Gigabet article - labels - winners, losers, good bad
We call bad players fish, bad, awful, loose, tight, nit, weak-tight, etc. It's a bad way of thinking. Most logical thinking is free of judgement.
Change your perspective. Step out of your shoes and into theirs. Don't think "they play loose," think "why do they play loose? How must they think about the game in order to play the way they do?"
Saying that a player does not think beyond his own cards is wrong. If there are four cards to a straight on board, you raise, and he doesn't have the straight, you better believe he's thinking about your hand. The difference is that we think deeper. But too many times we do the same things that we tend to use to judge bad players when we judge them in some way. We say they are "loose" but go no deeper. We label them a "nit" and leave it at that. We call them "weak-tight" and adjust our play from that simple label. We rarely think deeper. We think about what he is thinking about the hand, but we don't stop to think about what he is thinking about the game. How does he think the game is best played? How must he think about poker in order to play the way he does? "Loose" is just a label that does a poor job of describing the perspective a player has in how to play poker. There are so many other intricate details about a player's perspective that go unnoticed when applying a label to him, and it leads to mistakes or sub-optimal play against them.
We all look at reality through rose-colored lenses. Our thoughts and opinions are all biased based on our lives up to this point. Poker is not a game of cards, but a game of players - of perspectives. Sitting at a full-ring table is nine different perspectives of how to play poker. Some may be more similar than others, but they are all different from our own. We are too quick to judge a player looking through our own rose-colored lenses. If we see something differently than they see it, we think they are seeing it wrong. "THIS is how you should see it" we might think. "You should never have called that bet with such a weak hand!" This is what leads us to label people as "good" players or "bad" players, "loose" players or "tight" players. The truth is, they may not play the game as optimally as you do if you both have the same goals. But that line of thought does not help us to find the way to adjust most optimally to them. It stops us from thinking more deeply about how they see the game. We label them "loose-bad" and move on, using that information to make generalizations to adjust to them.
We could adjust far better and precisely by simply asking "Why does he play loose?", "Why does he call PSB's with all draws?", "Why did he call my raise with A3o?" Normally, we see something like this happen and happily note "loose - calls with weak hands - valuetown" etc. These notes and thoughts about a player help, but they help as much as doing shallow 2nd level thinking about a player's hand. We could derive so much more information just by taking a moment not to judge them, not to look at them through our own rose-colored glasses - our own perspective on the correct way to play - but instead see the game through their lenses, their perspective, and forget our own for a moment. We can figure out how a player must think about the game in order to play the way he does. From that we can infer how he will react to things we might do even though we haven't see it yet. We can adjust our play, our lines, our bet sizes, everything optimally from just not labeling a player and instead taking a moment to sit behind his colored lenses.
The first time I really understood this (not just read it, said "that's true", but REALLY understood it) was at a small home game that has went on every week for the last few years. I had started back playing in it for fun, having taken about a year off. In that span, I'd learned a lot of things about poker, corrected a lot of mistakes, knew the online poker lingo, knew what the labels were, knew what to do when I identified a nit/station/maniac, etc. I felt that I was a "good" player and my perspective was correct. I knew I had a plethora of mistakes and leaks to continue to fix, but I knew certain things to be correct or incorrect, and could quickly identify a "bad" player and adjust appropriately. I thought of all the other player's as 1st level thinkers. "They mostly only think about their own hands. They do little thinking about other player's hands and only shallow thinking at best." What I didn't realize was that I was doing the same thing, only about players and not hands. My thinking about them was as shallow as a lable and a handful of details. I was thinking about what hands they could have to make the plays that they made, but I was not thinking about what kind of perspective they could have to approach the game they way they played. This is a fundamental mistake.
My thinking about the game at the time was that all the players were very "loose." They saw the flop 80% of the time, called raises with very weak hands, and generally did not think about anything but their own hand. Easy game. They way I could adjust preflop with strong hands is to raise bigger and bigger as long as I was getting calls. I thought I was adjusting optimally, getting max value.
But some things always confused me a little. I was by far the tightest player in the game and everyone was aware of that. Even so, I would raise to 15x the bb and there would be commentary around the table as to what hand I had.
"He must have Aces or Kings." ...and then he'd call with Q7.
"Nah, he's got AK." ...and then he'd call with AT
"I think he as Queens." ...and then he'd call with QJs
I'd get 5 or 6 callers and tons of value! I would explain this with "they are just thinking about their own hand." Except it was completely obvious that they were thinking about my hand from the table talk.
I'd explain it with "They are calling because of implied odds, since they know I have a big hand" except they not only didn't know what implied odds were, they just didn't think that way. I would frequently get questioned about how on earth I could call one of their 15x raises with 44 if it was clear the guy had AA/KK. I just never saw or heard any evidence to support that most of the regular players thought this way.
I'd explain it as "They are just gambling and having fun." Certainly that is partly true. But occasionally I didn't get 6 callers. I'd only get 1 or 0 callers. I'd seen some of the junk they called with before, they're standards were pretty low for calling that size of a raise.
So what was it? What factor am I missing? Is it some combination of these? "They are loose players, that explains why they call. But it doesn't explain why they sometimes fold hands better than ones they had called with before." Why aren't loose players consistently doing what loose players do?
The answer came to me one night during the game. I opened to my standard 15xbb. The table talk immediately started as always. One young player sitting 2 to my left, who never failed to bring his sunglasses to the nightly game, stood up and said:
"WHY WOULD YOU EVER RAISE THAT MUCH?!?! You will never get called!!!!"
I replied, "Watch."
The older gentleman to my direct left called. Then something funny happened. The guy who had just stood up and made all that noise, the one who proclaimed that I would never get called.......called!
"WHAT!" , I said. "You just said thatI would never get called. And then YOU called! That doesn't even make sense."
