A couple of weeks ago my friend Dr. Phil commented that he thought I was a "great player". This took me by surprise because I think Dr. Phil is a damn good player and that I am only competent and trying to catch up.
Shortly thereafter, I ran into Matt, the guy who told me months ago that I play so bad and get so lucky. He told me the exact same thing again on the night I last saw him after I beat him in a hand. (He only seems to get irked with me when this happens.)
As for me, I think I will stick to what I know and think. I know that I try to learn something every time I play. I think I am competent. I know that I get lucky now & again. I know that I play bad sometimes, but definitely not very often & usually when on "tilt". I think I can get better every day.
So, am I wrong about Dr. Phil? Is Matt right about me? Who decides who is great and who is terrible? I think ALL players are, at various times, great players, donkeys and/or extremely lucky.
So, my identity crisis continues. Am I a great player or a lucky idiot or a little of both? Hmmm.
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3 comments:
Question : Is Matt the young guy with glasses that wears his baseball hat backwards? If so, he came in 5th in Spokane for $12,500.
Now to the rest. I do think that you are a very good player, but sometimes you "ride the heater" too long. That can lead to some pretty loose play. It can pay off in several ways: table image that gets you paid when you have a hand, but also snap you when you don't or entices someone to call who normally wouldn't against a "rock". I don't advocate rock play as it means your hands are played face up most of the time.
I am reading Annie Duke's book right now "Decide to Play Great Poker". Some of her ideas are things I really try to take to heart, like "in early position, you can start off with a great hand, but after the flop you might not still have one...but if you start with great position, you always have that". (or something like that). Also she really hates the suited card mentality. I am trying to throw away all suited connectors in early position with the exception of broadway suited (or in some cash games suited aces), all others are trash.
Anyway, back to the original question. I think we all act like unthinking donkeys sometimes due to tilt mostly and get off our "A" game wanting revenge for bad beats, past history (think Matt's comments), looseness of the table, poor reads, etc. The key to stepping up your game (in my humble opinion) is to slow down, breathe, think things through (like how will I respond if this hand is raised), welcome bad beats as a sign you are entering pots with the best hand, recognize when you are tilting and back away from the game (break if in cash game), and study the game in books, blogs, etc. Everyone's game has some holes in it. It is your job to recognize them and fix them if you possibly can. You have to recognize that poker (and life) is a series of decisions. You decide first of all whether to play in a game. Every hand requires a decision to play or fold. Annie says "try to make your decisions easy, and your opponents' decisions difficult". If you do this I believe that your (and my) game will step up a notch.
How did you do at Jokers Saturday?
the blog is: www.my-auto-biography.com
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