I know the right way to play poker, So why dont I play right?

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PlayerPlayerAA

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What can get me into trouble is "assumption", and by the river, allowing that "assumption" to become "belief", losing complete focus on what "really" transpired in the hand.
Playing by the book is only half the skill, the rest is in your guts.
 
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NL08_Rob

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My FIVE biggest problems:
Lack of time online to make good decisions (I'm 5x better live)
Playing too many pots due to boredom
Do to playing idiots for years, never crediting anyone with a hand.
Tightning up nearer the money in MTTs
Tilting on table 2 after a bad beat on Table 1
 
absoluthamm

absoluthamm

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My FIVE biggest problems:
Lack of time online to make good decisions (I'm 5x better live)
Use the timebank. How much time do you really ever need to make a simple decision? The allotted amount of time, with the timebank should be more that enough
Playing too many pots due to boredom
Play more than one table. If you're playing too many hands out of boredom online, then you're playing WAAAY too many hands out of boredom live.
Do to playing idiots for years, never crediting anyone with a hand.
Bad excuse for taking a bad hand too far
Tightning up nearer the money in MTTs
Do the opposite because everyone else is tightening up too, so you're going to benefit from them laying down a lot of hands. I think you already knew this one.
Tilting on table 2 after a bad beat on Table 1
If you're going to tilt then just quit playing altogether for a while that night and start again after you've calmed down.
 
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NL08_Rob

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Thanks! Of course I know all this :rolleyes: ...but bad habits come back!
I get entertained by the banter when playing live, and you can look at others playing too.
 
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Russ gervasi

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Also, check out Mike Caro's law of loose wiring.
 
joe steady

joe steady

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As a non-poker example, I know how to build a nuclear reactor, I know most of the theory behind it.
Over/under on number of days before Interpol shows up at Stu's house?
 
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confessionspoker

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Even computers, which theoritically should have no flaws, make mistakes. Thus, even machines make mistakes!! Humans, much more so. We cant be perfect every time
 
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Pokertron3000

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The proof is in the pudding, so to speak. If you cant do it then you dont really understand it.

As a non-poker example, I know how to build a nuclear reactor, I know most of the theory behind it. I understand it better than a lot of people... but if you had the money to fund me actually taking on such a project...I'm pretty sure I would fail because as much as I understand about the construction of reactors.. the truth of the matter is I dont understand it anywhere near enough to actually be any good at it.

I think the same is true of poker. You probably understand it more than many, but that dosent mean you fully understand it.

I like this post, mainly because I like the idea of some bloke in england building a nuclear reactor, I shall meet you at the carpark with a DeLorean and we are set. Seriously though I think this is a decent way to start thinking about the game.
 
aloneboy_uae

aloneboy_uae

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i have studied a lots of books about poker and how to play poker ..and i learn so many things about poker ...if i play poker when im tired, i dont play on right way...
 
Makwa

Makwa

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I make some bad mistakes sometimes after hours of relatively solid play and it pisses me off a bit.

Are the mistakes you're making similiar in nature? (or happening for similiar reason.. ie. emotion, ego, lack of focus, lack of giving a shite at the time, etc.)

Oops.. I just read your post over again & find it answers some of my questions, lol... sorry about that. Sounds like a post for Jared Tendler

i have studied a lots of books about poker and how to play poker ..and i learn so many things about poker ...if i play poker when im tired, i dont play on right way...

I think this is OP's point... making mistakes (not any kind in particular) or just playing poorly because tired, bored, lack of focus, bad mood... whatever...

Ya its a Jared Tendler thing...

Roy West won't play if he's not feeling good or right, and Caro rule 1 is always play yr best game, that is where we are aiming...

But we get tired, tilted, moody... and often don't notice until we do a real donk move... by then we've prob been playing sub-optimal for a while...

Not sure of the solution... myself I try to be attentive to the signs and either get out of the ring or regain equilibrium in the MTT etc... not easy... again, we often don't notice until we pull a real stinker or create our own little coolers...
 
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absoluthamm

absoluthamm

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create our own little coolers...

I like this part right here. You create a lot of these problems on your own, it's not always that your opponent played a hand badly, but many times you do as well. Key in point is when people complain that their premium pocket pair got busted by complete crap, but they just limped into the pot. That goes into you "creating your own little cooler"
 
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ElectricSavant

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Because you are gambling...