The whole table started laughing, including the guy we are talking about. He then said with a big smile "I know, but now I have pot odds." He latter showed down A6 offsuit.
We had a good time from that, but I didn't forget it and later spent some time really thinking about what had happened. I realized that I had found my answer to why sometimes they all call and other times they will fold the same or better hands. Pot odds! Here I could have simply thought "They are bad players, they don't understand pot odds, pretty obvious, nothing I didn't already know," and left it at that. That would have been a costly mistake. Instead, because the funny situation that had come up, I was curious enough to actually thinking about the "why" and not just the "what". I realized that their understanding of the concept of pot odds only went as far as meaning "the pot is big." I realized that they liked to see flops and wanted reasons to call. "Pot odds" was a good excuse. I saw the pain they expressed when they would have flopped the nuts with 52o in a large pot and showed their mucked cards to the table afterwards, thinking "If only I had called." Crying pot odds and calling was a way for them to avoid this and to justify a call.
The sunglasses wearing player had given me great insight into how he thinks about the game. He allowed me to look through his perspective on the right way to play poker. Whether it was good thinking or bad thinking was not important. What was important was knowing how he thought about the game, which would allow me to make far more optimal plays against him and the rest of the players who thought in similar ways. The very first adjustment I made from then on out in that weekly game was re-adjusting my bet sizes. Rather than raise to 15x just because they were "loose" players, I also factored in who was on my left. If the loosest players in the game were on my side of the table (and there are some that would call 15x cold with 40-50% of hands), then I would raise even more than before. I knew that if at least one called, and there was a good chance of that, then it would start a cascade. If another player called, it was even more likely for the next to call. Even if I open-raised to 20xbb, the last few players would call with almost any hand they had if there were callers before them. I was opening AA to 20xbb and getting calls from J5s.
I had been stuck judging players behind my own rose-colored lenses. Having the opportunity to see what they see gave me a far better idea of how to adjust to them than any lable could have. The result is that I got far more value from my starting hands. I could make more precise adjustments to my opening raise size rather than just opening big because they were "loose" and moving up or down based on the average number of callers. The old way was an easy way to think, a convenience, a shortcut, a mental hotkey, a word to associate with a strategy. But it was lazy. It was imprecise. It was costing me money.
Now I work everyday to avoid being lazy by just using labels. It's habit that is deep-rooted. It's a habit that we should all try to avoid or at least minimize. It makes us lazy. We label based on our perspective; by what we think the correct way to play is, and then we use that lable to adjust. But we only scratch the surface of layers upon layers of a player's game and his psychology. We should stop to think away from the game about how our opponents are thinking about poker. Not just that they "go too far with TP", "slowplay too much", "bluffs often", "is aggressive", not just on what we think they are doing right or doing wrong, but how the game must look through their eyes in order to play the way that they do. If we can understand them on that level, if we can know what they must be seeing and thinking through their own perspective and not just through our own rose-colored lenses, then we can adapt and adjust on a whole new level.
What's been happening:
More research on Sleep/Diet/Exercise to improve mental clarity and play at peak more often and for longer. Mainly sleep this week. I have a stack of papers to sort through, understand, and pick out the pieces that will help. I already know there is a LOT of improvement that can be made in this area.
Those 3 things look to be the 3 pillars of good physical and mental health and something I'm very interested in for the high stress, long hours, thought/memory intesive profession that I'm in. I'll try to blog more on findings, things to change, ways to implement etc. when I can. One thing that I think will be very helpful is synching my sessions with circadian rhythm peaks. It would be nice if that aligned with high traffic times. So far, online reports say online traffic peaks at either 2 or 4p.m. ET. Unfortanately, 2p.m. is typically a circadian rhythm dip. Well, I'll figure it out. I also want to start incorporating power naps between sessions to improve awareness. More on all this later.
Didn't get to read more on economic theory applications to poker, but it's on the agenda.
Tonight is Alan's game. Robin is coming to it tonight. No specific plans which is my fault. I definitely could have spent a couple hours thinking about it rather than watching Sopranos episodes. I definitely want to incorporate some preflop 3betting/squeezing at some point, not so much to balance my range (doesn't matter vs them), but to pick up a TON of preflop dead money. They will also think that because I am so aggressive pre-flop with some bluffs, that'll I'll be bluffing just as much post-flop, which will not be the case at all. Not tonight though. Just going to play, try to focus on each hand, play well, and enjoy the evening.
Tomarrow, I will be definitely getting in some hands and starting rakeback. It's nose to the grindstone time.
More research on Sleep/Diet/Exercise to improve mental clarity and play at peak more often and for longer. Mainly sleep this week. I have a stack of papers to sort through, understand, and pick out the pieces that will help. I already know there is a LOT of improvement that can be made in this area.
Those 3 things look to be the 3 pillars of good physical and mental health and something I'm very interested in for the high stress, long hours, thought/memory intesive profession that I'm in. I'll try to blog more on findings, things to change, ways to implement etc. when I can. One thing that I think will be very helpful is synching my sessions with circadian rhythm peaks. It would be nice if that aligned with high traffic times. So far, online reports say online traffic peaks at either 2 or 4p.m. ET. Unfortanately, 2p.m. is typically a circadian rhythm dip. Well, I'll figure it out. I also want to start incorporating power naps between sessions to improve awareness. More on all this later.
Didn't get to read more on economic theory applications to poker, but it's on the agenda.
Tonight is Alan's game. Robin is coming to it tonight. No specific plans which is my fault. I definitely could have spent a couple hours thinking about it rather than watching Sopranos episodes. I definitely want to incorporate some preflop 3betting/squeezing at some point, not so much to balance my range (doesn't matter vs them), but to pick up a TON of preflop dead money. They will also think that because I am so aggressive pre-flop with some bluffs, that'll I'll be bluffing just as much post-flop, which will not be the case at all. Not tonight though. Just going to play, try to focus on each hand, play well, and enjoy the evening.
