Thursday, January 13, 2011
I have registered to play in the PokerStars World Blogger Championship of Online Poker! The WBCOOP is a free online Poker tournament open to all Bloggers, so register on WBCOOP to play.
Registration code: XXXXXX 540655
Friday, December 05, 2008
Update
Have cashed out a bit, run like crap, and then run like a god again. Haven't looked at my sharkscope graph lately but it must look like a yoyo for the past couple weeks. Looked through all my numbers and even when I was down a sick amount for about two weeks straight, I should have been a huge winner, instead, I lost about 1/3 of my bankroll.
Good news is the last week I have gotten back much that I had lost. With my withdrawls lately for bills my BR is still between $750-$800 on PS and $200 on FTP with a little bit at a few other sites that might be about another $50.
Outside poker, I got a job again so I will be dipping into my BR less to make bills. Job sucks, the pay sucks, the commute sucks, but at least it keeps me busy and keeps my BR away from my bills.
Good news is the last week I have gotten back much that I had lost. With my withdrawls lately for bills my BR is still between $750-$800 on PS and $200 on FTP with a little bit at a few other sites that might be about another $50.
Outside poker, I got a job again so I will be dipping into my BR less to make bills. Job sucks, the pay sucks, the commute sucks, but at least it keeps me busy and keeps my BR away from my bills.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Nov 17 notes.
Played a bunch of MTT SNGS mostly doing crap. Jumped on a 360 person O/8 for $8 during the run. Was really burned out toward the end with how I was running but right at the end, I decide not to add table when I busted out(I run 4 at all times during a session, when I bust one, I load another). Well, took a first in my last SNG and with barely squeeking into the money, I hit enough cards to get to the next pay level when I ran a good hand into a hand that killed me on the river. 15th place. Ending PS BR $832.
Nov 16 notes.
Played a lot of tourneys on PS with my MTT SNGS, ran like heck in them, got in good a lot and couldn't hold up. The MTT SNGs held the bleeding down to a minimum. PS BR $755.
FTP played a couple tourneys and then played against BR management for the 21k. Others I failed miserably, the 21K I got pretty deep. Was just short of ave stack when QQ in the sb, raise late, I push to a call. JJ for him, and he flops the boats, he had me covered by about 4k. GG me. 85th place, solidly ITM. FTP BR $168.
Nov 15 notes.
On to last nights results. Drunken Horse and then Drunken HOE was a BR disaster. Lucky for me I did ok on a $6 matrix and a $3 ko for a night ending at $135 on FTP for a marginal down. Played one of my $26 tickets for the 28k. Did pretty solid and then hit a rough patch where the guys on my left started pushing in on all my raises. Got down to about 300 players paying 168 when got moved to a new table really short, raised 4s, didn't get called, minraised jacks next hand(min raise an accident) two callers 5-8-5 flop bet half flop takes it down, next hand QQ, have some chips so standard raise now, the big stack behind me that was a caller last hand pushes on me. I call, AK suited, he flops two of his suit, brick turn, king river, GG me. Overall I was happy with my tournament play there and only would do a couple things different for the whole tourney.
PS, only played a bit there last night. 2nd in a 45 man and ending BR of $771.
Didn't play with my free money on Absolute since I am still thinking of withdrawing that for this weeks bills.
Later Day Notes
Did a session that was about as rough as you could get, lost a lot of flips and hit some coolers. Bubble boy twice on my 45 man turbos. Lost a good chunk. Couldn't cash but once good news is that it was a second. Overall, HU sucked. Played that pretty bad. Ugh. PS br $761. Lost a lot of opportunities out there.
Bought in on the Absolute 2k guarantee and then cashed out the remaining money minus the check fee. Ran pretty well for most of it, ran into a lagtard two times when he had great hands, out in 27th for $15 and some change left in my AP account. Bills will be paid again with the check. Go me. To tired to play any more poker tonight after that though, so no updates for PS or FTP.
Nov 14 notes from after that last post
Short PS session today. Three 25NL tables and one $6 45 man turbo.
