Dobbler1
Rock Star
I think everyone has a range of play, from their A game to a much worse version of their game. It's easy when you're running bad to think it's bad luck, and for sure sometimes it will be. How do you tell if you're playing well or not? Can you always tell? Do you notice when are playing badly but still winning? What are the things you catch yourself doing that make you think "Okay, that was a bad choice?"
Here are some of my answers: I think I can usually tell when I'm playing poorly relative to my game in general. There's always room to improve my game in general, but there's a big difference between my A game and my C- game. I can absolutely identify some bad plays, even when they work out well for me. The main thing that I look at if I'm trying to figure out if I'm playing well or not are 1) am I making plans or am I acting on impulse? and 2) am I choosing based on thoughts or feelings? If the answer is impulse and feelings, then I am not playing well. I think I sometimes don't notice playing poorly when I am winning, but in specific hands I can often say "well that worked out better than it had any right to" to myself, and take note not to make the same mistake again. I don't think loosing a big pot with a set to a bigger set is necessarily bad play. I don't think getting a bluff called or going for a hero call and being wrong are necessarily bad plays
I think the worst thing I catch myself doing is ignoring my own reads. The other day I had a guy pegged as a super-nit. He had a VPIP of 6% on a 6max table over lots of hands, and he raised my BB from the button. I had JJ, and against a random opponent that's an easy 3bet. I should have flatted against this guy, but instead I 3bet and he 4bet. I called and the flop was low. Neither of us had many chips left, so I shoved, he called and showed aces. According to my read of him, the worst he had was QQ, but I didn't play accordingly. I knew I played the hand poorly, not because it would have been wrong to 3bet normally, but because this guy had done me the favor of telling me exactly what types of hands he played, and I didn't listen.
Here are some of my answers: I think I can usually tell when I'm playing poorly relative to my game in general. There's always room to improve my game in general, but there's a big difference between my A game and my C- game. I can absolutely identify some bad plays, even when they work out well for me. The main thing that I look at if I'm trying to figure out if I'm playing well or not are 1) am I making plans or am I acting on impulse? and 2) am I choosing based on thoughts or feelings? If the answer is impulse and feelings, then I am not playing well. I think I sometimes don't notice playing poorly when I am winning, but in specific hands I can often say "well that worked out better than it had any right to" to myself, and take note not to make the same mistake again. I don't think loosing a big pot with a set to a bigger set is necessarily bad play. I don't think getting a bluff called or going for a hero call and being wrong are necessarily bad plays
I think the worst thing I catch myself doing is ignoring my own reads. The other day I had a guy pegged as a super-nit. He had a VPIP of 6% on a 6max table over lots of hands, and he raised my BB from the button. I had JJ, and against a random opponent that's an easy 3bet. I should have flatted against this guy, but instead I 3bet and he 4bet. I called and the flop was low. Neither of us had many chips left, so I shoved, he called and showed aces. According to my read of him, the worst he had was QQ, but I didn't play accordingly. I knew I played the hand poorly, not because it would have been wrong to 3bet normally, but because this guy had done me the favor of telling me exactly what types of hands he played, and I didn't listen.
without the handcuffs this time 
