Is it time for you to improve your game?

[deacsoft]

Ladies and gentleman of twoplustwo.com,
Today may be the day to start thinking about taking your game up a notch. During the last couple months I’ve greatly reduced the number of my posts and have been trying to focus on just reading threads and improving my game. I’ve also been trying to get an overall feel for the way many of you play and for how many of you think. The conclusion I’ve come to is that I feel some of you should be thinking on a higher level. What I mean by that is this…
Some of you seem to have been playing beyond the level that you’re trying to think at. Your basic skills, knowledge, and feel for the game are all there. However, the thought being put into each hand that is played and posted for comments and advice is typically mechanical. Don’t get me wrong here. You’re making good decisions based on player notes and stats, pot odds, position, etc, etc. The thing that may be holding you back from taking it to the next level is that you’re simply playing your hand and not putting much thought in to the holding of your opponent(s) and, in turn, what your opponents are putting you on.
By getting so wrapped up in the fundamentals of the game some of you that are ready to up your play are simply going through the motions. Your play is becoming robotic. For some of you this is a winning formula. For others, it’s still something that can be approved upon. For even fewer, this may be a dead end for your game. It’s my opinion that adding what you think your opponent may have and what you think your opponent may think you have to your posts can help you to advance your game. It can help open your mind to a deeper aspect of thought in poker.
Many of today’s most famous and successful professionals and authors would agree that there are many levels of though in poker. Many would also agree that the level of though is commonly correlated to the skill level and success of a player. The levels of thought can be broke down like this…

Level 1: Thinking about what you have.
Level 2: Previous Level + Thinking about what your opponent has.
Level 3: Previous Levels + Thinking about what your opponent thinks you have.
Level 4: Previous Levels + Thinking about what your opponent thinks you think they have.
…And so on.

For many of you Level 1 is where you need to be. You’re learning the game and that’s fine. You already have a huge head start on the majority of today’s new players just by being a part of this forum and making the most of your time spent here. Therefore, there’s no need for you to rush. For others, it’s time to go to Level 2 or 3. And yes. Much of the information for thinking at more advanced levels can mainly be obtained through player notes and stats. Yet, the vast majority of the hands posted for review contain little to no thoughts as to what the opponent has and so on. It seems that the importances of these factors are being overlooked by many of you who are ready and capable of thinking on a higher level.
For example, you have a set before the river and there is a three flush on the board. You tight opponent has cold called your pre-flop raise, called your flop bet, and then called your turn bet. (It was heads up going into the flop, the blinds folded, and you’re playing limit hold’em) The rive falls to put a four flush on the board. You know you have a set (you’re thinking about your hand). What does your opponent have? Four to a flush? Two Pair? A flush? What are you putting him/her on? This will help to determine your move. What does your opponent think you have? Does he/she think you have a flush or so on? What you have, what you think they have, and what you think they think you have should all be large factors in the equation that will calculate your next move.
In closing, adding these thoughts and how you came to them to hands you post could help you progress up the thinking ladder of poker. It will serve as a constant reminder every hand you play to be thinking. It may also aid those who are trying to go from level 1 to 2, or 2 to 3 because they are able to see how others come to the conclusions they do in regards to the levels of thinking. When done logically it can do nothing but improve your game and the way you think about poker over time. Your reading skills will improve and your game will follow. This could turn a decent player in to a good player, and a good player in to a great player. Is it time for you to take your game to the next level?


Cheers,

deacsoft

Nice post.

I currently am able to play on level 2 but I am only a small stakes player who started 3 months ago.

I find a lot of what you say applies to me. I am totally robotic while 5-6 tabling and I hardly think anymore. The only time I will stop and think is when my opponent's betting pattern doesn't make sense, or I am put into a tough decision by my opponent, which is like once every 10-20 minutes after a few hundred hands.

At these stakes I rarely make a mistake. It's hard for the small stakes players to even bluff me because they bluff scared, or they don't pay attention to how they played out their own hand. Nor do they pay attention to how their image is on the table.

Im not sure if it is time to increase it to level 3 yet. I do not think about what my opponent thinks I have, because most of the time with small stakes, they are still playing level 1.

[duk]

[ QUOTE ]


At these stakes I rarely make a mistake.

[/ QUOTE ]


This brings up another interesting point. A large part of improving your play is recognizing your mistakes and thinking about them. I (and I would guess 99% of players) make mistakes ALL THE TIME. I only wish I were better at seeing them and working on them. I think the more we work to find our mistakes the better we get.

[Simplistic]

nice post.

I play smallstakes NLHE or PLO. some tourneys too. if I decide to run a bluff or get deceptive, the key point that people say is "does it make sense" so in that sense you're thinking abouut what your opponent will think you have, but I haven't been able to expand that to other parts of my game, I'll usually play straight up poker, betting my hand etc. and that is definitely something I can work on.

[MicroBob]

I believe Barry Greenstein has said (either in his book...or in one of his pokerstars webcasts) that he has never played a session in which he hasn't made SEVERAL mistakes.
Something like that anyway.


Anyone who thinks they are playing mistake-free poker has so much to learn about the game it isn't even funny.


I think that in EVERYONE'S case there are hands where afterward you can think "hmmmm.....I wonder if a check-raise there would have been better than betting out. Yeah, I]think in that situation it was probably worth attempting."


etc etc etc.

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]


At these stakes I rarely make a mistake.

[/ QUOTE ]


This brings up another interesting point. A large part of improving your play is recognizing your mistakes and thinking about them. I (and I would guess 99% of players) make mistakes ALL THE TIME. I only wish I were better at seeing them and working on them. I think the more we work to find our mistakes the better we get.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good point.

I guess my mistakes are mis-oppurtunities. Or plays I could use to increase my profits.

What I meant about mistakes is that it's hard for me to be outplayed at these limits and lose an entire stack. What im saying is that I don't make huge mistakes, although I still make small ones here and there.

I guess I still do many mistakes, good point.

I keep my own personal blog where I reflect upon crucial plays I made so I am still analyzing my game everyday.

[deacsoft]

[ QUOTE ]
...because most of the time with small stakes, they are still playing level 1.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a good point, and is something I could have included in the OP. Thinking beyond level 2 is something that will be of more importance when playing against other players of skill.

And yes. Players who are still playing poker at an "entry level" should be thinking about the basics. Finding leaks and correcting them is something that a player should be doing from day one. It is something that will benefit them as long as they are playing poker. Plugging leaks is not something only for beginners. It is something that should be done by every player, regardless of skill level, every time they play.

[La Brujita]

I second guess or at least reconsider almost every difficult decision I make. Not in a beat myself up kind of way, but in a did I put too few or too many bets in and why kind of way.

[jba]

hey I just remembered you owe me $20

[img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]



Seriously though: terrific post, you make some great points. As you move up in this game, it becomes increasingly important to advance your game from "raise flop" to actually outthinking and outplaying your opponents.



(totally kidding about the jackson btw)