Turbo, had no cards and ended up running eights into jacks. End Game, 19th place.25NL Stacked a semi shorty early with my top set vs his two pair on the turn, river, quads. Other table ran into a shorty that hit some crazy outs on me two hands in a row. Lucky I had chipped up some on that table first. Then hit my set of jacks, another guy hit his flush on the turn, no help on the river for another $8 of damage. Other Table some small wins, nothing special for a small profit. Then a guy hit a flush on me on the river for another short stack double up.
Overall, felt mostly good about my play, it is just happened to hit some guys hitting their chase, so end session at about a bucks short for cash and down the tourney buy in for the session. End PS BR $736
Played a bunch of MTT SNGS mostly doing crap. Jumped on a 360 person O/8 for $8 during the run. Was really burned out toward the end with how I was running but right at the end, I decide not to add table when I busted out(I run 4 at all times during a session, when I bust one, I load another). Well, took a first in my last SNG and with barely squeeking into the money, I hit enough cards to get to the next pay level when I ran a good hand into a hand that killed me on the river. 15th place. Ending PS BR $832.
Nov 16 notes.
Played a lot of tourneys on PS with my MTT SNGS, ran like heck in them, got in good a lot and couldn't hold up. The MTT SNGs held the bleeding down to a minimum. PS BR $755.
FTP played a couple tourneys and then played against BR management for the 21k. Others I failed miserably, the 21K I got pretty deep. Was just short of ave stack when QQ in the sb, raise late, I push to a call. JJ for him, and he flops the boats, he had me covered by about 4k. GG me. 85th place, solidly ITM. FTP BR $168.
Nov 15 notes.
On to last nights results. Drunken Horse and then Drunken HOE was a BR disaster. Lucky for me I did ok on a $6 matrix and a $3 ko for a night ending at $135 on FTP for a marginal down. Played one of my $26 tickets for the 28k. Did pretty solid and then hit a rough patch where the guys on my left started pushing in on all my raises. Got down to about 300 players paying 168 when got moved to a new table really short, raised 4s, didn't get called, minraised jacks next hand(min raise an accident) two callers 5-8-5 flop bet half flop takes it down, next hand QQ, have some chips so standard raise now, the big stack behind me that was a caller last hand pushes on me. I call, AK suited, he flops two of his suit, brick turn, king river, GG me. Overall I was happy with my tournament play there and only would do a couple things different for the whole tourney.
PS, only played a bit there last night. 2nd in a 45 man and ending BR of $771.
Didn't play with my free money on Absolute since I am still thinking of withdrawing that for this weeks bills.
Later Day Notes
Did a session that was about as rough as you could get, lost a lot of flips and hit some coolers. Bubble boy twice on my 45 man turbos. Lost a good chunk. Couldn't cash but once good news is that it was a second. Overall, HU sucked. Played that pretty bad. Ugh. PS br $761. Lost a lot of opportunities out there.
Bought in on the Absolute 2k guarantee and then cashed out the remaining money minus the check fee. Ran pretty well for most of it, ran into a lagtard two times when he had great hands, out in 27th for $15 and some change left in my AP account. Bills will be paid again with the check. Go me. To tired to play any more poker tonight after that though, so no updates for PS or FTP.
Nov 14 notes from after that last post
Short PS session today. Three 25NL tables and one $6 45 man turbo.
Turbo, had no cards and ended up running eights into jacks. End Game, 19th place.25NL Stacked a semi shorty early with my top set vs his two pair on the turn, river, quads. Other table ran into a shorty that hit some crazy outs on me two hands in a row. Lucky I had chipped up some on that table first. Then hit my set of jacks, another guy hit his flush on the turn, no help on the river for another $8 of damage. Other Table some small wins, nothing special for a small profit. Then a guy hit a flush on me on the river for another short stack double up.
Overall, felt mostly good about my play, it is just happened to hit some guys hitting their chase, so end session at about a bucks short for cash and down the tourney buy in for the session. End PS BR $736
Friday, November 14, 2008
I am just going to cut and paste some stuff from my BR journal because I can't sleep. I need to keep this going, the job situation sucks since I moved down the Largo, FL. Grind, grind, grind.
"Gods it has been a long time since I wrote in this.
Just to show how weird things are, I still have money online even after a few withdrawls for bills and a bad run. Playing better now, or at least my br is going in the right direction again.
PS, still grinding the $6.50 45 man turbos with some of the $4 180 man tourneys mixed in as well. BR is at $741 and I am back on track and growing there.
