When do you know ure not a lucky donk??

I have suddenly had an upturn in my results and i cant work out what i am doing diffrently. I have had 2 big cashes inside 2 weeks and lots of smaller ones. When do you know tht it is your gsme winning not just luck?

I would say that it's beyond luck if you keep getting deep in touneys over the next few months. You're going to be card dead in some, and take bad beats in others so you can't win them all but if you're consistently getting deep enough in to make the money a few times a month you're definitely doing something right. Keep up the good work!

Don't worry Steven...you'll always be a donk to me. (I kid! I kid! )

haha ill tell you if i ever stop losing lol

I would like to find out!

The difference I notice is that you are mixing your playing style up more recently. You are normally very aggressive from start to finish, But recently you stick some conservative play in there too. It probably makes it more difficult for the other players to get a read on you,

yeah mixing it up well, can lead to great success online... Keep up the good work

I would have to say when you notice that you are making correct decisions and avoiding mistakes. I noticed that myself. I don't play higher stakes, normally 1,2 no-limit, but I have noticed over the last 2 months that I play my position smarter and I make less mistakes. Another thing I noticed is that I'm playing my bid hands in away that allows me to get paid off in a big way.

I think that if you look back at your last few games, think about your hands, Did you make mistakes? Did you recognize your mistake when it happened, and did you correct it? Are you getting paid off on your big hands and cutting your losses on your small hands? Do you play position, the players, or just your cards, or a combination of all?

When I ran this stuff through my head I realized that it is not luck, I'm just playing smart poker, which will always lead to success.


Good luck, and I hope this helps..

I agree with dakota,, also when you finish in the top 5 or 10 % continuesly then you know its your playing ability, not just luck.
buck

PS> should have said im talkin about MTT`s with over 100+ players

last 2 big results have been 680 and 890 respectivly

First time I noticed it was a while ago when i sat down in my first bigger game (live), a 5-10 no limit. I thought I would be intimidated, but I had built the proper bankroll for this game, and within a few hands, I noticed alot of players there that were identical to the small games, making bad moves and not paying attention to position with their raises. I felt comfortable right away, and won for the night. Thats when I figured it was more my play than luck.
I also think that you know your skill is above average when you can see a solid climb in your profits over a year or more. It takes that amount of time to really see the difference, Id say

Out of what, 681 and 891, LOL, only kidding,, if im in game`s with say 900 and i finish 90th or better im happy,, if you finished 681 out of 6,000 thats good, Thats what i was talkin about, it takes loads of Patience & Folding, but i like the big MTT`s the best> buck

It is the combination of skill and luck that allows you to play at a high level. Skill allows you to dodge bullets and luck allows you to fire them back.

Skill will allow you to make the most money out of the hand you get and help you fold when you are behind. Luck will allow you to get the hands worth playing and hitting those hands on the flop so you can make money. I have had whole tournaments where I don't get any good cards to use what skills I do have. I have had tournaments where I finish in the top 5 and never had to make a hard decision because everything was hitting on the flop.

You can play perfect poker for 2 hours but then run into a bigstack on a draw against your top set. He goes all-in on bluff but still knocks you out when he hits. Could you have done anything different? You played your set perfect and made him make a mistake but you are the railbird.

Poker is still gambling which means luck is involved. Skill is when your results are repeated over and over becuase can outplay some of the luck.

buckster, I think that's cash winnings rather than position. Correct me if I'm wrong Stefan.

The only thing that gives me confidence that I'm playing well, or poorly for that matter, is to go back over hands using PT. Looking by position, hands, size of winnings or losses and trying to critique them, and then posting the ones that I'm unsure about in the hand history area.

Ill be on the Stars rings in a bit if you want to be brought down to earth.

no iwas saying i got 1st outta 690 andf 5th outta 890 for 1200 bucks and 1049 respectivly

Generally, those kinds of finishes aren't flukes Stefan, so I'm going to go out on the limb and say you have officially passed the test and you are not a donk.

I guess when your not depositing any more money into your account and playing/withdrawling other people money.

I feel when you are not a donk you start seeing yourself winning non rebuy tournaments once or more a week

Uh, what???

What is your definition of tournaments?? SnGs do not count, so you're saying a person is not a donk only if they win MTTs on a weekly basis, and they do this regularly??

You sir, have just called Phil Ivey a donk (and for that matter, you have called every other poker pro and player in the world a donk).

The only sure fire thing to to in your case is to keep book. When your not doing so well its nice to look back at your cash outs and tournament finishes to see if your just in a slump. My slumps happen in months sometimes the bad cards just seem to stick with me. The best way to get back on track is go back to basics. You may have won so much you got cocky or worse felt like you were invincible. We all have done it. Just go back to the style you played that made you a winning player. Most likely this was tight aggressive or playing the rock. Just find it and stick to your guns. Good luck.

Oh OK,, well thats some good playing stefan,, if you keep getting finishes like that its not luck, its your ability to play poker,,, keep up the great work stefan.
buck