Friday 12 February 2010

Cash game mindset

Talking to Snake Eyes tonight on the phone and he was rattling on again ;-) about this book he is reading, The Poker Mindset and how it's really making him think about the game in a different light and a s'pose he's already infected me and now I start thinking about what he is saying.

I mean we all know that poker is a long-term skill game, short-term luck game and that as long as we keep making the right moves then long term we should be winning players, but as you and I both know it ain;t that easy.

When I play I check my results either as I go along or at the end of the session  and tbh, it affects me every single time. If I am up am am happy and in a good mood, if I am losing i start thinking about my losing hands and the lucky bastards who outdrew me, which of course puts me in a bad mood, but I do know that poker is about the long run.

Surely then, if I know this why do I even look at my results in the short term as in reality it shouldn't matter a shit. I should just play each session as impartially as I can and not look at anything until the month end, where I can figure it all out.

I really want to try this, but not sure I have the self-discapline to actually do it. I wonder how it would affect me and mentality towards poker?? I am almost sure, as I type this, that it would be massively beneficial for me personally. I mean when I am running bad, I am reluctant to play, where as if I only "felt" I was running bad, but didn;t actually have the stats to back it up, it might be easier to return to the tables and keep grinding right??? I also wonder if it could help me with the tilt issues and stop me spewing?

This has got me thinking....

My only issue is how would you review your session and the big pots you lost and won to looks for reads/leaks??

I might try it for one week. Playing without looking at my stats. Just keeping poker tracker on the import page at all times.  Has anyone tried this or do they actually do it???

Think I might give it a go after this back-to-back is over.

4 comments:

  1. I was going to reply here but didn't want to take over your comments box with my rambling take on variance etc.Replied on my blog.Goot post.Certainly got me thinking far too late into the wee hours!

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  2. I am all for reviewing each session mate, but only at the end of the session. Each session I am now trying to stop looking at PT3, whilst playing, to 'keep score' as there is no advantage to this at all. The best decision is still the best decision, regardless of how well I have been doing. We are in this thing for the long term, so the results of individual sessions matter not.

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  3. Is that the right thing though Snake? I mean surely you are going to take that mentality (of whatever results you saw) directly into your next session, where as if you wait a longer period of time the results are sort of less relevant to a single session and as such should technically have less impact???

    It's a shame you cannot filter out the actual results on PT3 when you are looking over hands.

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  4. I think some of the issue with me is not being 100% certain in my ability. How much loss can be put down to variance before you realise you are a losing player at NL50 for example?

    If you're Phil Ivey then you know you are a consistantly winning player so can carry on knowing the results will turn around. Without having that in the first place it's difficult putting your faith into it fully when you have a few losing sessions.

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