FTP, I had traded out some of it but mostly it has been crash and burn there lately. Barely playing there. Just can't seem to go well at the moment so I have a couple $26 tickets and a mostly stagnant BR of $147. Not really sure what I am going to do there at this time.
Absolute, yeah, I know, the antichrist of online companies. Well, the idiots gave me $10 for the fact I hadn't played there in so long. Well, even with some sick beats I have some parleyed that into $208 somehow. Again, another situation that I am not sure what I am going to do with it. I have some bills coming up, and this might cover them if I put in withdrawl right away. Again, not sure."
So that is the state of my br and game right now.
Later all.
"Gods it has been a long time since I wrote in this.
Just to show how weird things are, I still have money online even after a few withdrawls for bills and a bad run. Playing better now, or at least my br is going in the right direction again.
PS, still grinding the $6.50 45 man turbos with some of the $4 180 man tourneys mixed in as well. BR is at $741 and I am back on track and growing there.
FTP, I had traded out some of it but mostly it has been crash and burn there lately. Barely playing there. Just can't seem to go well at the moment so I have a couple $26 tickets and a mostly stagnant BR of $147. Not really sure what I am going to do there at this time.
Absolute, yeah, I know, the antichrist of online companies. Well, the idiots gave me $10 for the fact I hadn't played there in so long. Well, even with some sick beats I have some parleyed that into $208 somehow. Again, another situation that I am not sure what I am going to do with it. I have some bills coming up, and this might cover them if I put in withdrawl right away. Again, not sure."
So that is the state of my br and game right now.
Later all.
Tuesday, April 29, 2008
Back to Business
I have been off of serious poker and grinding for a bit. I am putting together some notes for different things that I want to be conscious of and also a few to be working on.
Bankroll Issues and Plan
First, my redeposit will be in the range of $400-$450. That means bankroll wise; I am dealing with mostly a micro limit strategy for building. My game selection will be $25NL tables or less and $6 or less SNGs or MTTs for when I wish to play tourneys. Will want to limit to at most 4 tables at once. Playing beyond that becomes too robotic and predictable in my opinion.
Just because I don’t wish to have a quarter of my bankroll on the table at any one time, I will have to start cheaper than the 25NL tables. I honestly have trouble consistently beating levels that low, so I most likely will start with working on the SNGs to build my bankroll and some MTTs for taking my shot at moving my bankroll up in a hurry. I really want/need my bankroll to be over $750 before I start 4 tabling 25NL and going back to SNGs and MTTs if I drop to the $550 mark. I am going with at least 30 buy in rule for when to move up on SNGs and if I hit 20 buy ins, I will be moving back down.
Habits to Cultivate
You are in the micros buddy, so the biggest thing is practice you’re ABCs. Old habits must go goodbye or you are screwing yourself.
Know your villain. Don’t credit your opponent with any more intelligence than a bug until proven otherwise. Think of what he is thinking (level one or level 0 thinking).
Pot attachment issues; find those that don’t like to fold after putting money in the pot. You want to play a lot of pots (preferably in position) with these players. If they can’t fold, it increases your implied odds for any hand you play against them.
Ask why a lot. Why is the person doing what they are doing? Why are you doing what you are doing? Use that line of questioning to put together a plan of attack.
Plan ahead. You don’t want to get in a situation where a person does something that completely surprises you. Think ahead to possible actions for every circumstance.
Always keep implied odds in your mind. The stack sizes of every individual are at risk every hand. If you are in the hand, think of every risk reward situation and exploit every mistake you can.
Win the battle of mistakes every night. If you do this consistently you cannot be a losing player.
Force players into making mistakes as often as possible. Play aggressive poker and always work to get and exploit any edge you can in each and every situation that you are involved in.
Folding is still your friend. Play to make fewer mistakes. One of the most common mistakes is getting into that mess in the first place. Don’t be afraid of laying down what might be the best hand.
Big pots should only be played with big hands. Don’t freaking risk your stack on a low edge situation. If it is time to play for stacks, play it with a big hand.
Don’t be afraid to take down a big pot in tournaments. Protect your stack, if that means taking down a very strong but vulnerable hand by betting hard, do so.
Don’t be afraid to use up some time clock to reason out a situation.
