It's been awhile since I blogged and a good bit has happened since the last time. I got a new backer the end of October and have been getting back to the grind since. It started out a little slow but after a few days things really started turning around.
I've played about 170 tournaments over the two weeks I've been with my new backer and made eight final tables, of those eight six were top three finishes. Two first, two seconds, one third a seventh and an eight. I'm up almost $2K and feel like I'm playing better than ever.
I would like to thank my biggest nemesis for my recent success. Without the constant struggle this nemesis was causing me I'd have never turned my game around like I have. I hope this nemesis is always by my side because this adversary makes me step back and reassess every aspect of my play and make the necessary changes that enable me to vastly improve. Who is this nemesis, variance. I just went through the a worse bout of bad variance that I've ever before experienced but I persevered and worked hard and most importantly I stuck it out. I've come through it so much stronger and so much better and it's really showing in my games and my overall mental attitude.
I replied to a couple of posts lately where someone was asking what makes a winning player. I'll copy my top list here:
- Fearlessness
- Adaptability
- Aggression
- Extreme tenacity - and I do mean extreme, to get through some bouts of bad variance it takes more tenacity than I could have ever imagined
- Hard work
- Focus
- Positive mental attitude
- Disregard for the money
I'm sure there are thousands of people who had the basic ability to become great players but they lacked too many of these attributes to stick with it and become great at it. Mostly they lacked the ability to push through the long and brutal bouts of bad variance without giving up the game. They didn't have the emotional capacity to deal with the negative side of playing.
First, I list fearlessness as the most important because I believe that it is. It's not just the lack of fear of busting by pushing our chips in the middle on a stone cold bluff to put pressure on our opponent, it's not fearing what others think of our game. All that matters in poker is how well you play each hand. If you're playing correctly there are going to some embarrassing spots where you get caught with your hand in the proverbial cookie jar, oh well consider it meta-game and move on. What others think of your game is totally irrelevant. There is a fine line between genius and spew and between a real sicko and total fish. Mediocre players will always think your a fish for some of the plays you make because they lack the experience and knowledge to understand those plays and why they work.
Second, I list adaptability, this is a very close runner to first and I think they are very close to being tied. Poker is a rapidly evolving game, what was done even six months ago may be totally changing and turning around today. Our opponents change to some extent as well and we must be able to change and evolve our game or we get left in the dust and go from winning players to losing players without even realizing what happened. Often when this happens players are way too quick to blame variance when what is really going on is they got stuck in the way they play and didn't adapt to the changes. They're running the same as they always have but the game has changed.
Third, I feel is again closely tied for first or second and that is tenacity. If you go back a few post you'll see several times where I've been close to quitting. Thankfully I was way too stubborn to follow through with my quitting threats. Sometimes it was the hardest thing I've had to deal with to just get up any motivation to play but I toughed it out, stuck with it and came out stronger for it.
Fourth, is hard work, it's often said that poker is a hard way to make an easy living. Nothing is more true! We have to review, study, read and play a ton to just keep up and continue to improve. Days are long and hard and on top of that we should be spending several hours a week working on our play. It's honestly never ending and it takes a very strong work ethic to be able to put in the constant work necessary to do well in this game.
This blog is long enough so I'm not going to go to deeply into the next two but it's very important to stay focused and keep a positive attitude. Try not to play when you tired or upset or worried, it can really be a game killer. Don't dwell on the bad beats, try not to even talk about them. Believe you are a good winning player even if your graph looks like a plunging ski slope. Many of the tournaments where I've finished in the top three I just believed the whole time I was going to make that deep kind of a run. Don't let disappointment get you down. Figure out what part of it is play and what part is variance. Fix the play part and the variance will eventually fix it's self if you can just maintain a positive attitude.
Lastly, disregard for the money, what I really mean is a detachment from money. You'll never make the right plays if you're focused on losing your buy in or making it through the bubble so you're not out the money. If you're playing within your bankroll you should never have to worry about losing your buy ins.
First, I list fearlessness as the most important because I believe that it is. It's not just the lack of fear of busting by pushing our chips in the middle on a stone cold bluff to put pressure on our opponent, it's not fearing what others think of our game. All that matters in poker is how well you play each hand. If you're playing correctly there are going to some embarrassing spots where you get caught with your hand in the proverbial cookie jar, oh well consider it meta-game and move on. What others think of your game is totally irrelevant. There is a fine line between genius and spew and between a real sicko and total fish. Mediocre players will always think your a fish for some of the plays you make because they lack the experience and knowledge to understand those plays and why they work.
Second, I list adaptability, this is a very close runner to first and I think they are very close to being tied. Poker is a rapidly evolving game, what was done even six months ago may be totally changing and turning around today. Our opponents change to some extent as well and we must be able to change and evolve our game or we get left in the dust and go from winning players to losing players without even realizing what happened. Often when this happens players are way too quick to blame variance when what is really going on is they got stuck in the way they play and didn't adapt to the changes. They're running the same as they always have but the game has changed.
Third, I feel is again closely tied for first or second and that is tenacity. If you go back a few post you'll see several times where I've been close to quitting. Thankfully I was way too stubborn to follow through with my quitting threats. Sometimes it was the hardest thing I've had to deal with to just get up any motivation to play but I toughed it out, stuck with it and came out stronger for it.
Fourth, is hard work, it's often said that poker is a hard way to make an easy living. Nothing is more true! We have to review, study, read and play a ton to just keep up and continue to improve. Days are long and hard and on top of that we should be spending several hours a week working on our play. It's honestly never ending and it takes a very strong work ethic to be able to put in the constant work necessary to do well in this game.
This blog is long enough so I'm not going to go to deeply into the next two but it's very important to stay focused and keep a positive attitude. Try not to play when you tired or upset or worried, it can really be a game killer. Don't dwell on the bad beats, try not to even talk about them. Believe you are a good winning player even if your graph looks like a plunging ski slope. Many of the tournaments where I've finished in the top three I just believed the whole time I was going to make that deep kind of a run. Don't let disappointment get you down. Figure out what part of it is play and what part is variance. Fix the play part and the variance will eventually fix it's self if you can just maintain a positive attitude.
Lastly, disregard for the money, what I really mean is a detachment from money. You'll never make the right plays if you're focused on losing your buy in or making it through the bubble so you're not out the money. If you're playing within your bankroll you should never have to worry about losing your buy ins.
