Taking my limit Hold'em game to the next level and beyond

[Lash]

Taking my limit Hold’em game to the next level and beyond

I’m going to start by saying that for me, the toughest part of learning how to play profitable poker is staying focused. I’m not talking about in-game focus. I’m talking about staying focused on what really matters when it comes to strategy adjustments and prioritizing your own personal approach to the game. There is so much useful information out there. Where do you start, what information is most valuable, what information is wrong/misleading? There is no doubt in my mind that I’m capable of comprehending concepts that even the strongest poker players use in situations, as well as their general approach to the game. So now what?

I’ve decided to start by holding myself more accountable. Why am I not using poker tracker religiously (waiting on new reg. Key btw!?)? How can I put my Ego in check? I’m finally beginning to stop playing limits that I’m not comfortable with. I’m starting to avoid playing inebriated or tired. There is no doubt in my mind that I’m a winning player. The scariest part is… THIS IS NOT EVEN CLOSE TO ENOUGH.

So now I look to study TOP inside out while playing semi-short games on-line. I plan on studying chapter by chapter. Eventually I will apply the concepts to my game as I understand them and realize their value.

Am I on the right path, or should I give up on my dreams of making poker my primary source of income?

You are creating many expectations. How do you know you are going to be a succesful player? You not only need discipline, ego, and books. You need a lot more qualities that I cannot count in here. In my opinion, you should try but be cautious and dont set unrealistic goals. Take a step at a time.

[xxx]

Why is there no doubt in your mind you are a winning player?

[RiverDood]

Making poker into your main source of income involves a lot more than just being an excellent player.

You need to be totally comfortable with the idea that some weeks you will lose money. This does not happen in the civilian world. Whether you are flipping burgers or performing open-heart surgery at the Mayo Clinic, you are getting paid every week.

A lot of aspiring pro players do not handle this well. They refuse to believe that they can be short-term losers. They get used to their winning pace when things are going well . . . and then they start making reckless decisions about playing longer hours, multitabling, moving up levels, etc. to try to patch the hole of a temporary loss. This ends only when they go broke.

Can you live with going broke a few times? How messed up would your life/finances be if your entire poker bankroll ran down to zero? What would you do to build it back?

Remember that Greg Raymer paid the bills for a lot of years by being a drug-company lawyer. He may have had months where he made a lot more money (or lost a lot) playing poker, but he kept the stability of a day job until he was way beyond fearing that some bozo hitting a two-outer on the river would impair his ability to pay next month's rent.

If you can stomach a day job, you've got a lot more flexibility to develop your poker game at lower risk to your general livelihood and sanity.

[Lash]

[ QUOTE ]
Why is there no doubt in your mind you are a winning player?

[/ QUOTE ]

Because there is no doubt in "my" mind. I've made enough over the last two years to convince myself that if I dedicate more time and thought to the game I could potentially live comfortably off of it without losing my mind.

I may not be able to give an accurate number (profit) , but I'm working on that leak - record keeping -

[xxx]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
Why is there no doubt in your mind you are a winning player?

[/ QUOTE ]

Because there is no doubt in "my" mind. I've made enough over the last two years to convince myself that if I dedicate more time and thought to the game I could potentially live comfortably off of it without losing my mind.

I may not be able to give an accurate number (profit) , but I'm working on that leak - record keeping -

[/ QUOTE ]

OK.

The reason I asked is that sometime in the future, you will have a bad run (just part of the game). At this point, you will wonder if you have lost it. Then you may wonder if you ever had it. If you are winning player, you want more than a "gut feeling" when that time comes.

[Lash]

xxx-

That makes sense to me, and I've already felt that way many times before (laying in bed - can't sleep etc.) I'm sure it can get much worse... Yet I feel more equipped to handle it than ever before.

Not only that... I'm a force to be reckoned with!
[img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img] JUST KIDDING [img]/images/graemlins/tongue.gif[/img]

Thanks for responding and giving me a little insight here.

Coming from someone who made the jump too early. I can tell you that you are about to make that same mistake. I was banking money left and right for months before I quit my job to play poker full-time. I had the right attitude, bad beats rolled off me like they never existed.

Here's something I wish someone told me before I jumped too early. "When poker becomes your only source of income, that attitude can change real fast." Bad beats suddenly were followed by a little sting. And when the bad run comes, all those stings can break a rock.

Here are some tips:

While you're studying, don't play poker. Or if you do, play very small limits that won't hurt if you lose. If you can't help yourself and have to play bigger stakes, you might not be ready to goto that next level.

Put Barry Greenstein's book on the top of your study list.

Remember that being a winning poker player is all about how you handle the bad beats and the losing streaks. Any monkey can win when all the cards are coming your way.

Hope this was helpful. And if this is really what you want to do, no one is going to be able to stop you. So I'm not gonna say don't jump. Just be ready for what's ahead.

[Lash]

Machinehead,

Thanks for your tips / advice...

I am holding a part time job working two days a week dealing. Thing is... I HATE IT. I hate it more than the thought of being broke.

However... I intend on keeping it until I've built a bigger bankroll and understanding of the game. It's just really hard to work there and give 100% when my heart is not in it, and my brain is thinking about poker strategy... not my pitch. Consequently... I'm not a very good dealer, better than average, but not as good as I could be.

I plan on re-reading TOP or starting SSHE a single chapter at a time either before / after / or during breaks in my sessions.

I have BG's book and will read that soon

Thanks

Being a dealer might be why you do so much better playing live than online. You probably hate your job because you sit there wishing you were playing instead of dealing. Instead you should look at it like a studying course. Look for tells and patterns in people. A lot of great players have been dealers before they were fulltime players. They say they used that time to read people.

Try this, get Mike Caro's Book of Poker Tells if you don't already have it. It's all about physical tells people give off at the table. Try to pick up on them while you're dealing. If anything, it'll make your job more bareable and you won't be thinking about how bad your back hurts.

Speaking of which, it sounds like you should give up online poker and just play live. I personally would choose live over online any day of the week. Nothing like actually staring someone down when you have a tough decision.