limit game as incorrectly as you possibly can (fold your premiums and raise to the river with unwinnable hands). Play a session with a small, fixed number of hands (ie play 50 hands on one table and concentrate very hard for each of those hands).
Reply With Quote
  #6  
Old 11-15-2005, 01:00 PM
coffeecrazy1 coffeecrazy1 is offline
Member
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Austin, Texas
Posts: 59
Default Re: Unlearning implicit (procedural) poker knowledge

I was going to do a separate post about this, but this is a better spot.

Last night, I took an insignificant amount of money(relative to my BR) and played like a complete moron. On purpose. I did this because I felt myself getting moldy and unimaginative and dull in my game, and I was losing. Negreanu has written an article about this(link?), where he does the same thing.

If you are locked into a rut, break the routine...even if it's temporarily -EV, it will end up being +EV overall in the long run.
Reply With Quote
  #7  
Old 11-15-2005, 04:21 PM
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Unlearning implicit (procedural) poker knowledge

I have fallen into this trap at low limit hold'em, my primary ground for building/repleninishing my bankroll. I usually go to higher stakes, b/c if losing won't hurt, playing will not be fun.
Reply With Quote
  #8  
Old 11-15-2005, 09:18 PM
davet davet is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Location: lso agnlese
Posts: 134
Default Re: Unlearning implicit (procedural) poker knowledge


It might be a good time to move up limits, if that is what you are trying to ask.
Reply With Quote
  #9  
Old 11-16-2005, 02:53 AM
Guest
 
Posts: n/a
Default Re: Unlearning implicit (procedural) poker knowledge

I agree. Play one or two tables at higher stakes if your desire is to improve. I'm sure your hourly rate will be lower but it will make you better.

If you're not comfortable moving up in stakes at least cut back on the number of tables you play. This will give you a chance to think about all the factors that should be involved in each decision. Perhaps you'll consider all the options as opposed to just choosing the one you've ingrained.
Reply With Quote
  #10  
Old 11-16-2005, 01:04 PM
pyroponic pyroponic is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: 7-tabling Party $3/6
Posts: 301
Default Re: Unlearning implicit (procedural) poker knowledge

The problem is that I am unable to move up since I am not a huge winner in that game despite logging in ovefr 70k hands, and am currently expereience the worst run in my poker "career." I've had to temporarily step back down to $5/10 6-max to reuild my bankroll for a few months, which should probably be amazingly boring but I now have more of a motivation to focus on improving and studying my play.
Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools
Display Modes

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is Off

Forum Jump


All times are GMT -4. The time now is 03:05 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.11
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, vBulletin Solutions Inc.