March Update, April Goals

It's been a while since I posted, but I'd like to get more consistent, if only to be more consistently active in tracking my progress.

March was an interesting month. I experienced the biggest swings, both up and down, of my poker career, and have moved up to the $110 level. Here's the graph:

This was the first month of real volume that I've put in, and it was tough at times to play well and keep up the volume. The more I play, the more I realize how important it is to have a solid mental game. Edges in this game are small even when they're big, and therefore anything that puts you even slightly off your best game is costing more money than you probably realize.

I'm pretty happy with my results, all things considered, and am looking forward to April being another good month. 

My April goals:

[ ] play at least 800 games

[ ] put even more study time in

[ ] post here and on 2p2 more consistently

[ ] create and stick to a poker playing routine

[ ] work on avoiding costly behaviors like playing when tilted, chasing losses, and rematching regs

Grind Report: March 2-4, 2010

March 2, 2010
12-9 at the 57.50 turbos on Stars.

March 3, 2010
6-7 at the 57.50 turbos on Stars.


March 4, 2010
14-15 at the 57.50 turbos on Stars.

With a $50 VIP stellar rewards bonus, my BR is now at: $1401.14

This last day hurt a lot. I started off playing really well and running well, and went 8-2 in the first 10 games. Which means an absolutely atrocious 6-13 for the latter 19.

It was astonishing how everything turned. It started with just running really badly and spite-rematching a couple of absolute droolers who just couldn't miss several times. By the time I was done being pounded by those two, I was just tilting super-hard and very clearly not playing well.

I should have stopped several games ago, but at least I stopped.

This is a long-run game, and there will be swings up and down in the short run. I'll be fine as long as I can remember that, observe my play objectively, and just keep making lots of good decisions.

Time to sleep it off so I can get back to the grind tomorrow.

Grind Report: March 1, 2010

20-12 at the 57.50 turbos on PokerStars.
BR: $1453.64

Putting in this much volume, even 2-tabling, takes some effort and a reasonable amount of time.

Ideally, I'd like to find a way to get 35-40 games more quickly. I took lots of breaks/mini-review session today, as I'm not used to 2-tabling for so long. I'm going to aim for slowly increasing the continuity of my sessions, but take breaks the moment that I notice my focus, discipline, or emotional control starting to drift.

More and more I'm convinced that winning the mental game is ~95% of what it takes to be a winning player at HUSNG's (at least at the stakes I'm playing and below).

Until this year, I was a breakeven/losing player who couldn't crack the 22's, and the only real difference between now and then is that I have perspective and discipline/control now that I didn't then. My graph was one of slow and steady upward progress punctuated by sharp, sudden downswings. It's amazing what a drastic impact a simple change in mindset can have.

How to get better at HUSNG's

A thread was started a couple of days ago on the twoplustwo forums entitled: How to Get Better at Heads Up (Discussion). The poster, PayPerChase posted a list of 9 "Player Development Techniques" in an effort to spark discussion about how best to improve one's game.

Buried in the general fray of the discussion is an absolute gem from a poster named Hince:

I like this thread but I don't have much to add, because I think you should be able to figure out the answers quiet(sic) easily. You are looking for a way to strengthen your game. So I would ask what areas do you need to improve? Don't know? How would you find out?

Once you find those areas practice them and monitor your progress, if you don't know how to handle certain spots, work on them, figure them out till they are automatic.

Bottom line is, you need to know where you want to go, and what skills need to be developed for you to get there. There are a ton of tools you could try, but the trick isn't in the tools.

Bold added by me for emphasis.

To me, this perfectly encapsulates what it means to train/improve/learn - at anything.

It can be easy to forget that sometimes it's just as simple as asking the right questions. (And executing on the answers of course, but asking the right questions is a prior and important step).

It's time to stop sucking at poker

I suck at poker. For a variety of reasons.

But I shouldn't. There's really no good reason that I shouldn't be doing very well at HUSNG's, the form of poker I like best. I'm smart enough, and I know enough about poker that I should be a significant winner.

My main problems seem to be a tendency to  tilt and a lack of discipline, which are obviously interrelated.

I'm starting this blog as a way to semi-publicly work out these (and other) kinks in my game. I find that writing helps me gain perspective and think through problems, and the semi-public nature of blogs adds a little bit of psychological accountability to the whole thing.

I'm not yet sure what form this blog will take, but at the moment, plans include journal-style posts, HH self-reviews, hand/situational analysis, etc. The main thing I'm going to focus on at first is posting consistently. The rest can be worried about later.

Anyway, this is a start, and hopefully it turns out to be a good one.