I think it's time... pt. 2

Here are my stats on PokerStars for my first live play:

During current Hold'em session you were dealt 123 hands and saw flop:
- 8 out of 15 times while in big blind (53%)
- 3 out of 16 times while in small blind (18%)
- 10 out of 92 times in other positions (10%)
- a total of 21 out of 123 (17%)
Pots won at showdown - 6 of 9 (66%)
Pots won without showdown - 2

I came out with a 126% profit. Started the table with $1.00, left the table with $2.26 ($1.26 profit).

I'm happy with how I played. I played tight and only played strong hands. I was getting beat by 3 of a kind a few times, but I straightened up and took care of that.

Compared with fake tables, I do see that it is a lot different! Most players actually play the right way and don't play the dead cards. I am guilty of playing dead cards on fake tables, going on tilt too quickly or becoming bored with playing because there was no incentive. Playing live I am more patient and don't go on tilt (or at least haven't yet). [img]/images/graemlins/cool.gif[/img]

Does PokerStars provide those statistics, or do you use one of those programs like PokerTracker?

[68Mustang]

Pokerstars default stats.

OP eveyone's going to request more hands from you. I'm at 24k hands and not even ready to post stats for constructive criticism.

How do you know how many hands you have played total without using something like PokerTracker? In lieu of some poker software is it suggested to record those stats for every session? I don't see how you could analyze those numbers yourself.

That leads to my next question about how valuable something like PokerTracker really is. Seeing posts about the software makes me wonder if it's become one of those things that people say you absolutely positively have to own and use, but then it's not particularly useful to the game. I mean, will people naturally improve over time, and then just assume that their improvement is due to PokerTracker? It seems to be a crutch, and aside from keeping tabs on other players, which I agree would be super-helpful, I don't know how much it's going to help someone.

Speaking from complete ignorance here though, so I'd be curious to hear some opinions about using software and/or tracking individual results.

Poker tracker is free for 10k hands. Use it!

By the way... congradulations. You're undoubtably hooked for life, so you better learn how to win or this will get expensive : )

I suggest a heavy reading of the microlimits board.

That's what I'm talking about. Everyone says that PokerTracker is a must, but is it really that helpful??

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That's what I'm talking about. Everyone says that PokerTracker is a must, but is it really that helpful??

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VERY HELPFUL. I use it to find leaks, review my sessions when I'm done. If you understand that during a session, every one of us will make a mistake (sometimes more than one), then a tool to review is a must. With PT you can review/replay your hands, think about them, and post the ones you're unsure of in the micro forum or small stakes if you've moved up.

I also use PT to review my opponents, revise my notes taken during the session. review the play of their hands, etc. After a while you should be able to get a better feel of what your opponents bets, raises, and calls mean and get inside their heads. All of this adds to your EV.

[AKQJ10]

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That's what I'm talking about. Everyone says that PokerTracker is a must, but is it really that helpful??

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I don't have strong feelings on the matter, but I see the wisdom of the "revisionist" camp (I think SheridanCat espouses this view) that PokerTracker is only a distraction for beginners.

I've been playing for about 1.5 years and don't own PT, because online I'm only now playing in games where it would pay for itself in a reasonable amount of time. (Presently around $1/2 limit and 10c-25c no limit.) But I may get it for myself for Christmas.

I'm more interested in B&M than online play anyway, but online is important to me for building skills and bankroll.

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I don't have strong feelings on the matter, but I see the wisdom of the "revisionist" camp (I think SheridanCat espouses this view) that PokerTracker is only a distraction for beginners.

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I might modify this a bit and say that PT isn't a distraction, but PAHUD (or similar heads up displays) might be. PAHUD can also be a crutch since you can see mucked cards and use the overlay to provide vpip/pfr/ag numbers. Too many see these numbers and think that they are the same as a 'read' on the player. They are not, but it could be easy to fall into that trap.

[Hoss1193]

Have been using PT for about 3 months, but I played for over a year before that. I do find it quite useful, but I'm not sure if it would have been just starting out.

The best thing about PT for developing one's own game is the ability to go back and review hands. If a noob were to exercise the discipline to ONLY use PT for reviewing play on specific hands, and ignore most of the stats, I think it could be a fantastic tool. Doing the opposite, however, by ignoring hand review and focusing on stats (with an insufficient number of hands in database), would (at best) be little value-added, or (at worst) lead you down the wrong path.

Same perspective on the PokerAce HUD.