Listen to what your opponents are telling us with their actions. When bet, call, or raise they are always giving you information. Let that information make sense.
Have a purpose with each and every bet. Don’t spew chips. Betting or calling without a plan or purpose is spewing.
Always bet your good hands strong. These guys will pay you off at this level. If you don’t get paid, then at least you added to your stack.
Metagame and Study
Ask more questions about situations you have had problems with. Don’t be shy, stubborn or prideful. Search out and find the answers you need to be a better player.
Watch and learn from the best. If you aren’t up for playing, don’t waste time, you can learn at times just by watching how better players handle situations.
Don’t play when your mind isn’t in the game. If you fail to be in the right place of mind, you will fail.
Consistent profit is made by consistently making the right decisions. Make the smart choice at all times.
Patients can lead you to profitable situations to exploit. Don’t rush things.
Look not at the results but by how you got there. If you wish to keep being a winning player, screw the results and look to the data to see if you are really playing well.
Review your game. Don’t stop looking at what you have done. Know what mistakes you have been making. Know what sort of situations lead to trouble so that you can improve on those areas.
Always keep working on your game. Be willing to gather inspiration and advice from anywhere if you can usefully apply it to poker. If you stop working on your game, the game will pass and you will end up losing.
Remember, you are playing to earn. You aren’t there to make friends or to be their pal; you are there to add money to your pocket. That is all.
Bankroll Issues and Plan
First, my redeposit will be in the range of $400-$450. That means bankroll wise; I am dealing with mostly a micro limit strategy for building. My game selection will be $25NL tables or less and $6 or less SNGs or MTTs for when I wish to play tourneys. Will want to limit to at most 4 tables at once. Playing beyond that becomes too robotic and predictable in my opinion.
Just because I don’t wish to have a quarter of my bankroll on the table at any one time, I will have to start cheaper than the 25NL tables. I honestly have trouble consistently beating levels that low, so I most likely will start with working on the SNGs to build my bankroll and some MTTs for taking my shot at moving my bankroll up in a hurry. I really want/need my bankroll to be over $750 before I start 4 tabling 25NL and going back to SNGs and MTTs if I drop to the $550 mark. I am going with at least 30 buy in rule for when to move up on SNGs and if I hit 20 buy ins, I will be moving back down.
Habits to Cultivate
You are in the micros buddy, so the biggest thing is practice you’re ABCs. Old habits must go goodbye or you are screwing yourself.
Know your villain. Don’t credit your opponent with any more intelligence than a bug until proven otherwise. Think of what he is thinking (level one or level 0 thinking).
Pot attachment issues; find those that don’t like to fold after putting money in the pot. You want to play a lot of pots (preferably in position) with these players. If they can’t fold, it increases your implied odds for any hand you play against them.
Ask why a lot. Why is the person doing what they are doing? Why are you doing what you are doing? Use that line of questioning to put together a plan of attack.
Plan ahead. You don’t want to get in a situation where a person does something that completely surprises you. Think ahead to possible actions for every circumstance.
Always keep implied odds in your mind. The stack sizes of every individual are at risk every hand. If you are in the hand, think of every risk reward situation and exploit every mistake you can.
Win the battle of mistakes every night. If you do this consistently you cannot be a losing player.
Force players into making mistakes as often as possible. Play aggressive poker and always work to get and exploit any edge you can in each and every situation that you are involved in.
Folding is still your friend. Play to make fewer mistakes. One of the most common mistakes is getting into that mess in the first place. Don’t be afraid of laying down what might be the best hand.
Big pots should only be played with big hands. Don’t freaking risk your stack on a low edge situation. If it is time to play for stacks, play it with a big hand.
Don’t be afraid to take down a big pot in tournaments. Protect your stack, if that means taking down a very strong but vulnerable hand by betting hard, do so.
Don’t be afraid to use up some time clock to reason out a situation.
Listen to what your opponents are telling us with their actions. When bet, call, or raise they are always giving you information. Let that information make sense.
Have a purpose with each and every bet. Don’t spew chips. Betting or calling without a plan or purpose is spewing.
Always bet your good hands strong. These guys will pay you off at this level. If you don’t get paid, then at least you added to your stack.
