Which area of your game do you work on the most?

I think the area that causes me most concern is "the bluff" .. because in my opinion it is a great tool when it comes to imposing yourself on a table, in instances like the bubble this factor can save you from being on the ropes and if you have Well worked this part then you can get a lot of advantage from the rivals who are a bit tight at that time. Some players limit themselves to waiting for premium hands but while that happens, other looser players are positioning themselves better.

Originally Posted by omixxx10

I think the area that causes me most concern is "the bluff" .. because in my opinion it is a great tool when it comes to imposing yourself on a table, in instances like the bubble this factor can save you from being on the ropes and if you have Well worked this part then you can get a lot of advantage from the rivals who are a bit tight at that time. Some players limit themselves to waiting for premium hands but while that happens, other looser players are positioning themselves better.

So you work mostly on bluffing? how do you work on this? why do you feel this area is an area that you should work on? For me I try not to bluff unless I am 80% sure the bluff will get through. I feel like a major leak that I used to have was bluffing in spots that when you took a step back and fully analyzed the situation, didn't make sense. I did this because I thought players were being over cautious and I could exploit their weakness. When in reality I was the one being exploitable.

Originally Posted by MemphisGrind

So you work mostly on bluffing? how do you work on this? why do you feel this area is an area that you should work on? For me I try not to bluff unless I am 80% sure the bluff will get through. I feel like a major leak that I used to have was bluffing in spots that when you took a step back and fully analyzed the situation, didn't make sense. I did this because I thought players were being over cautious and I could exploit their weakness. When in reality I was the one being exploitable.

well, u r saying it yourself, trying to do it in meaningless situations ... the bluff must make sense, u know? maybe the situations in which you tried were not the right ones or the rival was not the right one to try it ..

Why do I think it is important to work in that area? it is important to work it for when you really need it and not in order to do it hand by hand u know? So, if you play tight too many hands you become predictable and if you bluff very often you also become predictable, so what you should work on is that when you need this tool at some point, do it successfully. And for that you need to practice it a lot.

I need to work on my 3betting ranges bc, I just don't find enough of the spots to take advantage of that others do. I am a little bit on the nittier side, so opening up without cards is a difficult thing for me to do. I try to work on the things that I find hardest to implement in my game. For me it is 3betting light !

Originally Posted by omixxx10

well, u r saying it yourself, trying to do it in meaningless situations ... the bluff must make sense, u know? maybe the situations in which you tried were not the right ones or the rival was not the right one to try it ..

Why do I think it is important to work in that area? it is important to work it for when you really need it and not in order to do it hand by hand u know? So, if you play tight too many hands you become predictable and if you bluff very often you also become predictable, so what you should work on is that when you need this tool at some point, do it successfully. And for that you need to practice it a lot.

Yes I know that, it was a leak in my game years ago. Luckily I was able to plug that particular leak. Have you had certain situations come up that have not worked for you bluffing? It seems like you are saying that you balance your bluffs.... Exactly when do you choose to bluff? against a particular player, a particular bet sizing that doesn't make sense... I agree that bluffing is a skill that is hard to master, in your time working on bluffing what have you figured out?

Originally Posted by Rounder646

I need to work on my 3betting ranges bc, I just don't find enough of the spots to take advantage of that others do. I am a little bit on the nittier side, so opening up without cards is a difficult thing for me to do. I try to work on the things that I find hardest to implement in my game. For me it is 3betting light !

So also in this spot kind of like bluffing you don't want to be spewy with your 3 bets. If you are 3 betting light you could consider that a bluff, because you don't want a call. I think the same information applies in my previous comment about bluffing. Advice on this would be if do 3bet light do it with hands that flop well suited connectors, stuff like that. This way if you get caught at least the hand plays well post flop. That being said you don't want to get caught so picking good spots is very important. This usually involves an aggro early to middle position opener always a good spot to 3 bet light.

I play most when I have an excellent card in my hand and when the flop has a match so that I can fight for it and win money!

Originally Posted by omixxx10

I think the area that causes me most concern is "the bluff" .. because in my opinion it is a great tool when it comes to imposing yourself on a table, in instances like the bubble this factor can save you from being on the ropes and if you have Well worked this part then you can get a lot of advantage from the rivals who are a bit tight at that time. Some players limit themselves to waiting for premium hands but while that happens, other looser players are positioning themselves better.

