Ego check....Lessons from the hood....

OK so to start I will say that I have only been playing online for 6 weeks so maybe these lessons are all too familiar to the grizzled veterans amongst us. Nonetheless I shall share a few thoughts on things I have learned from the lower stakes tourneys I have played in, or as I consider it, Da hood.

As Thomas Edison said " I have not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that don't work"

#1 no matter how focused you think you are, playing with your four kids, the wife, the dog, and American Idol blasting in the background only leads to one thing..... calling all in with TT against a TAG player who has you covered three spots from ITM. Can you guess the outcome?????

#2 Tilt is not always as obvious as you think!!!! After a bad beat it can make you think ...NO BELIEVE...that there is no way on earth that guy just flopped trips with pocket 8s 2 hands in a row!!!! you shove with your weak A a second time...Can you guess the outcome????

#3 AK AQ and especially AJ AT are just a couple of pretty cards...no matter how bad you want them to be an unstoppable pair.....they just aren't a pair...not now not never....now way no how....so calling the chip leaders all in can lead to???? can you guess the outcome????

#4 Although you have made the final table 6 times and even won twice, and banked about 600.00 in 3 weeks.... you are not able to simply will the cards to your whim.....so check your ego, play the board as it sits, and for god's sake man....don't be afraid to throw down AK, KK, or whatever you think is unbeatable, if it may mean your tournament life, and wait for a better opportunity when YOU have fold equity, YOU are the chip leader, YOU have the position.....then you may not have to guess the outcome, you'll know it.


Thanks to all of you who have helped me become a better player, hopefully these few things can help someone who like me struggles with the obvious sometimes.....

It's like this whole thing was written on life tilt.

Worrying about placing ITM in MTTs (I assume you are talking about this) is wrong.

Worrying about busting to the CL is seriously bad. We need all the chips, therefore we need to get them from the people who have them.

No one cares about the outcome, and you shouldn't either.

No life tilt

Maybe I wasn't clear....I am not trying to say that we should be sweating the bubble....or happy with just ITM....


I am drawing attention to those nagging little plays that we make when our better judgement tells us not to.

The ones that in the best case are minor chip leaks but at worst case cost us...ITM, or final table, or make us finish 9th.....does that make more sense?

You mean when you let hopes and wishes take over solid play?

Exactly

That is exactly what I mean...and how distraction, tilt, or just plain ego can cause us to veer from solid, smart play.

I think ego is helpful as long as it doesn't force you into making bad play. I know that if i have to pick who at a table do i have the most confidence in to make a solid play i choose myself every time.

The outside distractions can really affect most peoples game. We should try to avoid distractions at all costs, although I do know that this isn't always possible.
I've definitely been known to watch a movie or some TV while i play. AK & AQ always look so pretty pre flop, and I as many have a hard time laying them down, this is something i need to work on, these are hands that must see a flop.

I see a lot of Ego's getting crushed, with the hands you are talking about, mainly in MTT.

I especially love it when I come across this sort of player, in a Ring Game.

gunzblazin0 said:

You mean when you let hopes and wishes take over solid play?
That is exactly what I mean...and how distraction, tilt, or just plain ego can cause us to veer from solid, smart play.

Click to expand...

This is why I cannot endorse (in any kind of general sense) a casual player to trust his "instinct". There are too many dysfunctional variables to affect that. Doyle Brunson can play by instinct (and other high end professionals). Weekend warriors have usually done none of the head work involved to hone instincts and have a hard time separating hopes, dreams, wishes from reality. While someone could have a natural propensity to it, the elements of focus, awareness and relaxation are items that require some mastery in order for those instincts to be true (not too mention an incredible amount of flops under the belt). These three things are the bread and butter of professional actors and athletes - that's why you can see quite a few of them come to the felt and do pretty well.
I say pay attention to your instinct - then think it through to see if the facts match and act accordingly. Then act on that - not your "instincts" (hopes, wishes, dreams).

Oooooo... a mini-rant! Sorry

IMHO, I think ego is a good thing to have while playing, but it can be dangerous. Life the expression goes, if you're at the table for more than 5 minutes and you can't spot the sucker..... guess who it is? You gotta play you're game with confidence, with a good mix of knowledge, instinct, follow your gut, stay relaxed and focused, have fun, and realize variance is a pain in the a$$. Variance is killer in online poker due to the amount of hands played! It's insurmountable compared to live play, and you gotta be confident in your abilities! Ego can get you in a lot of trouble and personally, I think if you're ego and exceeds your confidence, than youre in for a world of trouble, esp when you go on tilt. Thinking youre the best, and having confidence in your game are two completely different things, and you need to decipher between how confident you truely are with your game, and how confident you THINK you are, hoping, wishing, and dreaming about making it big. It doesn't happen overnight, and it takes alot of dedication to actually become a GOOD, well rounded poker player. So, thats my rant, and if it doesn't make alot of sense, I'll reiterate later but I just read this and had to put in my two cents. and for me, it all comes down to reading a player, reading my hand, and then finally, going w/ my gut instinct! Don't let your ego, for example, call an all in call with KK, when there is an A on the board and your gut in SCREAMING, you dont have the nuts after reading your player, and reading your hand.