Tomarrow, I will be definitely getting in some hands and starting rakeback. It's nose to the grindstone time.
Researching ways for a better diet, one that keeps energy levels high and even throughout the day (and balancing blood-sugar levels) as well as fighting mental decline through age. Also wandered from that into sleep, ways to get the best sleep, best amount of sleep, power naps for renewed focus and clarity, sleep cycles, circadian rhythm, etc. Found out some interesting things that promote sleep such as core body temperature and more on the obvious importance of sleep for mental clarity, focus, and energy levels throughout the day. Some on exercise, especially pertaining to energy levels, stress reduction, and better sleep. Diet, exercise, sleep look to be my initial core elements to maintaining strong mental health, reduced stress, and operating a peak performance for larger amounts of time.
Quote of the Day
"Being wrong is erroneously associated with failure, when in fact, being proven wrong should be celebrated, for it is elevating someone to a new level of understanding, elevating awareness."
Zeitgeist Addendum
Zeitgeist Addendum
State of the Game
So much going on right now. I'm hitting the "books" again - watching videos, reviewing notes, etc. I've set up a daily study routine that consists of:
I've set up a file system a la GTD for poker for "projects" and I think that will help me keep things just as organized as it has my life over the last year. The best thing of all is that having everything so well organized allows me to stop thinking about it, knowing it will be taken care of and not lost or forgotten, and focus on what I'm working on.
Currently, the projects are Diet, Exercise, and Sleep. Each week I will contribute something to each of these as long as they are still projects. As my study continues, I can add deliberate practice projects such as Math, 3betting, playing deep, playing live, etc.
I've also been reading the things on neuroeconomics. It's so fascinating how poker is connected to everything. It's just a game played with cards. No, it's a game of people, politics, and psychology. The psychology part alone is universal. At first you just think it's a game played with cards and chips. Then you realize there's some strategy behind it; it's not all luck. Then you realize there's actually math behind it. You can actually prove plays are correct mathematically and infer the amount you will win long-term, regardless of short-term results. For many, it stops here. Oh no, this rabbit hole goes much deeper.
Neuroeconomics, and the prospect theory in particular, explains a naturally occurring lapse in logic people experience when facing loss or gain. It isn't specifically meant for poker, but all the basics are there. And that is why poker is universal. The chips and cards are just tools, just objects, not really all that relevant. The core is the person, and that is why these studies that may have originally come from stock market studies, or sports psychology, or evolutionary tendencies-they can be applied to poker. It's a game about people.
Anyways, doing just some initial reading has given me insight on why I'm sometimes to careful or nervous before playing or getting involved in a hand. Why I sometimes lack confidence even though my results and all my logic tell me different. It's not and instant-fix, but the first step is understanding the problem. The last few days I felt a bit of a weight lifted just from the act of making the unknown, known. Now that my enemy is revealed, he can be defeated.
- Reviewing notes
- Doing a session review and post hands/reply to forums
- Watching a video
- Deliberate Practice planning
- and finally recording a 1 or 2 hr deliberate practice session (to be reviewed at some point, still have to work on that)
I've set up a file system a la GTD for poker for "projects" and I think that will help me keep things just as organized as it has my life over the last year. The best thing of all is that having everything so well organized allows me to stop thinking about it, knowing it will be taken care of and not lost or forgotten, and focus on what I'm working on.
Currently, the projects are Diet, Exercise, and Sleep. Each week I will contribute something to each of these as long as they are still projects. As my study continues, I can add deliberate practice projects such as Math, 3betting, playing deep, playing live, etc.
I've also been reading the things on neuroeconomics. It's so fascinating how poker is connected to everything. It's just a game played with cards. No, it's a game of people, politics, and psychology. The psychology part alone is universal. At first you just think it's a game played with cards and chips. Then you realize there's some strategy behind it; it's not all luck. Then you realize there's actually math behind it. You can actually prove plays are correct mathematically and infer the amount you will win long-term, regardless of short-term results. For many, it stops here. Oh no, this rabbit hole goes much deeper.
Neuroeconomics, and the prospect theory in particular, explains a naturally occurring lapse in logic people experience when facing loss or gain. It isn't specifically meant for poker, but all the basics are there. And that is why poker is universal. The chips and cards are just tools, just objects, not really all that relevant. The core is the person, and that is why these studies that may have originally come from stock market studies, or sports psychology, or evolutionary tendencies-they can be applied to poker. It's a game about people.
Anyways, doing just some initial reading has given me insight on why I'm sometimes to careful or nervous before playing or getting involved in a hand. Why I sometimes lack confidence even though my results and all my logic tell me different. It's not and instant-fix, but the first step is understanding the problem. The last few days I felt a bit of a weight lifted just from the act of making the unknown, known. Now that my enemy is revealed, he can be defeated.
"Is Tiger Woods Loss Averse" and its relation to poker
Currently reading a research paper released in June (http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1419027). The paper uses golf as the subject, but the underlying principle applies to almost to many other areas, including poker.. It's provides evidence from over a million putts on the PGA, to suggest that even seasoned, experienced experts are loss averse. In other words, they focus and perform better when facing a possible poor result or "loss" (in this case, when putting for par), than they do when facing a very good or "winning" result (in this case, a birdie putt). Also, they are more willing to take higher risks when behind than when ahead. This can be immediately thought of in poker regarding typical player's decision-making behavior when way down vs. way up. People typically gamble more (i.e. take more risks) when trying to break-even than they will when they are way up during a session. Often a player that is way up will pass on high risk situations even though that situation may be very +EV, whereas the same player would get involved if way down. He is loss averse, and just as the paper suggests for golf, this mistake is very costly.