I totally agree with your opinion, more lately when I try to apply this strategy, I always come across someone holding something better than me, and unfortunately I'm out of the tournament. More beyond doubt is a great weapon in poker.

I work on my patience... Yeah bluffing is important in poker and against tight players is a good weapon. But when you are at a table with 3-4 crazy guys who are really aggressive and they don't fold anything it's pretty complicated to win against them if the nuts are not coming and you are short.

Hello.
For me, the hardest thing is to have enough patience to wait for good cards.
During the game, I constantly restrain myself, trying to wait for a good opportunity.
In my opinion, this is the hardest thing for me.

Originally Posted by vov4ik

I play most when I have an excellent card in my hand and when the flop has a match so that I can fight for it and win money!

This is a solid strategy.. but what exactly is it that you’re working on?

Originally Posted by PiStealth

I work on my patience... Yeah bluffing is important in poker and against tight players is a good weapon. But when you are at a table with 3-4 crazy guys who are really aggressive and they don't fold anything it's pretty complicated to win against them if the nuts are not coming and you are short.

Absolutely when you are at an aggressive table bluffing isn’t as profitable as it is when at a passive table. Patience is a wonderful thing to work on, one that I plan on incorporating into my game more!

Originally Posted by Lena M

Hello.
For me, the hardest thing is to have enough patience to wait for good cards.
During the game, I constantly restrain myself, trying to wait for a good opportunity.
In my opinion, this is the hardest thing for me.

Again like above patience is tough.. however if you’re on a passive table which is often, it’s goood to widen the range and make moves. But yea if the table dynamic is one that calls for playing a more snug range, then patience is a virtue

Originally Posted by MemphisGrind

This is a solid strategy.. but what exactly is it that you’re working on?



Absolutely when you are at an aggressive table bluffing isn’t as profitable as it is when at a passive table. Patience is a wonderful thing to work on, one that I plan on incorporating into my game more!



Again like above patience is tough.. however if you’re on a passive table which is often, it’s goood to widen the range and make moves. But yea if the table dynamic is one that calls for playing a more snug range, then patience is a virtue

Patience is okay ...but if you really want to improve as a player and get to another level you should study a lot and try to read your opponents/..

light 3bets/raises are a chip making factory in the lower stakes vs 90% of the population. now vs someone that has a 80% vpip and does not fold any hand preflop then you need to tighten up vs them and bet more value hands hard. But putting pressure on the table at or around the bubble is something I have worked hard on and being on the TAG nitty side of things it was hard for me to open my ranges up and put pressure on the shorter stacks at the bubble, but since I have been doing this, my roi has sky rocketed .

Hi.
Perhaps the game on the final table is the most difficult stage for me.
It is very difficult for me to determine when you need to take risks.
This is a psychologically difficult moment for me.

basically my disadvantage is to stop after I won more chips than most of the people sitting at the table,I begin to have bad control of my bankroll,and I can give my chips to a weak hand,although I will know that this is not necessary, my problem can not change the style of play when the situation requires it!

Range construction probably.

Bluffing and bet sizing are my biggest weaknesses.
I'm working on them, but it's hard to break old habits.

Discipline when it comes to my daily schedule is my biggest leak.

I'm trying to move up to meaningful stakes, so I committed myself to at least 2 hours of play and 1 hour of study every single day. I found this to be extremely hard, especially when I'm on a cooler or when I'm tilted.

When it comes to my game leaks I think it's getting bored->play too many tables->don't pay attention->spew->tilt.

I know I play better when I'm sitting at one 10NL table instead of 4 tables of 5 NL, also my winrate is higher playing a single table.

I am trying to work on my heads up play. I struggle with it a lot. Really not sure of the best plays. I have only been playing for a couple of years, and concentrated on improving my overall game. Now I need to home in more on individual aspects of my game. HU is def my weakest atm.

Originally Posted by Spewster

Discipline when it comes to my daily schedule is my biggest leak.

I'm trying to move up to meaningful stakes, so I committed myself to at least 2 hours of play and 1 hour of study every single day. I found this to be extremely hard, especially when I'm on a cooler or when I'm tilted.

When it comes to my game leaks I think it's getting bored->play too many tables->don't pay attention->spew->tilt.

I know I play better when I'm sitting at one 10NL table instead of 4 tables of 5 NL, also my winrate is higher playing a single table.

I have some of these same ones.. I was just playing 2NL and had stack up to $9 told myself press sit out you have done well enough, plus you’re tired... but didn’t do it thought I could keep running over the table, I was arrogant and changed my game and lost $4 of it back before finally leaving.

