How do you know you are getting better?

[david1bear]

Last year I went through a lot of frustration causing me to get mad and upset in which would cause me to lose tournaments and money. Learning how to control my frustrations and anger mixed with good old patients has lead me to a lot of wins and to final tables this year. I know I am better now because I am winning money and less headaches :O)

 

[mushthebush]

It's not less quantifiable than running. It's based on numbers and it's pretty easy to know, within a reasonable range of hands, how you're doing.
Strict strategy, back testing, analysis, supressed emotions and critical thinking. How else could you tell if you get better or worse?

Find a strategy, put it in play, stick to it, test it over a relevant range. Analyse your play, find leaks, adjust to correct these, if necessary.

Frustrating as it may be, it applies to everything you do in life, whether it's poker, business, crypto, trading, sports, arts, family, relationships, work, love, sex etc.

Your obsession to be the best and beat everyone else at the game you are playing will make you better. Seek information from every possible spot, then test it. If it proves to be right, repeat and consolidate.

Absolutely everything requires hard work in order to attain results. Desired results require even harder work.

If you see the results of your hardest work adding up and your life improving in whatever you do, then you'll know you're getting better.

Not mean in any way, but high rewards require an equal amount of work plus blood, sweat and tears.

 

[SheldonMS]

In poker it's easy to measure your evolution.
If in a large sample (3000 or more) your graph is ascending, you are better.

 

[pirateglenn]

I measure my progress by number of cashes + outcomes of decisions in difficult spots + number of correct reads + reviewing hands on hand player and discussing further. I also make time to study my game and look at resource material - i use a lot of the poker tools that Cardschat provides plus my own subscribed material.

 

[TheIpS]

This question is relevant to me as well.
I try to be disciplined, read the rules, watch tutorial videos, and everything seems to be clear, but in the game I make the same mistakes over and over again. My biggest mistake is fear. I play very tight all the time, especially in the middle and late stages.
I can’t help myself.
Yes, I learned a lot of tricks, I adhere to bankroll management, I have a strategy for the game, but because of self-doubt I start to forget about the strategy again.

 

[NWPatriot]

What kind of metrics are you using to validate that your skills are increasing? How do you know you are a better player than a year ago? Poker isn't like running, where you can measure your time for a mile. I ran a 6:00 min mile, next time I am for 5:59 min a mile.

Even after 1,000 mtt games, I can't say for sure I am better vs the old me. Sure I picked up some betting habits of regulars and I know their ranges better. But that is just having more information, I can't say I grew as a player.

I guess after 1,000 MTT games, I did grew on my way I handle tilts. After awhile you seen it all. AA crack on the bubble, sure. Getting holding QQ and someone call your shove with K6o, you beat ya. Bad beats happen so often, it is actually surprising if you don't get one somewhere along the line in a MTT.

I think ROI is the metric you are seeking. Our return on investment (ROI) must improve when we are getting better. Keep in mind, that small sample sizes can cause issues here. Also, we need to compare the same stakes against the same stakes. Our ROI may reduce some, as we move up in stakes.

ROI% = ( $won - $invested ) / $ invested

Let's say you played 1000 tournaments last year and cashed for $450 on your $500 in buyins. Your ROI last year was -10% You played 1000 tournaments this year and cashed for $800 on your $600 buyins. Your ROI this years is +33%. Since your buy-ins were higher on the same amount of tournaments, then we would assume you have moved up in stakes on at least some tournaments, and you had a higher ROI, so you are playing better poker. Of course, variance is always a thing, and if you measure this over 20 tournaments instead of 1000, you may not learn anything with any metric.

There are all sorts of cliches regarding playing well and losing, and needing 1,000,000 tournaments to counter variance, but in the end, if we do not have results over a significant period, then we are probably making bad decisions somewhere along the way.

Good luck and God bless.

 

[danoscar]

NWPatriot,

You are a very good player. If you think you are, take it to the real tables. I think you will experience a good outcome.

Dan'O

 

[alien666dj]

I understand that I develop more when I go out of my game plan less.