This paper isn't the first to suggest this when referencing economic models and how an agent's decisions are affected when faced with different levels of risk. The first was called the Prospect Theory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prospect_theory). However, this paper suggested that these affects were diminished in agents of great experience. In other words, pros on the PGA Tour would not be susceptible to being loss-averse and their decisions would be consistent. The current paper uses all the evidence of putts to try to prove this wrong; that even highly experienced agents were still loss-averse and it is costing them wins and money.
On last thing to mention in this post that was pointed out in my limited reading so far is that the researchers believe people put a lot of value and focus in something that is really irrelevant: Par. It's just a reference point that people judge their success by, that really has little meaning in how they are and should be playing. This is why they suggest people focus more on the par putt than the birdie putt. It's the fear/pressure/etc of going over par and taking, what they would consider, a loss. They aren't faced with this during a birdie putt. This same imaginary, irrelevant reference point that everyone looks at to judge their level of success/failure exists in poker. It's the break-even point.
A session is far too small a sample for a win or loss to be evidence of performance for the most part. The volatility has not had time to even out and can deviate greatly from the mean. However, it is very hard for experienced players and especially novice players to separate their results from their performance in the short term. Win a lot and you feel like you are playing great. Lose a lot and you will feel like you are playing terrible. The truth may be the complete opposite.
Even though this reference point is irrelevant, we falsely give it value and it, in turn, affects our decisions. Something that has no value in decision-making but still affects our decisions is not optimal and leads to inconsistencies and mistakes. An easy example of this is passing on a +EV spot when we are way up because a loss would leave us break-even or down (i.e. high risk and we are now risk averse), even though we would take that spot at other times just because we are in a different position with regards to the irrelevant reference point (like when we are down or even) . We cost ourselves money and make poor decisions just because we are loss averse.
I know I suffer from this loss aversion. It's not something this just applies to a person in one realm, but follows through to other challenges. Often in other games, when way ahead, I freeze up. Since I'm watching the SF4 Evo championships right now, I'll use Street Fighter as an example. Some rounds I'll be far ahead of my opponent, crushing him the entire time. But if I'm about to get a perfect or sometimes just win by a lot, my game will change and I'll start to get destroyed. It doesn't happen a lot, but when it does, it definitely makes me sit up and think "WTF IS HAPPENING?!" I instantly go from playing well and aggressive to playing too safe, too careful, and end up playing much worse than I should. Similar things have happened in MTG with an X-0 record. It seems like when it does happen, as soon as I lose, the pressure is off and I'm back to feeling comfortable and playing more aggressively for the win. This fits right in with the Prospect Theory and a person's risk aversion when "gaining", versus their risk tolerant nature when "losing."
Lately, I've been reading a lot about clutch players and competitors. These are the guys that perform the best under pressure. It's a characteristic I want to develop and it is definitely, in some way, related to this study.
I'm going to continue to read the article and try to post up a summary of each section as I go.
P.S. I keep coming up with other ways this sort of thing affects me. Another way is, on a smaller level, when I start with a premium starting hand. Often, even with AA, I'm nervous when called of losing to a set or two pair. I feel the anxiety, especially when called on the flop, but have to fight back the want to check on the Turn. This is even more true with something like AQ with TP on the flop. It's true in Alan's game as well when called by many people. Instead of focusing 100% on the most EV plays, part of my focusing is almost dividing with the fear of losing with a strong hand. I don't have the same feeling if I have 33 or 57s. I start with a premium hand, I'm ahead, and therefore loss averse, even though I haven't actually won anything yet. It is almost like the though is "I have a good hand, I SHOULD win." I know it's bad thinking and don't consciously do it, but it might be very deep rooted and still having an very real effect. It's definitely a psychological barrier I have to get over. Fortunately, being aware of it is the first step to getting rid of it.
This paper isn't the first to suggest this when referencing economic models and how an agent's decisions are affected when faced with different levels of risk. The first was called the Prospect Theory (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prospect_theory). However, this paper suggested that these affects were diminished in agents of great experience. In other words, pros on the PGA Tour would not be susceptible to being loss-averse and their decisions would be consistent. The current paper uses all the evidence of putts to try to prove this wrong; that even highly experienced agents were still loss-averse and it is costing them wins and money.
On last thing to mention in this post that was pointed out in my limited reading so far is that the researchers believe people put a lot of value and focus in something that is really irrelevant: Par. It's just a reference point that people judge their success by, that really has little meaning in how they are and should be playing. This is why they suggest people focus more on the par putt than the birdie putt. It's the fear/pressure/etc of going over par and taking, what they would consider, a loss. They aren't faced with this during a birdie putt. This same imaginary, irrelevant reference point that everyone looks at to judge their level of success/failure exists in poker. It's the break-even point.
A session is far too small a sample for a win or loss to be evidence of performance for the most part. The volatility has not had time to even out and can deviate greatly from the mean. However, it is very hard for experienced players and especially novice players to separate their results from their performance in the short term. Win a lot and you feel like you are playing great. Lose a lot and you will feel like you are playing terrible. The truth may be the complete opposite.
Even though this reference point is irrelevant, we falsely give it value and it, in turn, affects our decisions. Something that has no value in decision-making but still affects our decisions is not optimal and leads to inconsistencies and mistakes. An easy example of this is passing on a +EV spot when we are way up because a loss would leave us break-even or down (i.e. high risk and we are now risk averse), even though we would take that spot at other times just because we are in a different position with regards to the irrelevant reference point (like when we are down or even) . We cost ourselves money and make poor decisions just because we are loss averse.