Metagame and Study
Ask more questions about situations you have had problems with. Don’t be shy, stubborn or prideful. Search out and find the answers you need to be a better player.
Watch and learn from the best. If you aren’t up for playing, don’t waste time, you can learn at times just by watching how better players handle situations.
Don’t play when your mind isn’t in the game. If you fail to be in the right place of mind, you will fail.
Consistent profit is made by consistently making the right decisions. Make the smart choice at all times.
Patients can lead you to profitable situations to exploit. Don’t rush things.
Look not at the results but by how you got there. If you wish to keep being a winning player, screw the results and look to the data to see if you are really playing well.
Review your game. Don’t stop looking at what you have done. Know what mistakes you have been making. Know what sort of situations lead to trouble so that you can improve on those areas.
Always keep working on your game. Be willing to gather inspiration and advice from anywhere if you can usefully apply it to poker. If you stop working on your game, the game will pass and you will end up losing.
Remember, you are playing to earn. You aren’t there to make friends or to be their pal; you are there to add money to your pocket. That is all.
Monday, February 04, 2008
It has been a while
Haven't posted on here in a very long time. I keep promising myself I will be more active on this. Just never seem to have enough time.
Holidays have come and gone, they were busy as heck. Now that things have slowed down some I am hoping to play more poker and update this more as well.
Current trend is going great. I am playing very solidly at the 50NL cash games on my favorite donk site. My MTT is still going pretty well. I actually haven't been playing SNGs which is normally such a strong part of my game. About a month ago I was on a slow but steady down trend and decided to change things up. I started playing almost no SNGs and mostly cash 20NL. After that I hit some good and bad nights, more good though. A few weeks ago I had one rough night, and then I just started playing around with an article idea, doing some rough research. Two days later when I was playing again, things were just so much easier it seemed. I have been on a small heater since then. Don't know how long it will last but I am solidly bankrolled for 50NL right now and feel extremely comfortable playing at that level as well.
That is all for now. Buhbye.
Holidays have come and gone, they were busy as heck. Now that things have slowed down some I am hoping to play more poker and update this more as well.
Current trend is going great. I am playing very solidly at the 50NL cash games on my favorite donk site. My MTT is still going pretty well. I actually haven't been playing SNGs which is normally such a strong part of my game. About a month ago I was on a slow but steady down trend and decided to change things up. I started playing almost no SNGs and mostly cash 20NL. After that I hit some good and bad nights, more good though. A few weeks ago I had one rough night, and then I just started playing around with an article idea, doing some rough research. Two days later when I was playing again, things were just so much easier it seemed. I have been on a small heater since then. Don't know how long it will last but I am solidly bankrolled for 50NL right now and feel extremely comfortable playing at that level as well.
That is all for now. Buhbye.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
Our Goals and the Invisible Target
We all play the game. Making the goals for ourselves. “I want to make ‘X’ amount by ‘Y’ date.” “My Goal is to FT Such and Such a tournament”. Then it happens or it doesn’t. We at times focus so much on the results that we forget that the short term results don’t matter in the long run. This is a long run game. Goals that are fixed and solid often will not help us. We must look beyond that to what is really out there.
I am going to invite a friend to join me in this little rambling right about now. His name is Quality. I have known him for a really long time, but I really started to find him much more interesting after my last read of “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”.
Now Robert Pirsig really messes with that term until it sings to you like an Aria of the Heavens. Now he states at one point that quality can’t really be defined but it is often just “known”. “Any philosophic explanation of Quality is going to be both false and true precisely because it is a philosophic explanation. The process of philosophic explanation is an analytic process, a process of breaking something down into subjects and predicates. What I mean (and everybody else means) by the word ‘quality’ cannot be broken down into subjects and predicates. This is not because Quality is so mysterious but because Quality is so simple, immediate and direct.”
He also equated quality to the Greek areté, in the following quote from his book. "What moves the Greek warrior to deeds of heroism," Kitto comments, "is not a sense of duty as we understand it... duty towards others: it is rather duty towards himself. He strives after that which we translate 'virtue' but is in Greek areté, 'excellence' — we shall have much to say about areté. It runs through Greek life."
