A method to use to guage your progress and development in Poker

[pirateglenn]

So a method i have used for a few years now is this, its simple and easy to use albeit you will need your hand history to make it fully relatable and useful.

Month by month - i look at my hand histories and specifically all in pots where i have been put to a decision.

I review the situations where i have forced the play and jammed and the texture of the board.
I check to see if i have notes on that player.

As i have moved along this journey - i have paid particular attention to where i have got the hands in good, i then calculate the number of times i have been ahead and then move forward from there to determine outcomes and percentages of wins.

When i am running well and reading the room as i call it online, my ability to make correct reraises/jams/calls increases and links in to when i am on a heater, at present over past 8 weeks, i have been running really well and that happens to also coincide with my return to cardschat in the past 4 weeks as well (worth noting).

Its really simple, if i am running well - my stats increase and it tends to feed into the following tourneys i play.

 

[alien666dj]

An excellent article also I would add that when analyzing your game you need to consider it in different ways. Then display common mistakes and write them down for yourself, what you shouldn't do.

 

[Luvepoker]

Smart way of looking at this. I do something similar but I also look at the luck v bad luck factor. Doing this gives me a deeper understanding of how I did in a certian period. I also look into what hands I was dealt as well to see if they were or not beter than average.

 

[vonabruch]

great article. I wish you good luck and that your level of play becomes better and better

 

[Gutshot Gus]

Do you use Poker Tracker to do this or just search on the site you play? I bought Poker Tracker and am still getting my feet wet as far as everything to use it for.

 

[fletchdad]

Do you use Poker Tracker to do this or just search on the site you play? I bought Poker Tracker and am still getting my feet wet as far as everything to use it for.

It is a deep and complicated program but a great tool once you get the hang of using it.

 

[Gutshot Gus]

It is a deep and complicated program but a great tool once you get the hang of using it.

You are right. I am a little overwhelmed, can't see the trees for the forest. I'll just have to start climbing one tree at the time. I've started with leak tracker and it helps a lot with showing where I need to be more aggressive or chill out.
I need to get in there and figure out what I want/need on the HUD and use it better, Now I just look at VPIP and PR.
The good part is stats don't lie and no matter how good you think you are, they will humble you.

 

[Polytarp]

... and that happens to also coincide with my return to cardschat in the past 4 weeks as well (worth noting).

Its really simple, if i am running well - my stats increase and it tends to feed into the following tourneys i play.

Agreed, you read your cards but you also need to read the crowd. I've won many games playing with pure garbage..3,8 unsuited etc... advertising my "smart play" when I got really lucky and I've lost with pure gold, sets, straights, flushes etc... The CC tools help in hindsight and so do PTracker and sharkscope. Table tuition is sometimes necessary to understand what the same player will play when you meet them at different stake levels and you have assessed the type of MTT game you're in..piranhas, sharks, goldfish..guppies.

 

[pirateglenn]

I have used various HUDS in the past few years but have found them of limited use, they are good - make no mistake and can greatly help you but im a situational player, after many years play, i tend to have a solid grip on bet sizing, pot odds, equity and also as a live player - my strongest skillset is reading the table and assessing player images - online wise - i have a couple of other techniques i use (im not sharing those sorry) lol - but these work well for me.

 

[fletchdad]

You are right. I am a little overwhelmed, can't see the trees for the forest. I'll just have to start climbing one tree at the time. I've started with leak tracker and it helps a lot with showing where I need to be more aggressive or chill out.
I need to get in there and figure out what I want/need on the HUD and use it better, Now I just look at VPIP and PR.
The good part is stats don't lie and no matter how good you think you are, they will humble you.

Good attitude. Patience is the key. It really is way too much information at first if you are new to it.

The stats are just one thing. Knowing what to do with the stats is the hard part. Just cause someone has a 65%VPIP does not mean they dont have it OTR.

Do you like playing with software? Tinkering with PT or HEM is fun for some and boring for others. Liking the tinkering helps, but tinkering needs to be done to get the full impact of the tool. Like viewing big hands, won AND lost. You don't just see if your big losing hands were played correctly, but you need to see if the winning hands were well played or just lucky.

Use the stats to know where to apply your aggression is also a good place to start. Like, say you have a calling station, but you see his aggression is very low, so if he starts to show some balls, you may just get out of the way with most hands.

Allowing the stats to humble you is a great trait to have. You would be surprised how many bad players blame anything but themselves for their losses.