Ah Ha!

So yesterday I think I had an "ah ha" moment, or I could have been a sugar high from my wife's home cooked cupcakes (oh ya baby!). I started to think to myself is it better to play the hand or better to play the opponent and can I outplay the opponent no matter what the hand? After I digested this little tidbit a bit, plus another double chocolate cupcake, I ended up felting 2 guys in about 10 minutes.

Did I just hit the next level of thinking or is my brain waiting for a diabetic coma?

I often play just the players, and not the hand at all. I usually do really well at it, BUT......
I am certain that i will get better as i learn how to do both.

I think you may have just hit the next level....but again, you need to be careful.

My mentor is lightning fast at calculating bet size. He can look at the blind, and his stack, and the opponents stack, and the pot odds, and then put a bet in that will commit the player to an all in if he answers. And he does it all in a split second. I don't know if i'll ever get as good as he is at it.

Wow. That's a whole other level there. Pretty cool and yes I can see your point that there's still a long way to go.

I think I may have hit a bit of a phsycological barrier in my game. I've been playing .01/.02 for the last 2 months and doing pretty well so I've decided to try out .02/.05. Now I don't want to sound like I'm making excuses but I really wasn't getting much in the way of starting hands so I couldn't really make a show at the table, but seeing a 3 bet that's .60 vs .20 does something to the psyche.

Something new to get used to I guess

Playing the player is what is the most fun in poker. You fell so powerfull when you can do a sick bluff or get massive value with your good hands

i agree with u ,,Blastoise,, it feels good to pwn an enemy trough skillz

Sneaky Feet said:

Wow. That's a whole other level there. Pretty cool and yes I can see your point that there's still a long way to go.

I think I may have hit a bit of a phsycological barrier in my game. I've been playing .01/.02 for the last 2 months and doing pretty well so I've decided to try out .02/.05. Now I don't want to sound like I'm making excuses but I really wasn't getting much in the way of starting hands so I couldn't really make a show at the table, but seeing a 3 bet that's .60 vs .20 does something to the psyche.

Something new to get used to I guess

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If you have been doing well at .01/.02, I'd assume you are "beating" the game? I'd make sure you are "beating" the current stake your are playing, before moving up. And really beating it, not just had 2 or 3 good sessions and now think you are ready to move up.. At this point, you should(will) be properly rolled for the next stake. Try to disassociate the monetary value from it (as hard as it is or may sound.) I find it is much easier to do this when you use good BRM. And makes it much easier to play optimally.

I love playing the player and their tendencies. But you know, sometimes your opponent is passive or someone that just shoves every hand so you have to end up playing your cards some of the time. Isn't it fun when you get to own your opponent so then they get on rage tilt?

I don't think about the money. For example, if I could risk 1 million dollars for a flip and I had 50,000 already in the pot, the correct +EV move is to call (except I myself would rather fold and keep that $950,000). Think about the big blinds compared to the pot. For example, if I raise to 2.5BB and I get three bet to 7BB, instead of thinking that I got three bet to 35c instead of 14c, think that you got three bet to 7BB and it's 4.5BB more to call.

Sneaky Feet said:

So yesterday I think I had an "ah ha" moment, or I could have been a sugar high from my wife's home cooked cupcakes (oh ya baby!). I started to think to myself is it better to play the hand or better to play the opponent and can I outplay the opponent no matter what the hand? After I digested this little tidbit a bit, plus another double chocolate cupcake, I ended up felting 2 guys in about 10 minutes.

Did I just hit the next level of thinking or is my brain waiting for a diabetic coma?

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I love this approach playing the game and I use it every now and then. But my issue is using it consistently. It's like saying to myself I got away with that now I will lay low for awhile. I guess you will have to do it all the time to be really successful.

waterboy73 said:

If you have been doing well at .01/.02, I'd assume you are "beating" the game? I'd make sure you are "beating" the current stake your are playing, before moving up. And really beating it, not just had 2 or 3 good sessions and now think you are ready to move up.. At this point, you should(will) be properly rolled for the next stake. Try to disassociate the monetary value from it (as hard as it is or may sound.) I find it is much easier to do this when you use good BRM. And makes it much easier to play optimally.

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I've made a few stupid calls over the last couple days but other than that I really do feel like I've been beating .01/.02. It almost feeling easy. However I think I'm going to stay at .01/.02 for a bit longer and build my bank roll. There are a few villains on there that have been giving me trouble (most likely cardschat members ) so I'm going to focus my energy on adjusting to their play and increasing my confidence a bit more before trying .02/.05 again.

Stupid calls...... I think i know what you mean, and all i can say is; Quit doing that. lol

Well add this to your thought - it doesn't really matter as much what your hole cards are - compared to what your opponent thinks they are.

Cephas said:

I love this approach playing the game and I use it every now and then. But my issue is using it consistently. It's like saying to myself I got away with that now I will lay low for awhile. I guess you will have to do it all the time to be really successful.

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I think you nailed it. You have to use it sparingly on some opponents then on others that are extremely timid it works almost all the time. I've run up against a few opponents that are like this and I can't imagine what they're thinking. "Oh my god he has the nuts again! That's the 5th time in a row!" I guess everyone has their own learning curve. There's one opponent out of China (I think) who plays extremely cautious. I've often thought about pming her and telling her about cardschat but I don't know if poker stars will kick me off for doing it.

MediaBLITZ said:

Well add this to your thought - it doesn't really matter as much what your hole cards are - compared to what your opponent thinks they are.

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I can't wait to get to a level where there aren't maniacs that call every hand lol. Some tables I can use this and it's a ton of fun!

i used to just sit there blindly watching the cards go round like a washing machine and obv didunt do to well, now i take little notes down on each player as they play, stuff like if they defend how hard they defend do they slow play u know stuff like that,if they play with emotions like u can tell there getting vexed when u keep steeling there blinds before i make a decision i have a look at my notes first, i find its helping my game,ive got to do these things contiously and i suppose in time it will just come to me natually like,practice makes perfect or better me hopes, G,L,

johnny2shoes said:

i used to just sit there blindly watching the cards go round like a washing machine and obv didunt do to well, now i take little notes down on each player as they play, stuff like if they defend how hard they defend do they slow play u know stuff like that,if they play with emotions like u can tell there getting vexed when u keep steeling there blinds before i make a decision i have a look at my notes first, i find its helping my game,ive got to do these things contiously and i suppose in time it will just come to me natually like,practice makes perfect or better me hopes, G,L,

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Yes! This! I've been taking notes on players and their style for a while now and it's really helped. A good example was last night. For villian directly to my right I had made notes in a previous session that he 3bets wide and doesn't defend very often. So what did I do when he 3bet? 4bet and he folded 3 of 5 times. After the 3rd time I made sure I had tightened up my range and ends up. Winning a couple nice pots the other 2 times he called my 4 bet.

its good to know im thinking on the rite lines, ive also been thinking about the phyicolgy a bit as well, like attacking,putting villian on the defencive,i know when im being attacked with a marginal hand i dont like it,and stuff like putting a small bet in making it look like im just trying to scrape a few bob of them when ive got air and i really want them to fold, then ill go the other way mixing my play up,anyhow im rambling GL sneaky feet.