Tweaking our games (a bit long)

[beachbum]

I'm writing this for myself first, but I think it's good advice in general for improving our games. In my opinion, the best way to become better poker players is to focus on constantly improving and gradually tweaking our games. I think wholesale, drastic changes do no good, and can start us on a downward spiral possibly damaging our bankrolls and confidence beyond repair.

As an example, my WtSD has always hovered around 30%. That's much lower than recommended on here, in and of itself. So what did I do, I started showing down a lot more hands, and guess what, all the wrong hands. Sure, my WtSD increased a couple points, but it put me on a huge downswing because most of my new showdowns were -EV. The downswing snowballed and put me on tilt which made things worse. All of this started because of incorrectly applying a leak plug.

So why is my WtSD too low? Well I also defend way too few times. I also steal a bit less than recommended on here. With these types of steal/defense situations, a lot of your showdowns will be thinner type check-calldowns or big street value bets. So, you're getting to showdown most likely HU with a hand that has marginal showdown value, like A7 UI or 4th pair, weak kicker for example, while still doing so with a small +EV edge.

Bottom line, I forced things. Now, that's not wrong in and of itself. Thinking outside the box, getting out of our comfort zone, all those buzzwords. But I went about it the wrong way.

Your poker results are much better when you're comfortable at the poker table. For me, comfortable = confident. The key is to look for leaks and plug them gradually. So, what should I have done? Well, realize that I need to showdown more hands. OK, I know. Then what? Every time I feel I didn't showdown a hand I should have, write it down, analyze it later, and even post it here. Do this as well with hands I did showdown that I feel I shouldn't have. Look to fix one hand at a time and not make a mass change. Stay comfortable and confident. Making gradual changes help me to stay in this mindset.

The 'UTG raising post' gave me the idea for this post. If the experts on here say it's better to raise A9o UTG rather than QTs, they're probably right or at least have many levels of thinking and years of experience in saying why this is so. But if I start changing the way I play several hands UTG, raising with some and folding others I currently raise, all at once it'll probably eff up my game. So, if I start raising A9o UTG the gun as a default now, I won't be comfortable or confident doing so, and will most likely misplay the hand post flop. I should look for opportunities to raise this hand, and when I find one, analyze the hand afterwards to see how well I played it and post it here as well.

Play your game, not anyone else's. Read their opinions, ideas, strategies, etc. and evaluate it with/against your own game. Challenge them. Look for ways to assimilate these things into your game if they can help you squeeze out more EV. Do so in a disciplined, methodical fashion and stay comfortable. Before too long, the areas that were once uncomfortable for us will be comfortable. That's why we play 6-max to begin with.

Excuse my rambling, just my 2 cents.


Chris

[Jdanz]

i agree to a large extent, poker is a lot like a golf swing, fixing one leak, almost invariable changes something else that was previously in equilibrium.

Much like in golf i believe you can get better by playing more optimally (swinging more optimally) or by practicing your current swing (style). I think to be the best player in either you have to do both, but by far the safer one in which you'll likely steadily improve is the latter. Regardless of your current style experience will showw you where to save/extract a bet or two here and there, and while not improving the "mechanics" of your game you improve your "execution".

I think both are valuable, but that changing the mechanics is very likely to throw you out of wack, and those who are willing to work VERY hard (just like golfers) are those most likely to benefit from these basic reorientations, where as amatuers (or people trying to grind out a profit rather then excell) would be more suited towards execution based learning.

What makes this process far more frustrating is that in golf, unlike poker, when you make a mechanical type of change and then start hitting golf balls the results converge with expectation at a much quicker rate.

BTW nice post.

[rory]

It's okay to lose when you are trying to get better-- that is part of getting better. When you change something, it will be new. And when things are new, it will be strange and unfamiliar. And in the strange and unfamiliar you will make mistakes. With time, the strange and unfamilar will become familiar and will become comfortable. And then you will make less mistakes. And then you will be better. Just tell yourself "I am experimenting now. And it is okay for me to lose now." Take notes when you play. Be more diligent about reviewing hands, posting hands, talking about hands, thinking about hands.

I advocate completely changing your style of play. I like to work out something crazy beforehand and then implement it one day. I've played like a complete maniac, preflop and postflop. I've played insanely tight. I've defended my blinds with all but the worst hands and also folded my blinds with all but the best hands. I've raised UTG with garbage. I've 3-bet the same person every time they raised just to see what would happen. I've tried Barry Greenstein's mini-buyin theory. I've tried posting behind. I've tried not posting behind. I've tried auto-3-betting every button open raise from the small blind. I've tried never bluffing to see what would happen. I've tried never semi-bluffing to see what would happen. I've capped the turn over and over with ace high. I've 4-bet bluff the river repeatedly. There are a lot of things I haven't even thought of yet that one day I will try. But in trying all of those things I learned.

I also advocate just slightly changing your play. Easing into things. Learning to play some hands and adding some. I guess both methods are valid. Sometimes I just want to get in there and try something absolutely stupid and crazy for a while just to see what happens. I think it has made me a much better player, to be willing to experiment. Maybe a less wealthy player though.

[ArturiusX]

Being a business man/economist by education, incrementalism is by far the best way to implement changes... Applies to the business world, sports, and also our humble poker game.

Incrementalism involves taking an aspect, and trying to change it, slowly working till all facets are fixed. Dont try and fix all your game at once, pick a section, start toodling, then move onto the next.

[beachbum]

I was gonna use the golf swing analogy, but I figured the post was long enough already. NH.

Also, one of my favorite sports metaphors for poker is: "Focus on the mechanics of the swing, not the results of the at-bat."

[Alex/Mugaaz]

The only reason incrementalism is correct is because there is no positive difference between changing from correctly doint it the wrong way, to doing it incorrectly the right way. This isn't just semantics. Unless you are taling PF hand selection it's virtually impossible to fix a problem in poker when you are consistently making it yet don't understand why.