I know I suffer from this loss aversion. It's not something this just applies to a person in one realm, but follows through to other challenges. Often in other games, when way ahead, I freeze up. Since I'm watching the SF4 Evo championships right now, I'll use Street Fighter as an example. Some rounds I'll be far ahead of my opponent, crushing him the entire time. But if I'm about to get a perfect or sometimes just win by a lot, my game will change and I'll start to get destroyed. It doesn't happen a lot, but when it does, it definitely makes me sit up and think "WTF IS HAPPENING?!" I instantly go from playing well and aggressive to playing too safe, too careful, and end up playing much worse than I should. Similar things have happened in MTG with an X-0 record. It seems like when it does happen, as soon as I lose, the pressure is off and I'm back to feeling comfortable and playing more aggressively for the win. This fits right in with the Prospect Theory and a person's risk aversion when "gaining", versus their risk tolerant nature when "losing."
Lately, I've been reading a lot about clutch players and competitors. These are the guys that perform the best under pressure. It's a characteristic I want to develop and it is definitely, in some way, related to this study.
I'm going to continue to read the article and try to post up a summary of each section as I go.
P.S. I keep coming up with other ways this sort of thing affects me. Another way is, on a smaller level, when I start with a premium starting hand. Often, even with AA, I'm nervous when called of losing to a set or two pair. I feel the anxiety, especially when called on the flop, but have to fight back the want to check on the Turn. This is even more true with something like AQ with TP on the flop. It's true in Alan's game as well when called by many people. Instead of focusing 100% on the most EV plays, part of my focusing is almost dividing with the fear of losing with a strong hand. I don't have the same feeling if I have 33 or 57s. I start with a premium hand, I'm ahead, and therefore loss averse, even though I haven't actually won anything yet. It is almost like the though is "I have a good hand, I SHOULD win." I know it's bad thinking and don't consciously do it, but it might be very deep rooted and still having an very real effect. It's definitely a psychological barrier I have to get over. Fortunately, being aware of it is the first step to getting rid of it.
Becoming a Better Professional Part 2
1. Deliberate practice
Musicians use deliberate practice. Golfers use deliberate practice. It is simply the most efficient way to practice that I know of right now. It's just identifying something to improve on, and then doing it over and over again, hour after hour, until the hole is patched. It's easy to just sit down and play poker and work on many things at once as they come up, but I should look to working on something specific each and every day. I should either look for a special session to do it, or just focus on it during the whole time I am playing that day. I should also re-read "Talent is Overrated" and take notes to use. The second thing on this list works hand-in-hand with deliberate practice of a leak.
2. Review play daily, weekly, and monthly
I need to be actively looking for leaks and thinking about my game and strategy as a whole. That's the way to build a stronger technical game. Daily reviews will allow me to look at individual hands and how I could have played them better, do the math, and get advice. I should be reviewing both HEM and videos. Weekly Reviews give me a higher perspective and make the stats more accurate. I can use this information to know what to work on and study the following week. Finally, the Monthly Review gives me a bird's eye view of my game and strategy as a whole. I can use this to look at stats and groups of hands (cbets, 3bets, etc) and find leaks as well as think of ways to improve my entire strategy and know what to work on over the next month. I need to set up a process or checklist for each to make things run more quickly and smoothly. I also will file the weekly/monthly reports to have a record to changes I've made or planned to make.
3. Be accountable
This is incredibly important. Being accountable is another trait I admire in GSP. He admits fault even in things that are not really his fault. For example, in the Alves fight, he said something snapped and hindered his performance. It was because their fight happened sooner than expected and he didn't have enough time to warm up. Most leave it at that; nothing they could do about it. But then hesitates, realizes he should never be making excuses, and then he says that it was his fault. He is a professional and the champion, and as such, should have planned for things like this and began warming up earlier. He accepts responsibility and is accountable even when it wasn't really under his control.
The reason being accountable at all times is so important is because it forces you to look for something you could be doing better, regardless of whether or not you actually can. Maybe you could have done something about it, but it is easy to miss and would never immediately realize it if you weren't diligently looking for it. If you are accountable, you will search for that hidden problem. Maybe you don't see a way to avoid what happened, but you discover something else related you could improve on. It may even lead you to thinking outside of the box.
If we are not accountable, we don't look for ways to improve. We don't think we are at fault, and then there is nothing to change. But we must always strive to improve and we always can. Being 100% accountable gives us the opportunity to improve; to find some area somewhere that is not perfect. It is a habit that will keep us busy looking for ways to reach our full potential. So when things go wrong, I must swallow that pride, admit that I could have done something better even if it's true or not, I can see it or can't see it, and create a habit that will always keep me searching and striving to be a better player the next time.
4. Coaching
Everyone needs a coach; an outside perspective. They will teach you things, make you question things, and give you a new view to a problem that you would not have seen on your own. It will also help to create a network of players that could be very beneficial in the future.
Also, I should look into coaching others when the time is right. That's one of the best ways to understand concepts and reinforce my foundation. It will also provide an outside source of income and provide some name recognition which could be helpful for future networking.
5. Consistent schedule with time off to relax
The body adapts to a schedule and to operate at peak performance, I need a routine schedule to follow. It will build daily habits and take more burden off of my mind about what I need to be doing and allow more focus to be on what I am doing right now. It will be less stressful and provide a healthier lifestyle. I also need to plan time off just to clear my head and relax or have fun. That will insure my performance can stay at it's peak without getting worn down over time.
6. Optimal sleep (amount and time)
Obviously, sleep is incredibly important too. Everyone needs different amounts of sleep to operate at their best. I need to research sleep, how to get the best sleep, what the optimal amount of sleep is for me, and implement that so that I can perform at my peak the next day with a clear head, lots of energy, and less stress.
