Wednesday, October 10, 2007

Militarizing Poker

I decided to develop a Military Poker Doctrine. This way I can incorporate a lot of my knowledge/thought processes/interest about war into a doctrine about poker. Hopefully this will turn into a multi-part series dedicated to this concept.
I forced myself to take 2 months off from poker due to a recent addition to my family. This self-imposed restriction is of course driving me mad, but has forced some deep reflection into my game.
The results?
I am not reading my opponents well enough. Therefore, I am not making the correct plays against them. To me, there is reading people: how loose/tight and aggressive/passive someone is. Then there is truly reading people: the above plus how they play coordinated flops (that hit them and/or completely miss them), how they play middle pairs when an ace comes (etc.), how they play their position, what moves they will make against a certain opponent, how they bet throughout the battle (front-load, middle-load,back-load, fire bullets/blanks every street). It's all in the details baby. I need to focus on the crazy tiny details to truly get inside my opponents' heads, so I can know what they have and how to destroy them.
Once I make these reads, I'll be able to categorize my enemies. But first, to do that, I must create the archetypes/categories to put them in. I need to delve deeply into the creative side of my brain and incorporate all this and more into a manageable system.....Better use mnemonics ;)

Friday, August 24, 2007

Back in Action

Playing in a $50 rebuy on FT, currently 2nd out of 75!  Started with 150 players.  Just lost 80% of my chips with KK.  
Should of reraised, isolating preflop.  Instead lost to 66 - trips

I need to focus on playing small ball poker and not appearing/being weak.  The more small pots I get in, the more I end up folding/losing and therefore look weak.  So, I need to pay attention to what spots I pick to do battle.


March Goals

  • 1. $6,000 Bankroll
  • 2. Truly Believing: I Am Lucky!
  • 3. Stop Riding the Poker Emotions Roller Coaster
  • 4. Mental Sharpness - Translated into Great Reads

February Goals

  • 1. $2,000 Bankroll
  • 2. Each time I sit down at a table, develop a plan, and pick my victim(s)
  • 3. Play middle pairs better! Be willing to fold them.
  • 4. Create a Player Category System
  • 5. Truly Study the Theory of NL Hold'em
  • 6. Finish Daniel Negreanu's Power Hold'em Strategy
  • 7. Consistent blog updates