Poker update time.
This month has pretty much sucked for me. I started out playing very differently to normal, and I definitely spewed a fair bit as a consequence. I don't mind this as I was trying to improve, and I can handle worse results if I think it's going to benefit me long-term. About a week into the month I decided to play a little more "standard", and then I started running pretty poorly. I'm certainly not going to whine about how bad I'm running or anything like that though - I'm definitely not playing as well as I was in January and February. Part of this is due to being away from home. My working environment is way below the standard I like it to be, and I've not been working on improving my game anywhere near as much as I normally do. Another factor in my poorer results is the fact that I've been playing 5/10 for almost four months now. What I mean by this is that the regulars will now have reads on me and be able to play better against me and exploit my weaknesses more. I've mentioned this to some people before, and I think it's something that people don't consider much. I always seem to "run hot" when I move up in limits. A big reason is because I'm an unknown and can get away with things. Once you've been at a limit for a while I think it's natural that you will start doing worse (unless you adjust your play well to what the regs will think they know about you). This is something I'll probably think about more when I get home as it's extremely important for me now I play good players day in day out.
Anyway, 3 days ago I was up around $12k for the month. Right now I'm down about $1.5k. I had a sick sick sick sick sick sick sickiskciksicksicskickcsickscisk 10/20 session yesterday. I've hardly played any 10/20 this month as I haven't felt on top of my game, and the games haven't been that great either. Yesterday the games on Stars were so soft that I couldn't resist. Unfortunately things didn't go my way (I actually had my worst day ever), but I made a lot of theoretical money so I'm fine with it! Funnily enough, Luke, Vanessa, and I had reservations at Prime (the Bellagio steakhouse). As I'd lost close to $10k that day I decided to fuck it and ordered the most expensive steak they had! It was the first time I'd ever had Kobe steak, and it really was delicious. It definitely wasn't worth what we paid, but whatever! We then sat out on their patio overlooking the fountains for coffee, dessert, and plenty of drinks! I was hammered by the end of the night (and paid for it today!).
Today I did something dirty. Really dirty. I'm not talking about what happened when I went to the toilet (although it was one of the worst experiences I can remember), but I'm talking about downloading and using Poker EV. Ugh. I want to preface this next section by saying that I absolutely detest people using this program and complaining about how bad they're running. Seriously, I hate it. Don't do it. Now, I do actually think it can be a useful tool, but most people don't use it properly. I don't know what the right way to use it is - but there must be one! I might look into it one day. Anyway, I used it for two reasons. One, I'm in the FT datamine on 2+2 this month and I'm doing shit. A couple of people made remarks about people on there being bad. Now I know it's 2+2 and this means nothing, but I feel like I've been a bit shit recently anyway, so it made me think about things more that it normally might. Secondly, Jason said that Nute recommended for him to download it and look at it. Anything that comes with the Nute seal of approval is fine by me. I was actually expecting to be around even on equity, which I was expecting to get depressed about. However, I actually am considerably under equity. I don't wish to talk about how much (because I think it's completely irrelevant). The reason I mention it is because my Equity Adjusted Winrate is 3BB/100. Now that makes me really happy as I think it's a good 5/10 winrate for playing six tables. I think this stat is pretty reliable - if anyone has reasons to think otherwise then AIM me or something to tell me why.
So looking at PokerEV gave me a bit of confidence that I am doing some things right! I also am looking forward to getting back into watching videos. I think I've only watched two in full since I've been away (March 1). At home, I normally watch one a day, and I actively watch them (meaning I take notes, or pause and think in depth about things). If you haven't already, you HAVE to watch the Raptor 5/10 one on CR. He's an amazingly good addition to the site. Also Deuces are putting some great vids out at the moment - check Foxwoods Fiend, DJ Sensei, and JFish. And I have to mention Leggo obviously because they're the best. Period.
This blog is becoming rather long, but whatever - it needed updating!
Another thing I want to mention is arrogance. I am a very confident person. I also say what I think. This sometimes makes me seem arrogant, but I am not arrogant in the slightest. Well, maybe a little! Anyway, I am good at poker. It's true. In fact, I'm probably very good at poker. I can say this because it's true and I know it. However, I am not the best 5/10 player on Full Tilt or Stars. I'm not even in the top 10. I'm probably not even in the top 20. Yet I will say this - I think I'll be beating 25/50 before most of these better players are. And this brings me onto the point I want to make. Too many poker players are too arrogant. They will either be stuck at the stakes they play forever, or they won't move up as quickly as they should do. Noone knows everything. Every single poker player in the whole world has leaks. The good ones work out what their leaks are and work to improve them, and while they're doing this they take steps to make sure they get exploited as little as possible. I know what is wrong with my game and I will take help from anyone to get better. There aren't enough players that do this. Too many people that play 5/10 would never take advice from a 1/2 player because they think they're too good to have to.
Yesterday Noel was sweating me and he told me to triple barrel bluff one hand (after I'd double barreled). I didn't and I spent the next five minutes justifying my play. I thought about it a lot later, and he was right. He was definitely correct. Noel is better than me at taking aggressive lines and pushing people around. Much better. It doesn't matter that he plays 2/4 and I play 5/10 - that part of his game is much better than mine. I'm disappointed that I tried to justify my play rather than listening to his explanation properly. I pride myself on not being that guy that's too arrogant to admit someone else is right or better than him. I think I've started slipping into thinking all the things I do are right, and I haven't been thinking about other lines or asking people for advice enough. Please make sure that you don't fall into this trap. Don't have too much pride/arrogance to move down, seek help, admit you're wrong, etc.
Ok, I think this is long enough now. Here are a few random thoughts to finish.
- The English version of The Office is so much better than the American one.
- Having a few really close friends is so much better than having a million acquaintances.
- I sweat too much to live in Vegas.
- Mountain Dew is easily the best fizzy drink in history.
Actually, I do have one more thing to say. Yesterday after I lost so much money I wasn't upset. I don't get mad at things like that. However, I was frustrated. Noone likes losing money whether they know that they played well or not. My way of cooling down after was to go and sit on Luke's patio, drink a beer, look out over the Luxor and Mandalay Bay, and listen to some music. I listened to this song around eight times. It's my favourite song ever. I love the lyrics and the message being sent. I'm going to put the lyrics underneath so you know what they are. I really love this song.