7. Exercise
Exercise gives us energy and a healthy mind and body makes us feel better during the day. Sitting in front of a computer screen all day is not very healthy so I need a good routine that will keep me clear headed and relieve the most stress, as well as increase my heart rate to burn the most calories during the day while I'm working. It sounds like it will be mainly cardio. I need to research and experiment with routines that give me the most energy, focus, and mental clarity. It will also relieve stress and allow me to sleep better during the night.
8. Specialized Diet including supplements
Right along with exercise, diet is very important to keep me clear headed, healthy, focused, and energetic. Sugary drinks, junk food, large meals early in the day, too much caffeine at night, etc. are all things I must avoid to stay at my peak during the day. I should look at any supplements to improve focus if there are any. I also need a diet that can provide the energy for a cardio workout without making me too tired for the rest of the day. I will obviously do a low fat diet, and look into a low carb diet or some other "mental" diets that may be out there.
9. Meditation/Vizualization
Meditation is a great form of stress relief as well as a way to clear the mind. Just like we need to allow the body to recover after strenuous activity, we need to let the mind do the same. Clearing out my thoughts will allow me to focus more on what is at hand right now. Visualization is an important technique for establishing a stronger comfort zone with new things, syncing the mind with the body during performance, and gaining mental experience before the work.
10. Keep great records of monthly results
This will allow me to make better plans for future goals and projects, reduce stress from financial uncertainty, and allow me to keep better records for taxes. It can also come in handy as a reference tool for possibly future coaching.
Each one of these should be individual projects to work on implementing and then becoming habit or routine and allow me to be come the best player I can be and become a true professonal. Most of them qualify as individual folders for the GTD system and I will create that by Friday.
Musicians use deliberate practice. Golfers use deliberate practice. It is simply the most efficient way to practice that I know of right now. It's just identifying something to improve on, and then doing it over and over again, hour after hour, until the hole is patched. It's easy to just sit down and play poker and work on many things at once as they come up, but I should look to working on something specific each and every day. I should either look for a special session to do it, or just focus on it during the whole time I am playing that day. I should also re-read "Talent is Overrated" and take notes to use. The second thing on this list works hand-in-hand with deliberate practice of a leak.
2. Review play daily, weekly, and monthly
I need to be actively looking for leaks and thinking about my game and strategy as a whole. That's the way to build a stronger technical game. Daily reviews will allow me to look at individual hands and how I could have played them better, do the math, and get advice. I should be reviewing both HEM and videos. Weekly Reviews give me a higher perspective and make the stats more accurate. I can use this information to know what to work on and study the following week. Finally, the Monthly Review gives me a bird's eye view of my game and strategy as a whole. I can use this to look at stats and groups of hands (cbets, 3bets, etc) and find leaks as well as think of ways to improve my entire strategy and know what to work on over the next month. I need to set up a process or checklist for each to make things run more quickly and smoothly. I also will file the weekly/monthly reports to have a record to changes I've made or planned to make.
3. Be accountable
This is incredibly important. Being accountable is another trait I admire in GSP. He admits fault even in things that are not really his fault. For example, in the Alves fight, he said something snapped and hindered his performance. It was because their fight happened sooner than expected and he didn't have enough time to warm up. Most leave it at that; nothing they could do about it. But then hesitates, realizes he should never be making excuses, and then he says that it was his fault. He is a professional and the champion, and as such, should have planned for things like this and began warming up earlier. He accepts responsibility and is accountable even when it wasn't really under his control.
The reason being accountable at all times is so important is because it forces you to look for something you could be doing better, regardless of whether or not you actually can. Maybe you could have done something about it, but it is easy to miss and would never immediately realize it if you weren't diligently looking for it. If you are accountable, you will search for that hidden problem. Maybe you don't see a way to avoid what happened, but you discover something else related you could improve on. It may even lead you to thinking outside of the box.
If we are not accountable, we don't look for ways to improve. We don't think we are at fault, and then there is nothing to change. But we must always strive to improve and we always can. Being 100% accountable gives us the opportunity to improve; to find some area somewhere that is not perfect. It is a habit that will keep us busy looking for ways to reach our full potential. So when things go wrong, I must swallow that pride, admit that I could have done something better even if it's true or not, I can see it or can't see it, and create a habit that will always keep me searching and striving to be a better player the next time.
4. Coaching
Everyone needs a coach; an outside perspective. They will teach you things, make you question things, and give you a new view to a problem that you would not have seen on your own. It will also help to create a network of players that could be very beneficial in the future.
Also, I should look into coaching others when the time is right. That's one of the best ways to understand concepts and reinforce my foundation. It will also provide an outside source of income and provide some name recognition which could be helpful for future networking.
5. Consistent schedule with time off to relax
The body adapts to a schedule and to operate at peak performance, I need a routine schedule to follow. It will build daily habits and take more burden off of my mind about what I need to be doing and allow more focus to be on what I am doing right now. It will be less stressful and provide a healthier lifestyle. I also need to plan time off just to clear my head and relax or have fun. That will insure my performance can stay at it's peak without getting worn down over time.
6. Optimal sleep (amount and time)
Obviously, sleep is incredibly important too. Everyone needs different amounts of sleep to operate at their best. I need to research sleep, how to get the best sleep, what the optimal amount of sleep is for me, and implement that so that I can perform at my peak the next day with a clear head, lots of energy, and less stress.
7. Exercise
Exercise gives us energy and a healthy mind and body makes us feel better during the day. Sitting in front of a computer screen all day is not very healthy so I need a good routine that will keep me clear headed and relieve the most stress, as well as increase my heart rate to burn the most calories during the day while I'm working. It sounds like it will be mainly cardio. I need to research and experiment with routines that give me the most energy, focus, and mental clarity. It will also relieve stress and allow me to sleep better during the night.
