My 1001 post, What I've learnt about poker, and my ideas on BR management

Cant say it has been a quick 10001 posts, I am not really a prolific poster, whenever I find anything "profound" to say I find it has already been said, but here are a couple of things I have learnt about poker.
I am an average poker player at best. I am no good at NL cash games or SNGO's. I am just ok at PLO cash games but do best at MTT's when I can keep my concentration.
I have tried and tried, watched videos, read books but I am never gonna take that step from an average to a good player, the CC league has shown me this, but its fine, I am happy being mediocre.
I have learnt never ever to be surprised at anything that happens at a poker table, if the biggest fish in the world needs runner runner to beat you they can get it.
I used to be terrible at complaining about bad beats but I have had so many I dont worry about them these days. I have learnt that it doesnt matter how much I rant and rave about my bad luck, or however lucky a bad player/ fish gets, the cards will NEVER EVER change in your favour, so just forget them and move on.
My thoughts on BR management have changed a lot in the last few months. I have been playing for just on 8 years now and I have written records of every session I have played, including game, stake, result and assorted comments. I have records of how I have done every day, month and year since I started playing poker, until 2 months ago.
I have been thinking lately about how much it affects my poker to look at my results on paper and see a column of losses or wins cos if you have a run of wins it can knock your confidence when you finally lose, which we all will , it puts more and more pressure on me the longer this line gets either way.
So now I have a table of assorted stakes and the BR I need for them. I only play PLO cash games and MTT's these days. I dont keep a record of my individual results but I keep strictly to my BR rules, so if I lose a few PLO games I might have to go down a buy in, but this is fine but I dont get hung up on every single session, if I need to go down a level I do and if I can go up a level I do.
So I dont worry about every single session I play, if I have a terrible session ok, I dont have to write it down and worry about it, I just shrug it off and carry on. I just look at my BR chart and act accordingly.
Anyhow it has taken me 8 years to reach this conclusion and
I am sure a lot of CC'ers will tear this idea apart but it works for me, probably if you are a high stakes player you need something stricter, but for the likes of me, I dont.
Or maybe no-one else keeps such meticulous records as I did, I am not sure.
I look at poker like the tide these days, sometimes it comes in sometimes it goes out. I cant change it I just have to go with the flow
And finally before I bore anyone reading this to death, I am eternally grateful for the day I stumbled upon Cardschat cos I have met so many good friends on here, and learnt so much, and I look forward to my next 1001 posts, hopefully not as long winded as this one.
Thanks CC for being there for me and others like me to find and enjoy

I like your poker 101, or 1001.
So you think your poker is mediocre, better go back to the music then.
I found the same thing with records, as it was mostly emphasising the last hand of a game, often getting it in good and getting sucked out on which makes depressing reading. The previous winning hands are often forgotten.
But keeping track of results and statistics or as you say just bankroll helps to keep control. Also noting those moments of wisdom and learning that are occasionally recognised.

Congrats on the milestone Colin. I'm a bit amazed at the extent of your record keeping, probably because I've never really tracked my results at all. I like what you said about bad beats. They can drive you crazy at times but ya just gotta let it go.
Here's to the next 1k :beer:

congrats OP!

Congratulations for the 1001st post ! Good to hear you practice bankroll management. You said: " I am no good at NL cash games or SNGO's. I am just ok at PLO cash games but do best at MTT's ", for me its the opposite - i find plo cash harder than nl cash and also mtt´s harder than sng´s. But anyway, good luck in all your games, i´m sure you are a better poker player than you think !

Congrats Col, on your 1001 post. Well said Col.
Maybe i should start keeping a list.

Thanks Steven. As I say these days I dont keep a list myself, I am just strict about keeping to my BR limits and it seems to work for me.

Nice Post Col.
I have always kept very good records and when I was building from scratch in the early days it was the perfect way to keep on top of BRM and gain incentive.
My spreadsheet works in calendar months which I find makes it easy to ignore daily fluctautions and see the bigger picture

Nice post! The same things that you learned during the whole 8 years of playing it's pretty most the same things that I'm learning (I play for about 6 years now..). But, I still can't handle with bad beats that well as you, but I always try to follow your idea that sometimes it's not your day and maybe you just should move on for that day..

Thanks Cooking as I say bad beats usued to affect me terrible, I would rant and rave and go on really bad tilt and lose the money I had on the table and then reload and lose more. The only person that going on tilt hurts is yourself.
It is a fact of a poker players life that they are going to suffer not just bad beats, but horrendous unfair beats but HAVE to accept them as an occupational hazard, these days when they happen I tend to laugh and thank the poker gods but I have been playing long enough to know that for every bad beat there is a suck out round the corner and i always try to remember that.
As I say once the river has been dealt, no matter how much we rant, rave, swear or kick the cat, the cards arnt going to change so why bother?
It has taken me over 8 years to realise this but I can honestly say I dont tilt these days.

congratulations, been playing for 5 years myself and I think ive just recently started dealing with tilt better. Glad to see people playing something besides NLHE though. Best of luck to you.

there a milestone for this, wow i am so late and wrong on this!!!

Daniel72 said:

Congratulations for the 1001st post ! Good to hear you practice bankroll management. You said: " I am no good at NL cash games or SNGO's. I am just ok at PLO cash games but do best at MTT's ", for me its the opposite - i find plo cash harder than nl cash and also mtt´s harder than sng´s. But anyway, good luck in all your games, i´m sure you are a better poker player than you think !

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Same here

Colbefc said:

It is a fact of a poker players life that they are going to suffer not just bad beats, but horrendous unfair beats but HAVE to accept them as an occupational hazard, these days when they happen I tend to laugh and thank the poker gods but I have been playing long enough to know that for every bad beat there is a suck out round the corner and i always try to remember that.

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Actually, if you suck out as often as you get hit with beats, it's not a good ratio. It means you're getting your money or chips in bad as often as good. Assuming a meaningful sample size, this is too often.

For me, it was a big step toward handling beats better when I came to understand not just that they happen and are unavoidable, but also that the feeling I had that they should somehow even out was against my own best interest. If I get it in good more often than bad, I should take more beats than I hand out. This was easy to understand intellectually; the hard part was accepting it emotionally because it goes against the natural feeling / desire I have about cosmic justice evening things out. In this case, I don't want them to even out.

Another thing that helps me is remembering a few bad beats that went my in my favor, allowing me to rack up meaningful scores.

Arjonius said:

Actually, if you suck out as often as you get hit with beats, it's not a good ratio. It means you're getting your money or chips in bad as often as good. Assuming a meaningful sample size, this is too often.

For me, it was a big step toward handling beats better when I came to understand not just that they happen and are unavoidable, but also that the feeling I had that they should somehow even out was against my own best interest. If I get it in good more often than bad, I should take more beats than I hand out. This was easy to understand intellectually; the hard part was accepting it emotionally because it goes against the natural feeling / desire I have about cosmic justice evening things out. In this case, I don't want them to even out.

Another thing that helps me is remembering a few bad beats that went my in my favor, allowing me to rack up meaningful scores.

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Good intellectual and emotional points.
Makes me feel better about my scorecard.

Congratulations, you always have something worthwhile to add.I like your idea to dismiss the real bad days, discarding the misery and dropping down a level is the best solution.

np and congrats