Now think this over. You want to win. Not just now, but in the future as well. Your goal is now the Invisible Target, Quality. Every action you make, should be trying to invoke Quality for it is in that term that you will see your rewards. If you make Quality descisions at all parts of the hand, all parts of the session, and all parts of your career, then it is imposible to fail.
Quality and the Greek areté are here to make it simple. Striving for these, through the time honored aproaches of practice, study, review, and experience will get you to advance your knowledge of Quality. Every action, should be thought over before it is made, every action should be reviewed in hindsight, and every action of the others at the table as well. Learn it all, every time, from every direction.
With a focus on Quality, the long term becomes a smoother road.
“The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.” Sun Tzu quotes
“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.” William A. Foster quotes
“Quality is not an act, it is a habit.” Aristotle quotes
“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” Henry Ford quotes
“I have offended God and mankind because my work didn't reach the quality it should have.” Leonardo da Vinci quotes
“The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” Vince Lombardi quotes
Follow up discussion on Quality with a buddy.
The discussion Maj and I had following him reading the article. The only editing done here was so it could be easier to read.
Maj: nice article
Maj: and i like the quotes at the end
Ezarc: I thought they fit the theme of the article
Maj: but BECAUSE quality is tough to nail down it's impossible to have as a "goal"
Ezarc: Bingo, now you are thinking
Maj: your point is saying that poker isn't just cards and chips on the table
Ezarc: So, Pirsig left us with the corralation between Quality and areté or excellence!
Maj: but something done before, after, as well as during a session
Ezarc: No, it is about the pursuit of doing things in the best manner you can.
Ezarc: Learning, practicing, and applying everthing you know to play your very best every moment.
Maj: that takes emotion out of the equation
Maj: no annoyance when you lose
Maj: OR glee at your win
Maj: disconnect
Maj: u say something?
Ezarc: No, there will always be a certain satisfaction for doing well, but there also will be an anticipation to try to do better
Maj: and you can't do better than your best?
Ezarc: Perfection in poker is not available.
Ezarc: There are too many variables.
Maj: right Ezarc: But, you keep striving for it.
Maj: you can't control or anticipate everything
Ezarc: Exactly
Maj: u raise with aces, but your opponents don't have to play with you
Maj: therefore the "perfect" result of doubling up is impossible
Ezarc: Sometimes a fold of cards in the bb to a raise is the best move, so you do so.
Ezarc: That move then has Quality.
Ezarc: Think of Quality as a maximizing of expected value.
Maj: looking at each situation unclouded from previous experiences?
Maj: like someone may raise your blind 10 times
Ezarc: You have to from an emotional stand.
Maj: and it is Quality to fold it 10 times
Ezarc: Ahhh, that is where traps, raises with nothing, and psychological factors come in.
Maj: but re-raising with Q taken by itself is a bad move though E
zarc: From a hand stand point, folding the tenth time might make ev sense but from a quality point of view, what is your best option at the moment? Are you playing live? What position is he on steals from?
Maj: so then it's not just correct decisions, you're saying that it's correct TABLE decisions
Ezarc: What is the best play for your long term game.
Maj: not to play weak hands from out of position
Ezarc: That is simple, but if the guy is sitting there all night, I am going to reraise with air about three times in a row.
Maj: but that could turn what is a "correct" play into a monster mistake
Ezarc: I am not going to let anybody at the table hit me in the head that many times without decking him.
Ezarc: If he thinks I am a target, then the target gets to shoot back now.
Maj: that's emotion. You are fighting against a person, not against cards or hand standards Ezarc: It is a purely psychological move, not emotional.
Ezarc: You are changing perception of the table with the reraises. Ezarc: Your table image is the whipped dog under the table.
Ezarc: Now you are biting the hand that is slapping you around. That is not emotional, but table image psychology.
Maj: and that is a "quality" decision?
Ezarc: It can be.
Ezarc: Ok, if the table thinks it can run over you, how can you play effectively?
Maj: let them "run me over" until i get a hand and whack them in the face with it
Ezarc: Then you are a nutpeddler and the table runs over you until you bet and then they run away.
Ezarc: If a table nit raises, or reraises and you have tpmk, you fold right?
Maj: yea
Maj: so then, quality isn't about making +EV decisions?
Maj: you're confusing me now
Ezarc: It is about making long term EV+ decisions.
