What I hate about Poker

[QTip]

I'm just getting started reading "Inside the Poker Mind". This seems like it's going to be an absolutely awesome book, and I'm only on page 29.

Anyway, here's a quote that I read from page 4 that really hit home with me, and I think it will with others here as well.

"It is remarkable how often fairly good players make silly plays when they should know better. I think sometimes this is because despite being decent players, they lack a solid grounding in poker theory. They are therefore able to rationalize doing things that a better informed player would know were without doubt costly."

Here's what I hate about poker:

If your results are good, here are the possibilities:

1. You're just running well.

2. You're just playing with worse players than you are.

3. You're making proper decisions because you just happened to choose the right play but really don't understand the proper reason why that was the right play.

4. There's a remote chance you have some skill, but you're probably overating your ability.


If your results are poor, here are the possibilities:

1. You suck.

[istewart]

Pwned by Feeney. Great book, yes.

[cmwck]

Awesome, can't wait for my copy to come in the mail.

I must really suck at poker, as I've made no money since coming to 2/4. In fact, I'm down 26 BB after 2,419 hands.

[DMBFan23]

it's certainly much harder to be good and know that you're good than it is to

1) suck, but think you're good
2) be good and not know why

I can imagine this would be annoying for someone paying the bills with poker

[Fat Nicky]

thanks for ruining my tuesday morning.

[QTip]

The one thing that has encouraged me within this last month is the following:

(This is in my carpal tunnel dissertation draft as well, but I'm not there yet, so can't post it and it's still a draft - That's right Justin! There WILL be a carpal tunnel disertation, and you WILL think it's stupid.)

I'm getting good enough now to recognize that I'm not that good, and that's encouraging in some wierd way.

[Garbonzo]

[ QUOTE ]
I'm just getting started reading "Inside the Poker Mind". This seems like it's going to be an absolutely awesome book, and I'm only on page 29.

Anyway, here's a quote that I read from page 4 that really hit home with me, and I think it will with others here as well.

"It is remarkable how often fairly good players make silly plays when they should know better. I think sometimes this is because despite being decent players, they lack a solid grounding in poker theory. They are therefore able to rationalize doing things that a better informed player would know were without doubt costly."

Here's what I hate about poker:

If your results are good, here are the possibilities:

1. You're just running well.

2. You're just playing with worse players than you are.

3. You're making proper decisions because you just happened to choose the right play but really don't understand the proper reason why that was the right play.

4. There's a remote chance you have some skill, but you're probably overating your ability.


If your results are poor, here are the possibilities:

1. You suck.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is a fantastic book, with material generally untouched by the majority of poker literature. Anyone who has not read it should run out and get it.

Clarkmeister, who happens to be my one of my favorite posters, (who sadly seems to be AWAOL, though he's probably posting about fantasy baseball somewhere...) put it on his list of top 3 poker poker books.....which is quite a strong endorsement.

And thank you for posting this because it reminded me that I need to re-read it...

[chief444]

I hate poker too. But since I can't seem to make any money playing golf....

So can we expect more depressing posts like this after you read the next 29 pages? How many books do you have left to read? [img]/images/graemlins/grin.gif[/img]

[wildwood]

Winning and losing streaks absolutely have to happen, otherwise the martingale players would own the casinos especially in craps and blackjack. Generally speaking, I think poker players want action or profit. In general, those that want action don't make much long term profit, and those that want profit don't get much long term action. I think silly plays at the poker table are often a result of boredom (lack of patience and a desire for some action). Ed Seykota (a brilliant successful trader) has said "everyone gets what they want out of the markets" some people win by losing...I think it's true in poker as well. in my humble opinion

[QTip]

Get this:

Feeney:

"The 'boredom' excuse makes little sense. When you are not in the hand, there is more information available to you then you could possibly hope to absorb. If you are not going to attend to it, you might as well fight your boredom by reading a newspaper. It will cost you, but not as much as playing silly hands."

I loved it.