8. Specialized Diet including supplements
Right along with exercise, diet is very important to keep me clear headed, healthy, focused, and energetic. Sugary drinks, junk food, large meals early in the day, too much caffeine at night, etc. are all things I must avoid to stay at my peak during the day. I should look at any supplements to improve focus if there are any. I also need a diet that can provide the energy for a cardio workout without making me too tired for the rest of the day. I will obviously do a low fat diet, and look into a low carb diet or some other "mental" diets that may be out there.
9. Meditation/Vizualization
Meditation is a great form of stress relief as well as a way to clear the mind. Just like we need to allow the body to recover after strenuous activity, we need to let the mind do the same. Clearing out my thoughts will allow me to focus more on what is at hand right now. Visualization is an important technique for establishing a stronger comfort zone with new things, syncing the mind with the body during performance, and gaining mental experience before the work.
10. Keep great records of monthly results
This will allow me to make better plans for future goals and projects, reduce stress from financial uncertainty, and allow me to keep better records for taxes. It can also come in handy as a reference tool for possibly future coaching.
Each one of these should be individual projects to work on implementing and then becoming habit or routine and allow me to be come the best player I can be and become a true professonal. Most of them qualify as individual folders for the GTD system and I will create that by Friday.
Becoming a Better Professional
GSP has been one of the fighters I respect greatly for a long time now. It's not just because of his ability, but one of his biggest strength's that allowed him to get where he is today: his attitude.
He's achieved what he has through another level of professionalism. In pre- and post-fight press conferences, he's the only guy in a suit and tie. He and Greg Jackson take their work very seriously and implement techniques of training, physical and mental, from various unrelated sources and apply them to MMA. Some of it is incredibly innovative. Things people may see as odd today, which will be common practice tomorrow. It reminds me of Bruce Lee, a philosopher and pioneer, who expressed himself through martial arts.
Many poker players lack that professionalism. It's a competition of old gamblers and college kid slackers and everybody in between. That next step for players becoming true professionals, the step GSP has recently taken in the fight game, the outside-the-box thinking of Greg Jackson, hasn't really been taken on a large scale. The truth is that seeing GSP as well as all of the other things I've picked up through the years from extraordinary people has inspired me to take that step of becoming a real professional.
Here's a list of 10 things I will start implementing to become a better professional:
He's achieved what he has through another level of professionalism. In pre- and post-fight press conferences, he's the only guy in a suit and tie. He and Greg Jackson take their work very seriously and implement techniques of training, physical and mental, from various unrelated sources and apply them to MMA. Some of it is incredibly innovative. Things people may see as odd today, which will be common practice tomorrow. It reminds me of Bruce Lee, a philosopher and pioneer, who expressed himself through martial arts.Many poker players lack that professionalism. It's a competition of old gamblers and college kid slackers and everybody in between. That next step for players becoming true professionals, the step GSP has recently taken in the fight game, the outside-the-box thinking of Greg Jackson, hasn't really been taken on a large scale. The truth is that seeing GSP as well as all of the other things I've picked up through the years from extraordinary people has inspired me to take that step of becoming a real professional.
Here's a list of 10 things I will start implementing to become a better professional:
- Deliberate practice
- Review play daily, weekly, and monthly
- Be accountable
- Coaching
- Consistent schedule with time off to relax
- Optimal sleep (amount and time)
- Exercise
- Specialized Diet including supplements
- Meditation/Vizualization
- Keep great records of monthly results
Live Players Love Their "Pot Odds"
Last night I had a small breakthrough, something that's been on the surface and I've known, but it really hit home.
My standard raise in Alan's game is 10-12xbb. This frequently gets comments like "10 into a 4 pot?!?!", "He must have AA", and other nonsense. But then they all call as they always do wherever I play. It's exactly the reason you can flex your bet sizes vs weak players and play very exploitably: They just aren't going to exploit you well. I frequently build the biggest pots in that game because even though I "must have AA", I'll get 6-8 callers, making it a 60-80 pot on the flop.
Well, last night my pre-flop raise size grew from 10 to 14bbs. The first time I did it, Snoop (who's max raise is usually 7 even with AA) says "WHY would you ever bet that much, no ones going to call!!!" The calling station on my left quickly calls and then something interesting happens, Snoop calls.
Me: Wait. What? Now that doesn't make sense. You said no one is going to call, AND THEN YOU CALL!
Snoop: Yeah, but then I got "pot odds" now.
Four more players proceeded to call this raise that "no one was going to call."
The truth is that live/weak players don't understand pot odds at all. That's easy to realize and I've always known it, but never really thought about exactly what their thought process is regarding pot odds and how to exploit that. Pot odds has two elements: Pot size AND bet size. Using the two, you can get a ratio like 2:1 and with that you can compare it to the odds of your hand improving to the best and see if you are getting the correct immediate price to continue.
The important thing I learned is that they only factor in the first, pot size. "Pot odds" for these players is simply synonymous and interchangeable with "the pot is big."
This works for them because it helps them to justify calling, especially preflop, which is what they love to do: call too much. It's almost as if they tell themselves "Remember, as long as you say pot odds first, you can make the call." It reminds me of Jimbo and his method to bypass hunting regulations:
Jimbo: Just remember kid, always yell "It's coming right for us!" before you start shooting.
This seems consistent among many, many live players. It's like one guy read a book and it spread like rumors spread, the result is always horribly twisted from its original form as each person adds or takes away a little. Or maybe they just watch WSOP reruns, heard it there, heard it at the table, and inferred that the meaning was that the pot is big and they can call. Or may it's just two words that make them feel ok about not folding when they know they should.
Regardless, this a VERY good thing. Immediately, I can think of a couple ways to exploit this:
I need a special name for it as to not get it confused with real pot odds. I'll be thinking about further ways to exploit this such as 3betting preflop, adjusting bet sizes depending on positions of these players, etc during the week.
