Oh yeah, poker...
On a cheerier note…
Poker, oh yeah – that’s why I started this blog thingy…
I have been paying much better lately. I seem to be breaking out of my ultra-conservative funk. I know I am playing more hands than I should, but I playing disciplined enough to get away from them before they hurt me. I am also getting better at stealing both before the flop and on the turn. I have found that it is much easier to steal on the turn than on the flop and I never knew how much position plays a role in the steal.
It seems that everyone is “projecting” opposites so I have decided to play straight up. What I mean is that it seems everyone is playing the cliché style of projecting strength when they are weak and weakness when they are strong. I have tried playing the opposite over the past couple of weeks and it is paying off. I am going right at people, playing good hands strongly and folding crap (unless I am in late position with few callers), even when I hit the nuts on the flop I am playing it strong and am getting called regularly because people just don’t believe me.
The blind stealing is something I had gotten away from when I started reading these damn poker blogs. Everything I was reading indicated I was playing too many hands. I think there is a happy medium somewhere and I probably was (and might still be) playing too many hands, but if you don’t steal blinds, especially in SNGs, you can not win. So how do you get to playing under 30% (or 20% for that matter) of your hands and still be profitable and successful at stealing?
I think a light bulb went off last week when I saw an interview with Annie Duke. She said something to the effect of “…if you don’t get caught with your hand in the cookie jar [trying to steal blinds] you are not playing good poker”. At the time, I did not think about it too much, but it stuck with me. She also mentioned to try to steal with an amount you are comfortable with, starting at around 2.5 times the BB.
Immediately after that, I applied it in a couple of SNGs. I rotated from 8-10 position where if I had 0-2 callers I would make a bet of 2.5 times the BB. I was astounded at the number of times people folded. I got caught a few times too, but it didn’t hurt me because I was able to get away from it, and the other successful steals had already paid for it (Brunson’s instructions come to life). After I got comfortable with this strategy I added my own twist by placing a bet of three times the blind or half the pot on the turn. I think I only got called one time on that and lost it, but the other times I won\ paid for it many times over. I really feel like I have taken another step in my game, but who knows this could just be blip on the radar with completely coincidental results.
I am still a rookie, playing for just about a year now and do not claim to have the long lost strategy for winning at poker that is bullet-proof, just saying that the approach is working. It’s a more aggressive style than I have played in the past and it seems to work best in the SNG world. It works in cash games too, but you can’t stay at a table for more than about 40 minutes playing that way. You either have to tighten up, or change tables. I have not tried it in a multi-table tournament yet, but I think it would be very powerful in the early rounds.
Poker, oh yeah – that’s why I started this blog thingy…
I have been paying much better lately. I seem to be breaking out of my ultra-conservative funk. I know I am playing more hands than I should, but I playing disciplined enough to get away from them before they hurt me. I am also getting better at stealing both before the flop and on the turn. I have found that it is much easier to steal on the turn than on the flop and I never knew how much position plays a role in the steal.
It seems that everyone is “projecting” opposites so I have decided to play straight up. What I mean is that it seems everyone is playing the cliché style of projecting strength when they are weak and weakness when they are strong. I have tried playing the opposite over the past couple of weeks and it is paying off. I am going right at people, playing good hands strongly and folding crap (unless I am in late position with few callers), even when I hit the nuts on the flop I am playing it strong and am getting called regularly because people just don’t believe me.
The blind stealing is something I had gotten away from when I started reading these damn poker blogs. Everything I was reading indicated I was playing too many hands. I think there is a happy medium somewhere and I probably was (and might still be) playing too many hands, but if you don’t steal blinds, especially in SNGs, you can not win. So how do you get to playing under 30% (or 20% for that matter) of your hands and still be profitable and successful at stealing?
I think a light bulb went off last week when I saw an interview with Annie Duke. She said something to the effect of “…if you don’t get caught with your hand in the cookie jar [trying to steal blinds] you are not playing good poker”. At the time, I did not think about it too much, but it stuck with me. She also mentioned to try to steal with an amount you are comfortable with, starting at around 2.5 times the BB.
Immediately after that, I applied it in a couple of SNGs. I rotated from 8-10 position where if I had 0-2 callers I would make a bet of 2.5 times the BB. I was astounded at the number of times people folded. I got caught a few times too, but it didn’t hurt me because I was able to get away from it, and the other successful steals had already paid for it (Brunson’s instructions come to life). After I got comfortable with this strategy I added my own twist by placing a bet of three times the blind or half the pot on the turn. I think I only got called one time on that and lost it, but the other times I won\ paid for it many times over. I really feel like I have taken another step in my game, but who knows this could just be blip on the radar with completely coincidental results.
I am still a rookie, playing for just about a year now and do not claim to have the long lost strategy for winning at poker that is bullet-proof, just saying that the approach is working. It’s a more aggressive style than I have played in the past and it seems to work best in the SNG world. It works in cash games too, but you can’t stay at a table for more than about 40 minutes playing that way. You either have to tighten up, or change tables. I have not tried it in a multi-table tournament yet, but I think it would be very powerful in the early rounds.
posted by Sponge at 11:51 PM
2 Comments:
Hey, its Mike.
I've been having a great time at PokerRoom.com. You can find good MTT's at any money amount that attract around 100-150 people (which i find is the perfect amount for a good payout and chance to win) and i've been cleaning up at their shorthanded SnG's (5 people, top 2 pay).
So far i've rolled my first deposit of 50ish into 350 and am going strong. I celebrated by buying myself a PSP and a few games for the long metro rides i take to a client that i go to 3 times week.
I've also learned that lately playing my hand pays out more than playing mind games in the beginning of SnGs. If i get dealt J10 and the flop somes 10 10 X a good bet seems to pay me off more often then slow playing. Of course when it gets down to 2 or 3 you have to bluff hard and slow play trap people, but at a full SnG i'm playing straight up and its working. It is real hard to sense weakness online and a lot of new players will call regardless so it is safe to have SOMETHING decent until the table whittles down to the good players (who you can bluff better).
Glad to hear your medical issues are resolving well. Give Jeff a raise and say hi for me!
-Mike
ps. My accounting firm just gave me a free 'market adjustment' increase. Make sure you pay competetively compared to the market, i bet Jeff is undervalued and my firm is looking for IT personel! Also, i'm a yuppie who plays golf, so tell Mr. Raymond to be careful what he writes in his blog, the dipshit!
Hey, its Mike again.
Finally took down my first multi at Pokerroom.com after many previous lesser money finishes... yea for me!
https://www.pokerroom.com/games/tournament/?id=3981254
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