On progression: Using your whole poker brain.

[Blindcurve]

I just bubbled out of the first home tourney that I've played in several weeks. Home tournaments, with players who are not necessarily as hardcore as 2+2ers, pose interesting situations that require different thought processes at the table. My bustout hand reminded me of the differences between home and online poker. It also brought to mind a question to pose to the forum.

Someone said that if we don't pay attention to history we are doomed to repeat it. I know that I am one of those types of people who has to make the same mistake several times before I learn to avoid it. My question is: How do you retain your awareness of the mistakes you've made in the past, so you avoid them in the future. I can't remember where I read that most players have access to something like 2 or 3 pages of poker knowledge, but "pros" or "experts" have access to 30+- something to that effect. Well, I want access to more pages- preferably with a table of contents and a well constructed index.

The hand that tipped off this thinking ran as follows:

3 players left. Blinds are 200/400. 20 minute blinds.
Button: 5000
Blindcurve in the SB: 3200
Chip leader (BB): 5800

Button limps in. I have 66. Citing the 10xbb rule to myself, I move in.

My image is that I'm a strong player. I have been making all-in moves exclusively since the beginning of the 75/150 round when I had 1300. I eventually doubled up by getting lucky with a K9 and catching trips on the river. I have not shown a hand down weaker than A5, but I've moved in at least once a round for the last 40 minutes. Recently, my A5 ran into 99 in the BB, which is why the chip stacks are where they are.

BB folds, Button calls and shows ATo, T on the turn, game over, man.

That's well and good. I did the prescribed play with my chip stack and lost a race, missing the money. I didn't really feel bad about how that hand went. I asked myself, however, if I made the best play and I think I did not.

My reasoning is thus: As long as I was in the game, the other two stacks were vying to outlast each other. This was the feeling at the table. After bluffing 40% of my stack away in the first round, I had been playing solid, value bet poker. (It took me about 20 minutes to remember I had to be very careful and obvious about my deception: Can't fold TPWK by representing a caught straight on the river. Can fold second pair by betting OESD and representing top pair. Wish I'd have remembered before I dropped the 800...)

I had been applying constant pressure on these gentlemen to pick up a hand. If they didn't feel extremely confident about their holdings, they were letting them go. By extension, they had stopped limping and were giving me walkovers in the BB, because it was very possible I was going to move in on them. Part of the equity of moving in with 66 should have been first in vig. Here, I'm not first in, and that changes the scenario a bit. I think some of you are going to say that moving in here was still the right play, but I disagree. I'm in a nearly perfect situation where I can steal huge blinds largely unchallenged, and force the other two stacks to play against each other. Here, the button has limped and may have a hand he's willing to call with. I don't think I should have given up the advantage of pushing unopened pots later by pushing into the button limp. I have no problem losing the minimum amount of chips on a bad flop, and pushing the next hand with first-in vig. I don't need to race the limper.

In the heat of play, I didn't reason this far- I didn't recognize the situation that I was in. I'd been in it before, I just forgot what it looked like. I was operating only on the 10xBB push idea, which is more appropriate for the games I play online, where I have less information to work with. And it was working. But, I feel, here I needed to deviate from that strategy. I knew there was a better way, somewhere in my head, but I was unable to access it. Which led me to my question.

What do you (the forum) do to remember your mistakes and help yourselves play using the full breadth of your experience and learning?

FOITNOF,

-D.

[AtticusFinch]

This short-handed I'm pushing 66 1000% of the time, in-person or not. Are you sure you're not just thinking based on results?

[tshak]

I'd have to see my blinds folded to me at least 60% of the time before I'd fold 66 here.

[Blindcurve]

[ QUOTE ]
This short-handed I'm pushing 66 1000% of the time, in-person or not. Are you sure you're not just thinking based on results?

[/ QUOTE ]

No, I'm not sure. I'm pretty sure if I'd won, I wouldn't have thought about the situation like this.

I don't think "results-oriented" thinking invalidates the actual question I posed, which was how do you learn. I was hoping for a dialogue, not a solution. Perhaps there is an answer and it is uninteresting and self-evident. That's ok.

Incidentally, I started a journal. I find that I do things against my better judgement in my day to day operations, as well as in poker. I'm hoping staying more aware of my missteps, through writing, will help. Maybe I'll start putting poker hands in it.


-D.

[ QUOTE ]
Incidentally, I started a journal.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is actually what most pros do. I remember Greg Raymer referring to his notebook of player notes and whatnot that must be volumes thick by now. He stated that his note taking process began as soon as he got back from a tournament and he would write down every detail he could recall. Writing down your thoughts definitely helps to reinforce them - plus when you can't seem to recall those tidbits months later you can refer back to your journal.