Originally Posted by Dmnd888

I am trying to work on my heads up play. I struggle with it a lot. Really not sure of the best plays. I have only been playing for a couple of years, and concentrated on improving my overall game. Now I need to home in more on individual aspects of my game. HU is def my weakest atm.

Yea, I have been putting some time in on working on my heads game as well. Stack size is huge in HU you can really put your opponent to the test if you keep the chip lead. On the other side if you’re short instead of constant protection, and letting them run over you, you can still be aggressive. People don’t expect that from Shorty heads up.

At the moment I am trying to improve my flatting range against a 3 bet , also I improved my calling tendencies against some short stack all ins but it took me many hands and many reviews of my played hands.

In general the mathematical part is what concerns me the most , because is the most important factor of the game IMHO in the longrun.

Originally Posted by MemphisGrind

I have some of these same ones.. I was just playing 2NL and had stack up to $9 told myself press sit out you have done well enough, plus you’re tired... but didn’t do it thought I could keep running over the table, I was arrogant and changed my game and lost $4 of it back before finally leaving.



Yea, I have been putting some time in on working on my heads game as well. Stack size is huge in HU you can really put your opponent to the test if you keep the chip lead. On the other side if you’re short instead of constant protection, and letting them run over you, you can still be aggressive. People don’t expect that from Shorty heads up.

Mine needs a lot of work mate. Really feel like a fish out of water heads up. I only play online at the moment, so my discomfort is hopefully hidden somewhat. I need to improve before I attempt live play or I am going to get crushed. I’m hoping to get involved in the Kent poker league, which is near me, to get my first taste of live play. Nervous and excited at the same time. (Sorry, went off topic there for a second).
Any advice on methods/books/videos on improving my HU play much appreciated.

Like a lot of players I think initially I worked a lot on pre flop ranges. Certainly improved my play but after a while I realised it was only a small piece of the puzzle. You need more to be a good player. Decent pre flop raising ranges simply lift you off the bottom rung of the poker ladder, it is entirely possible to still be a terrible player with good pre flop ranges.

The other thing about pre flop is you need more than just a chart that tells you when to open raise. Lately I've been studying and trying to think more about how to react in every seat on the table vs a raise or limp, with villain ranges/seat in mind. I'm trying to be much more positionally aware not just of my own position, but of any active villain's position and what it means when they raise.
Need to get past simply thinking 'Well they have a hand they think is worth raising, I have a decent hand, I'll call it, let's see what happens'. What we need to think is 'Villain raised from UTG+1, his stats are 16/12, but he'll be tighter early, therefore his range could be something like 77+, AT+ (maybe about 10%). This information, even when not perfect, is crucial to whether we should enter a pot or fold.
I find the best way to quickly imagine pre flop ranges of villain is just to think 'What would I be raising in that spot?'. If their HUD stats are looser than yours add a few hands on, if they are tighter, take a few hands out. Take notes on a few simple ranges after looking them up in an equity calculator and keep than handy, eg what does 5% look like? 7.5%? 10% And so on.

Lately I've been working on understanding post flop hand strength a bit better and other post flop matters, eg board texture, ranges etc. My 3 Betting pre flop also needs work. Cardschat hand analysis threads are a great place to learn and post your mistakes and failures to be reviewed. I've also been messing about with equity calculators. And taking a fresh look at some post flop strategy relevant to the games I play, which lately has been mostly 2NL cash.

There is so much info out there for free, but a lot of it is poorly presented, or the focus is too narrow for it to be useful to someone learning (and can even harm your game if implemented incorrectly). There are so many situations that occur in poker, one of my biggest struggles has been coming to grips with the fact that there is usually not one easy answer to a lot of the questions we have when we are learning this game. So much is situation dependent.

With situational dependency in mind, I need to spend more time thinking about WHY a strategy is telling me to proceed a certain way, rather than just adopting that strategy in a certain spot like a copycat who is not using his brain. Gaining awareness that I can translate to other spots in game seems like a much better way to learn. For me, the struggle goes on, but hopefully I am improving.

Overall my biggest challenge is implementing the things I have learnt at the table. The clock ticks fast and memorising strategy is a huge challenge for me personally. I keep a lot of charts and notes handy, try to avoid using them every time, but do find they give me some confidence if I am unsure.

I am working on winning $160,000 for one nights work.

Whatever you are working on give 100% good luck all.
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