I dont want to start the post sounding arrogant but the fact is that I feel I have a very good grip on how to play winning sng poker. I have read many books and am well versed on ICM as well as +/-Cev play. I browse the hand analysis forum, sometimes even giving my thoughts. I mostly agree with the advice given by the regs but more importantly I understand the thinking behind the decisions.

With all that being said my problem is, if I know the correct decesions, why do I still make the wrong plays? When reviewing hands I often spot errors in my play and wondering wtf I was thinking. It's not usually one specific thing which I think i could fix. Just various random stupidity. I guess part of it may be lack of concentration and I know sometimes I get caught up in the emotions of the game. Am I the only one? is there ever a point where you play flawlessly making the correct decision every time?

It is very frustration to realize that knowing the way to play and playing that way are two totally different things.
 
joe steady

joe steady

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You create a lot of these problems on your own, it's not always that your opponent played a hand badly, but many times you do as well...That goes into you "creating your own little cooler"
Very good point. Especially if you're getting bored/frustrated and start thinking things like "if I would have played that 78off I would have hit a straight last hand, so f*** it, I'm going to play this 45suited from UTG+1 because I'm due/odds are it'll hit/ I've still got a pretty good stack/I'm SOOOO MUCHHH BETTERR." Variance is weird, don't help it out. Slow down, play your game, and if you don't think you're doing that - even in the smallest way - stop playing. There will always be another table.
 
TooTricky

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I dont want to start the post sounding arrogant but the fact is that I feel I have a very good grip on how to play winning sng poker. I have read many books and am well versed on ICM as well as +/-Cev play. I browse the hand analysis forum, sometimes even giving my thoughts. I mostly agree with the advice given by the regs but more importantly I understand the thinking behind the decisions.

With all that being said my problem is, if I know the correct decesions, why do I still make the wrong plays? When reviewing hands I often spot errors in my play and wondering wtf I was thinking. It's not usually one specific thing which I think i could fix. Just various random stupidity. I guess part of it may be lack of concentration and I know sometimes I get caught up in the emotions of the game. Am I the only one? is there ever a point where you play flawlessly making the correct decision every time?

It is very frustration to realize that knowing the way to play and playing that way are two totally different things.

Ha, tell me about it. It's no fun when you call/raise with strong hands and completely miss the flop or just never get any hands. I know I tend to let my emotions run wild when I get bad beats. It makes me play a lot looser and I just get caught up in the moment. :(
 
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KCLEE816

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If you ever stop learning in poker, your never going to achieve your potential. You need to constantly work on improving your game. Whether it be adjusting to regs, improoving your ITM play, upping the volume played, upping the amount of time spent reviewing. There's always something you can be improoving on, Hell, i've been playing SNG for years, and today im making a radical change to the way i view the game. I think some players tend to play well for a period of time, then their play becomes stagnant. They continue to make the same plays, they don't bother to review as much. THey get lazy. They might open their range up from 14% to 16%. They might start making moderately bad shoves/calls of shoves etc.

Point is this. Keep learning and improving, i guarantee the best players in the world still learn new things day to day, and constantly work hard at their game.
I AGREE WITH THIS ALOT I MAKE THE MONEY ALOT IN MTT ITS JUST THE PLAY ONCE I GET THERE
 
SavagePenguin

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With all that being said my problem is, if I know the correct decesions, why do I still make the wrong plays? When reviewing hands I often spot errors in my play and wondering wtf I was thinking.

Personally, I found that recording a session and narrating it live has helped me play better. I don't do the robot-like plays and take a little extra time to explain the situation to the microphone, which sometimes leads me to a different conclusion than what I would have made if I had just acted like normally.
 
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Trimming1

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Knowlage

Yep, I think we all tend to have difficulty breaking "HABITS" ... the "notepad" idea is a good way to remind us of what NOT TO DO and what TO DO. I'll give it a try. Wally

:icon_salu
We as poker players tend to be creatures of habit. So watching our oppenents may give us a hand range/ratio of the people we are playing against. Should you not be involved in a hand WE SHOULD STILL BE OBSERVENT. We can still pick up information. Knowlage is power,and we can use it wisely.
 
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