Just a thought

[mikkav]

Hi All, I can honestly say my poker has improved no end in the last 6 months or so I started as a very loose passive player,read some advice and tried to change to being a tight aggressive player. But unfortunatly it doesn't work like that it'll take a series of being busted out of mtt's or stt's to realise that you don't just become a tight aggressive player you have to BE a tight aggressive player.You have to learn that folding hands out of position is the best way of saving chips eg your utg+1 and your dealt K10 or Kj or QJ or any "face" card and you limp in(we'll say the blinds are 25-50 and you have 1700 in chips) then 3 positions down some one raises it so you decide"well i've got a decent(so you think) hand so ill call." the flop comes down rag rag rag and he makes a raise and you fold or you check to him and he raises and you fold.it's the easiest way of haemorraging chips.You have to ask your self "why am i in this hand?..if I'm going to call this bet should I not be raising?.and if you feel you can't raise well then you muck it.I believe you should always be looking for a reason to fold or raise your hand.I really believe that the most fundamental thing any player should do is to not do anything stupid .My last 3 stts I can pinpoint the hand where I fcuked away the tourney by stupid play and not paying attention.Go through your hand histories where you lost a hand and remember what and how you played it it'll save you chips in the end.I believe the only time to start getting active in any tourney is when the blinds become between 5%-10% of your stack.You've maintained a nice tight image up to then make people pay to see flops .you've probably won a few pots here and there by having the goods now its time to loosen up a bit not too much but play some hands you wouldn't touch early on,limping in with suited connecters or 1 gapped cards is no crime late in a stt or mtt it's easier to throw away 78s than KJ when you miss a flop.Anyway this is all a jumble of thoughts maybe some one will find it handy.:ok

[2damnhype]

Re: Just a thought Nice Post Mikkav I avoid playing cash because, to be totally honest, I haven't got the balls for it - but once I have paid my entrance fee (i don't play rebuys either btw) then I know i cannot loose anymore than I have in front of me then I am prepared to put the raises in where I think necessary. But I do find that it is a mindset that I sometimes struggle to adopt and it is all to easy to splip into - oh lets just have a little look!! It's the discipline that lets me down in poker just like it does with punting! I do feel that I am getting better, and the motto 'practice makes perfect' is only true is you are playing in the style to which you aspire

[Doddsy]

Re: Just a thought Yep good post Mikkav, very sensible. Glad you are improving as a player, that's what we are all aiming for I suppose. Just comes with practice, experience and lots of valuable help from PL. I've always been a tight aggressive player and have had various amounts of success but I think your game only improves when you learn how to be a tight aggressive player who can shift levels easily. I tend to find that I am too tight for my own good in MTT, especially later on or if I am running low on chips. A perfect example of this was my effort in Laddies 100K tournament last night. I played extremely tight for 2 hours (it was 15min rounds) and only played 4 hands but I just couldn't seem to make an impact (+ the fact I had crap cards didn't help :lol) I should have loosened up a bit and took a gamble once my chip stack fell below that 10% barrier you talk about. Gotta keep practicing.

[DAC]

Re: Just a thought Thats a good post - In my opinion discipline and patience are the key it also helps to be philisophical. What makes me laugh about poker is just when you think you have one facet mastered you suddenly realise that in reality - you don't know shi*. It's a wonderful game.