Day 7 - An introduction to my poker player article and expansion on those who think game are tough
*This is just the introduction to the article, there is a lot of poker strategy in the article. Basically there will be 6 issues of articles from me where I try to build up a good game plan for beating no limit cash games I didnt want to jump in straight away saying do X, Y and Z and rather wanted to introduce myself and tie things in together a little bit*I am an extremely competitive person. When I was 7 my Mum bought me a chess board, for the next 3 years I dreamt of different ways to check-mate imaginary opponents, moving into my teens “Champ Man” (Football Manager) emerged and after only coming out of my room to eat my addictiveness rating was “Just one more game, I promise”.
So safe to say that after my first encounter in poker where I called with KQo on A8765 because it “added to 20” I decided that I wouldn’t be laughed out of the door again. I mean its just a card game, how hard can it really be?
I hear a lot of people talking about poker as a “solved game” that its “impossible to win anymore online” and every year I hear about how the games are so tough. Absolute rubbish. What I see is a lot of theoretical disasters, repeated ICM suicide and a truck load of unwarranted spew.Over the next few months I will try to help build a good fundamental foundation to make you comfortable at the cash tables. I will focus on specific topics that people have difficulties with such as playing from the blinds, playing draws out of position and will be looking into what leaks I see on a daily basis from regulars and how we can exploit them.
When I started playing chess I always moved the Pawn from B2 to B4 and then moved my Bishop from C1 to A3. Whenever I loaded Football Manager up I would buy Marcus Babbel on a free transfer and then hire Jurgen Klinsmann as my assistant manager. Both were second nature to me they were my game plan. If I randomly moved my Knight from B1 to
then I would be lost, if I bought Titus Bramble for 5m I would be... well I would be fired I guess.
In any strategical game having a game plan is an absolute must. The game plan acts as a backbone to your decision making in specific situations against different opponents. I’m not going to give you a poker bible that you can open any time you are in a difficult spot which tells you the right answer. Poker is such a complex game that lots of the time it simply depends what we will detail in our game plan is common in game situations such as (i) Playing pocket pairs from the button vs an early position raiser or (ii) 3betting from the SB vs the BB.
The end goal is to be comfortable playing in any pre flop spot vs any opponent from any position. Having a very good pre flop game plan allows us to continue in hands with strong and balanced ranges whilst helping us make easier and more importantly more profitable decisions.
Read the rest in next months poker player magazine where we go into pre flop game plans etc..Regarding the bolded part:
This is somethng I see very often on forums, on skype, in casinos ad with friends. The idea that games are so tough now is not true. It probably just mean that "hero" was too lazy to study and stay ahead of the curve. The games 2 years ago were soft but people were saying omg so tough, repeat 3 years ago and repeat 1 year ago. Same thing is happening now and same thing will happen next year.
The game is forever evolving and until everybody is playing GTO they will NEVER be super tough. If you work hard you will stay ahead of the curve, if you grind hard you will continue to learn, if you study your own database a lot you will learn about your leaks.
If you settle to play 10,000 hands a month you will likely find things tough. If you watch less than 2 videos you will likely find things tough. If you want to play when you know you are tilting, you will likely find things tough. If you play without BRM you will likely find things tough.
Poker doesn't come on a plate anymore but 6 years ago it wouldnt either. Most people immerse themselves into poker when they initially get into it, but staying immersed and involved in poker for 5 years means you are really one of the top dogs, its hard to do, but if you have the hunger you will realise the games are not that tough.
Couple examples vs good regs:
Simply DO NOT NEED TO DO THIS, he knows i know he knows i know bullshit. Frequency wise this is so terrible and you just dont need to do this! If I'm playing very aggressive then the good adjustment would not be to 3bet wider so you can 5b jam 150bbs with a wider range.
eat 3: sol1ft ($416.50)
Seat 5: pads1161 ($566.65)
Seat 6: INSART ($1,287.20)
INSART posts the small blind of $2
sol1ft posts the big blind of $4
The button is in seat #5
*** HOLE CARDS ***
Dealt to pads1161 [
]
pads1161 raises to $8
INSART raises to $32
sol1ft folds
pads1161 raises to $72
INSART raises to $1,287.20, and is all in
pads1161 calls $494.65, and is all in
INSART shows [
]
pads1161 shows [
]
Dealt to pads1161 [
]
gopheresque folds
Ace SYL raises to $5
pads1161 raises to $17
tiberius200 sits down
DONTMUGMEOFF folds
DONTMUGMEOFF adds $2.30
Ace SYL raises to $37
tiberius200 adds $150
pads1161 calls $20
*** FLOP *** [
] (Total Pot: $77.20, 2 Players)
pads1161 checks
Ace SYL bets $99.10, and is all in
pads1161 calls $99.10
Ace SYL shows [
]
pads1161 shows [
]
*** TURN *** [
] [
] (Total Pot: $275.40, 2 Players, 1 All-In)
*** RIVER *** [
] [
] (Total Pot: $275.40, 2 Players, 1 All-In)
Ace SYL shows a pair of Tens
pads1161 shows a pair of Nines
Ace SYL wins the pot ($273.40) with a pair of Tens
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $275.40 | Rake $2
Board: [
]
Seat 1: gopheresque folded before the Flop
Seat 2: XinnIvan is sitting out
Seat 4: Ace SYL (button) showed [
] and won ($273.40) with a pair of Tens
Seat 5: pads1161 (small blind) showed [
] and lost with a pair of Nines
Seat 6: DONTMUGMEOFF (big blind) folded before the Flop
Calling a 4bet OOP vs me this deep with this hand is never going to be a winning play.
Dealt to pads1161 [
]
Ace0219 raises to $8
INSART raises to $32
pads1161 raises to $70
Ace0219 folds
INSART calls $38
*** FLOP *** [
Ah] (Total Pot: $148, 2 Players)
INSART checks
pads1161 has 15 seconds left to act
pads1161 bets $78
INSART calls $78
*** TURN *** [
Ah] [
] (Total Pot: $304, 2 Players)
INSART checks
pads1161 bets $152
INSART calls $152
*** RIVER *** [
Ah
] [
] (Total Pot: $608, 2 Players)
INSART checks
pads1161 checks
*** SHOW DOWN ***
pads1161 shows [
] a pair of Aces
INSART mucks
pads1161 wins the pot ($607) with a pair of Aces
*** SUMMARY ***
Total pot $608 | Rake $1
Board: [
Ah
]
Seat 1: pads1161 (big blind) showed [
] and won ($607) with a pair of Aces
Seat 2: Ace0219 (button) folded before the Flop
Seat 5: INSART (small blind) mucked [
] - a pair of Ace
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