P.S. Later I raised to 14 again with AA after getting called 6-ways previously and Snoop called me "Donkey Kong" talking to Dave. I don't know who's the teacher and who's the student, but somebody's shoveling bullshit and the other is eating it up. Those guys are completely oblivious to how much they misunderstand poker. It's odd that he will see me get called in 6 spots raising to 14 and yet he'll still not learn from it and say "Hey, he got a lot of money in the pot that way, I can copy that and do the same" but he still only raises to 7 or 8. Oh well, Snoop doesn't play bad, he just runs bad all the time as he says... Ignorance is bliss.
My standard raise in Alan's game is 10-12xbb. This frequently gets comments like "10 into a 4 pot?!?!", "He must have AA", and other nonsense. But then they all call as they always do wherever I play. It's exactly the reason you can flex your bet sizes vs weak players and play very exploitably: They just aren't going to exploit you well. I frequently build the biggest pots in that game because even though I "must have AA", I'll get 6-8 callers, making it a 60-80 pot on the flop.
Well, last night my pre-flop raise size grew from 10 to 14bbs. The first time I did it, Snoop (who's max raise is usually 7 even with AA) says "WHY would you ever bet that much, no ones going to call!!!" The calling station on my left quickly calls and then something interesting happens, Snoop calls.
Me: Wait. What? Now that doesn't make sense. You said no one is going to call, AND THEN YOU CALL!
Snoop: Yeah, but then I got "pot odds" now.
Four more players proceeded to call this raise that "no one was going to call."
The truth is that live/weak players don't understand pot odds at all. That's easy to realize and I've always known it, but never really thought about exactly what their thought process is regarding pot odds and how to exploit that. Pot odds has two elements: Pot size AND bet size. Using the two, you can get a ratio like 2:1 and with that you can compare it to the odds of your hand improving to the best and see if you are getting the correct immediate price to continue.
The important thing I learned is that they only factor in the first, pot size. "Pot odds" for these players is simply synonymous and interchangeable with "the pot is big."
This works for them because it helps them to justify calling, especially preflop, which is what they love to do: call too much. It's almost as if they tell themselves "Remember, as long as you say pot odds first, you can make the call." It reminds me of Jimbo and his method to bypass hunting regulations:
Jimbo: Just remember kid, always yell "It's coming right for us!" before you start shooting.
This seems consistent among many, many live players. It's like one guy read a book and it spread like rumors spread, the result is always horribly twisted from its original form as each person adds or takes away a little. Or maybe they just watch WSOP reruns, heard it there, heard it at the table, and inferred that the meaning was that the pot is big and they can call. Or may it's just two words that make them feel ok about not folding when they know they should.
Regardless, this a VERY good thing. Immediately, I can think of a couple ways to exploit this:
- Continue raising large. If I get one caller, my chances drastically increase for getting two or more, especially if players who like to call for "pot odds" have yet to act. It looks like it can take as few as one caller for this to happen. Then a cascade effect occurs where more and more people call until the logic is "6 people called, now I HAVE to call with my A5o"
- Raise especially large if there is a calling station or two next to my left and "pot odds" players are left to act afterward. If the a station calls, it's almost certainly going to be at least 3-way. If a couple call, it could be 4 or 5-way. I can use this to get ridiculous value on big hands preflop.
I need a special name for it as to not get it confused with real pot odds. I'll be thinking about further ways to exploit this such as 3betting preflop, adjusting bet sizes depending on positions of these players, etc during the week.
P.S. Later I raised to 14 again with AA after getting called 6-ways previously and Snoop called me "Donkey Kong" talking to Dave. I don't know who's the teacher and who's the student, but somebody's shoveling bullshit and the other is eating it up. Those guys are completely oblivious to how much they misunderstand poker. It's odd that he will see me get called in 6 spots raising to 14 and yet he'll still not learn from it and say "Hey, he got a lot of money in the pot that way, I can copy that and do the same" but he still only raises to 7 or 8. Oh well, Snoop doesn't play bad, he just runs bad all the time as he says... Ignorance is bliss.
A-Game Live: July 7 Player Notes
Dave the dealer:
- With a monster vs me, said "I just don't believe you, that bets not very convincing" and just called a 30bb cbet.
- Bet size post-flop is strong indicator of hand strength. Bet small with small hands/draws and big with larger. Check-raising seem effective in both stealing vs loose callers and frustrating him. He said "That's the 3rd time you've check/raised. I'm getting sick up it, just bet if you have a good hand." Now wouldn't that be nice of me.
- He bets frequently post flop, and often small, so I can use a very strong relative position on him to see what everyone else does and make some very good plays. I should use him to check/raise as a steal and to help build pots with big hands. If I have a strong hand that isn't easily drawn out on with a free card, checking to let him bet will ensure another 20-30bbs enters the pot before the raise. Then people will call because of "pot odds." Also, all the calls are weak, and I can pick up some large pots with raises. This will also help balance my check/raising range a bit in this situation so I don't get called too often on a steal or folded to often with a monster. Definitely can use this tendency to my advantage.
- Will call very big bets/raises with draws if the pot is big enough. Strong believer in "pot odds." I should get max value on drawy boards with big hands by betting very big.
- Led 2bbs with a SD on the flop and turn
- Bet size clear indicator of hand strength. If he bets 3bbs, gets raised, and calls, that very often should be a draw.
- Will crying call down when clearly behind and say he's just "running bad". Haven't really seen him make big laydowns. Definitely can get it in with big hands if he has something.
- Seems oblivious to live tells and hand reading in general
- wears shades in Alan's home game...
- Bets 5 or 10bbs with everything from top 2pair to the stone cold nuts regardless of how big the pot is. Will bet all 3 streets. Will get very passive vs a raise however and check down very, very strong hands like flushes, straights, boats OOP.