Maj: but long-term one table one day doesn't matter
Ezarc: Even if you lose those hands from the BB with air, you have made a better winning environment for the session.
Ezarc: I am not saying this move will always have quality, but it can if it changes things to a more suitable playing situation.
Maj: so overall picture from losing a buy-in on a resteal is "this guy can put in his money with anything"
Maj: "so we need to call him down"?
Ezarc: Ok, here are the points made by this move
Ezarc: 1) I can be aggressive
Ezarc: 2) I don't always have to have cards to be aggressive
Ezarc: 3) If you try to push me around, we will tangle
Ezarc: 4) I am not quite the "weak tight" guy you thought
Maj: ok, but this is great and all for the session, or maybe that specific game
Maj: but overall, in the long run, how does this matter
Maj: you don't do this EVERY game you play, right?
Maj: b/c that could get expensive
Ezarc: Profitable decisions have quality.
Ezarc: if you think this decision is profitable, then it holds some degree of Quality.
Maj: and letting them know u aren't a nit is a "quality" decision because it can ultimately be profitable for that game
Ezarc: yes Maj: i think i get it a little better now
Maj: it isn't about one play being the "correct" play in everything
Maj: but each individual play being put together
Ezarc: YES!!!!
Maj: lol, i'm not that hard-headed
Maj: i just like going back and forth
Ezarc: It helps to maintain and clean out your poker thinking then it is all good.
Maj: cool Ezarc: Very cool conversation by the way.
Maj: thank you, i enjoyed it
I am going to invite a friend to join me in this little rambling right about now. His name is Quality. I have known him for a really long time, but I really started to find him much more interesting after my last read of “Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance”.
Now Robert Pirsig really messes with that term until it sings to you like an Aria of the Heavens. Now he states at one point that quality can’t really be defined but it is often just “known”. “Any philosophic explanation of Quality is going to be both false and true precisely because it is a philosophic explanation. The process of philosophic explanation is an analytic process, a process of breaking something down into subjects and predicates. What I mean (and everybody else means) by the word ‘quality’ cannot be broken down into subjects and predicates. This is not because Quality is so mysterious but because Quality is so simple, immediate and direct.”
He also equated quality to the Greek areté, in the following quote from his book. "What moves the Greek warrior to deeds of heroism," Kitto comments, "is not a sense of duty as we understand it... duty towards others: it is rather duty towards himself. He strives after that which we translate 'virtue' but is in Greek areté, 'excellence' — we shall have much to say about areté. It runs through Greek life."
Now think this over. You want to win. Not just now, but in the future as well. Your goal is now the Invisible Target, Quality. Every action you make, should be trying to invoke Quality for it is in that term that you will see your rewards. If you make Quality descisions at all parts of the hand, all parts of the session, and all parts of your career, then it is imposible to fail.
Quality and the Greek areté are here to make it simple. Striving for these, through the time honored aproaches of practice, study, review, and experience will get you to advance your knowledge of Quality. Every action, should be thought over before it is made, every action should be reviewed in hindsight, and every action of the others at the table as well. Learn it all, every time, from every direction.
With a focus on Quality, the long term becomes a smoother road.
“The quality of decision is like the well-timed swoop of a falcon which enables it to strike and destroy its victim.” Sun Tzu quotes
“Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction and skillful execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives.” William A. Foster quotes
“Quality is not an act, it is a habit.” Aristotle quotes
“Quality means doing it right when no one is looking.” Henry Ford quotes
“I have offended God and mankind because my work didn't reach the quality it should have.” Leonardo da Vinci quotes
“The quality of a person's life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endeavor.” Vince Lombardi quotes
Follow up discussion on Quality with a buddy.
The discussion Maj and I had following him reading the article. The only editing done here was so it could be easier to read.
Maj: nice article
Maj: and i like the quotes at the end
Ezarc: I thought they fit the theme of the article
Maj: but BECAUSE quality is tough to nail down it's impossible to have as a "goal"
Ezarc: Bingo, now you are thinking
Maj: your point is saying that poker isn't just cards and chips on the table
Ezarc: So, Pirsig left us with the corralation between Quality and areté or excellence!
Maj: but something done before, after, as well as during a session
Ezarc: No, it is about the pursuit of doing things in the best manner you can.
