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Entry #4: Play and Learn...
There are so many facets to poker that in order to maximise our resources and reach a certain standard we must, at some point, make a conscious effort to pin our colours to a specific variant of the game.
Given that poker should be fun to play there is a tendency for those players whose introduction came through watching Texas Hold'em on television to search deep into the jungle of Stud variants, for example, but for anyone who is serious about boosting their bank balance by simply playing better than most of their opponents, then at some point - sooner rather than later - it is necessary to select our preferred weapon, knuckle down and hone the learning process, whether this be Stud, Omaha or No Limit Hold'em.
Like most players, I decided to stick with Hold'em. However, here, too, we are faced with further choices in our quest for perfection, namely the completely different animals of Limit and No Limit, and their potentially troublesome relative Pot Limit. My initial instincts steered me clear of the ostensibly dangerous waters of No Limit and instead to the calmer, finite ripples of (low) Limit ring games. Then began the Fixed Limit Sit & Go adventures in which I expected the prospect of finishing in the top three of ten players would be a tall order but, right from the beginning, proved surprisingly easy.
Even the most modest kind of success can massage the ego in such a way that the fear factor simply disappears, and I was soon happily diving into No Limit Sit & Go's with - surprise, surprise - absolutely no success at all, my playing style swinging frantically from ridiculously passive to even more ridiculously aggressive, and nothing in-between...
This developmental curve is no doubt familiar to many readers. My own personal journey began to take shape and turn profitable when I started to analyse each specific situation that had hitherto proved problematic or confusing. It helps, obviously, if we have the time to devote our efforts to getting to grips with our game and subsequently improving it in as many areas as possible, but even if time is limited to a few hours per week I would recommend getting reasonably well acquainted with more than one type of game before specialising. At least then it is possible to recognise our strengths or weaknesses better because we can compare how we fare, for example, in Fixed Limit multi-table tournaments compared with No Limit multis. With experience - as in life - more complex, subtle comparisons can be made and subsequent judgements and remedies grow more detailed.
There are two snippets of advice that should prove useful:
- Try to avoid sitting down for a couple of hours and merely playing for playing's sake. If, when your session finishes, you're concerned only with how much has been won or lost and can barely remember anything about the hands themselves and how they were played, then you're making a big mistake and severely limiting your potential.
- Think about poker when you're not playing. It is surprising how easy it is to analyse and in so doing make important discoveries about your game when away from the action and therefore unfettered by the constant decision making process. Such a Zen-like approach is perhaps one of the least appreciated yet most rewarding means of improvement.
Have a good week!
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