Ezarc: Learning, practicing, and applying everthing you know to play your very best every moment.
Maj: that takes emotion out of the equation
Maj: no annoyance when you lose
Maj: OR glee at your win
Maj: disconnect
Maj: u say something?
Ezarc: No, there will always be a certain satisfaction for doing well, but there also will be an anticipation to try to do better
Maj: and you can't do better than your best?
Ezarc: Perfection in poker is not available.
Ezarc: There are too many variables.
Maj: right Ezarc: But, you keep striving for it.
Maj: you can't control or anticipate everything
Ezarc: Exactly
Maj: u raise with aces, but your opponents don't have to play with you
Maj: therefore the "perfect" result of doubling up is impossible
Ezarc: Sometimes a fold of cards in the bb to a raise is the best move, so you do so.
Ezarc: That move then has Quality.
Ezarc: Think of Quality as a maximizing of expected value.
Maj: looking at each situation unclouded from previous experiences?
Maj: like someone may raise your blind 10 times
Ezarc: You have to from an emotional stand.
Maj: and it is Quality to fold it 10 times
Ezarc: Ahhh, that is where traps, raises with nothing, and psychological factors come in.
Maj: but re-raising with Q taken by itself is a bad move though E
zarc: From a hand stand point, folding the tenth time might make ev sense but from a quality point of view, what is your best option at the moment? Are you playing live? What position is he on steals from?
Maj: so then it's not just correct decisions, you're saying that it's correct TABLE decisions
Ezarc: What is the best play for your long term game.
Maj: not to play weak hands from out of position
Ezarc: That is simple, but if the guy is sitting there all night, I am going to reraise with air about three times in a row.
Maj: but that could turn what is a "correct" play into a monster mistake
Ezarc: I am not going to let anybody at the table hit me in the head that many times without decking him.
Ezarc: If he thinks I am a target, then the target gets to shoot back now.
Maj: that's emotion. You are fighting against a person, not against cards or hand standards Ezarc: It is a purely psychological move, not emotional.
Ezarc: You are changing perception of the table with the reraises. Ezarc: Your table image is the whipped dog under the table.
Ezarc: Now you are biting the hand that is slapping you around. That is not emotional, but table image psychology.
Maj: and that is a "quality" decision?
Ezarc: It can be.
Ezarc: Ok, if the table thinks it can run over you, how can you play effectively?
Maj: let them "run me over" until i get a hand and whack them in the face with it
Ezarc: Then you are a nutpeddler and the table runs over you until you bet and then they run away.
Ezarc: If a table nit raises, or reraises and you have tpmk, you fold right?
Maj: yea
Maj: so then, quality isn't about making +EV decisions?
Maj: you're confusing me now
Ezarc: It is about making long term EV+ decisions.
Maj: but long-term one table one day doesn't matter
Ezarc: Even if you lose those hands from the BB with air, you have made a better winning environment for the session.
Ezarc: I am not saying this move will always have quality, but it can if it changes things to a more suitable playing situation.
Maj: so overall picture from losing a buy-in on a resteal is "this guy can put in his money with anything"
Maj: "so we need to call him down"?
Ezarc: Ok, here are the points made by this move
Ezarc: 1) I can be aggressive
Ezarc: 2) I don't always have to have cards to be aggressive
Ezarc: 3) If you try to push me around, we will tangle
Ezarc: 4) I am not quite the "weak tight" guy you thought
Maj: ok, but this is great and all for the session, or maybe that specific game
Maj: but overall, in the long run, how does this matter
Maj: you don't do this EVERY game you play, right?
Maj: b/c that could get expensive
Ezarc: Profitable decisions have quality.
Ezarc: if you think this decision is profitable, then it holds some degree of Quality.
Maj: and letting them know u aren't a nit is a "quality" decision because it can ultimately be profitable for that game
Ezarc: yes Maj: i think i get it a little better now
Maj: it isn't about one play being the "correct" play in everything
Maj: but each individual play being put together
Ezarc: YES!!!!
Maj: lol, i'm not that hard-headed
Maj: i just like going back and forth
Ezarc: It helps to maintain and clean out your poker thinking then it is all good.
Maj: cool Ezarc: Very cool conversation by the way.
Maj: thank you, i enjoyed it
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