An OMFG Easy Way to Start Being Less Results Oriented

1. Download this free program called TrayIt http://www.teamcti.com/trayit/trayit.htm

2. Open Poker Tracker and set it to start importing hands regularly

3. Use TrayIt to minimize PT to the system tray so you're less tempted to look at it every 5 seconds

4. Go to the task bar properties, click Customize... in the bottom-right corner and set it so that the Poker Tracker icon in your system tray automatically hides (the less you see it, the less you'll want to click it)

5. Proceed with poker and check your stats and results at the end of sessions only (or less often than that if you're a more established player)

6. Profit

Edit: Yes I know there's an option in PT to minimize to the tray, but there's more information here and a more important meaning than that.

Guilty as charged. Will give this a try. TYVM.

Every time I win or lose a big pot I look and see my ptbb/100 increase or decrease by .1 and cry/dance.

this should be learned rather quickly by players, imo. not the system tray "trick," but the "only look at PT when your session is done...or less often than that."

i look about every 1k hands...end of day, for me. and, thats too often. but, i look at my biggest winners and losers, and any other hand i've earmarked. i may glance at the winrate/stats, but i realize that after ONE FRIGGIN DAY, they dont mean squat!!!

I've been tuning my game recently (dropping lots of hands from earlier position I was playing) and I find myself looking very often at my VPIP figures etc.. Do you think this is a bad thing to do while trying to "tighten up".

Admittedly I'm also heading to the cashier regularly which is prob more what you're referring to - and it's something I guess I should try preventing myself from doing.. but what are the *main* reasons you are aiming to not be results oriented..? I'm assuming it's a "If you're playing well it doesn't matter if you win or lose - and if you don't care you won't let emotions change your play". But what if these emotions (when you're winning) actually *help* you play more confidently?

i think it would benefit players with adequate bankrolls (those who aren't taking a shot at a certain stake) to just not look at anything (pt, bankroll, etc.) at all for quite a while (1k's of hands), and just play as well as they can and post hands here constantly.

Originally Posted by spoonitnow

3. Use TrayIt to minimize PT to the system tray so you're less tempted to look at it every 5 seconds

I don't get this post at all - I didn't know we had PT addicts.

Originally Posted by Robb

Originally Posted by spoonitnow

3. Use TrayIt to minimize PT to the system tray so you're less tempted to look at it every 5 seconds

I don't get this post at all - I didn't know we had PT addicts.

omg. i look at PT like every 10 minutes or after every time i felt really. I know theres way more of you out there.

Originally Posted by Hal

I've been tuning my game recently (dropping lots of hands from earlier position I was playing) and I find myself looking very often at my VPIP figures etc.. Do you think this is a bad thing to do while trying to "tighten up".

Admittedly I'm also heading to the cashier regularly which is prob more what you're referring to - and it's something I guess I should try preventing myself from doing.. but what are the *main* reasons you are aiming to not be results oriented..? I'm assuming it's a "If you're playing well it doesn't matter if you win or lose - and if you don't care you won't let emotions change your play". But what if these emotions (when you're winning) actually *help* you play more confidently?

Being results oriented and playing good poker don't mix well in any situation for any reason. If you take the time to look at results or the cashier while you're playing, that's taking your focus from the game which is always -EV.

Letting any emotions affect your play in any way is a bad thing. You should be able to play equally well while winning as you are when you are losing, as well as not knowing if you're winning or losing.

If you feel good when you're winning, then you'll feel bad when you're losing, and any additional +EV edge that you think you have while winning will be more than nullified by the -EV mistakes you make while losing.

Looking at numbers and whatnot is fine obviously, but it shouldn't be done while you're playing.

Originally Posted by spoonitnow

Originally Posted by Hal

I've been tuning my game recently (dropping lots of hands from earlier position I was playing) and I find myself looking very often at my VPIP figures etc.. Do you think this is a bad thing to do while trying to "tighten up".

Admittedly I'm also heading to the cashier regularly which is prob more what you're referring to - and it's something I guess I should try preventing myself from doing.. but what are the *main* reasons you are aiming to not be results oriented..? I'm assuming it's a "If you're playing well it doesn't matter if you win or lose - and if you don't care you won't let emotions change your play". But what if these emotions (when you're winning) actually *help* you play more confidently?

Being results oriented and playing good poker don't mix well in any situation for any reason. If you take the time to look at results or the cashier while you're playing, that's taking your focus from the game which is always -EV.

Ditto what Spoon said.

I'll add one thought. I have my HUD display some stats on me that I'm tracking (you can set it to show different stats for you than for the rest of the table) , but I don't often look at them until nearly 1k hands into a session. I wait for a lull and check them out.

But here's the problem. I've played the same style for 50k hands and know I open 17/15 or thereabouts in general. But after 100 hands at 3 different tables, it's not unusual to see as high as 30/25 on one table and 7/6 on another. You can be card dead or card rich. I glance at those numbers to see what my image at the table is, but I don't get wound up about them. Most of these numbers only make sense over 5k or 10k hands, minimum.

Originally Posted by Robb

Originally Posted by spoonitnow

Originally Posted by Hal

I've been tuning my game recently (dropping lots of hands from earlier position I was playing) and I find myself looking very often at my VPIP figures etc.. Do you think this is a bad thing to do while trying to "tighten up".

Admittedly I'm also heading to the cashier regularly which is prob more what you're referring to - and it's something I guess I should try preventing myself from doing.. but what are the *main* reasons you are aiming to not be results oriented..? I'm assuming it's a "If you're playing well it doesn't matter if you win or lose - and if you don't care you won't let emotions change your play". But what if these emotions (when you're winning) actually *help* you play more confidently?

Being results oriented and playing good poker don't mix well in any situation for any reason. If you take the time to look at results or the cashier while you're playing, that's taking your focus from the game which is always -EV.

Ditto what Spoon said.

I'll add one thought. I have my HUD display some stats on me that I'm tracking (you can set it to show different stats for you than for the rest of the table) , but I don't often look at them until nearly 1k hands into a session. I wait for a lull and check them out.

But here's the problem. I've played the same style for 50k hands and know I open 17/15 or thereabouts in general. But after 100 hands at 3 different tables, it's not unusual to see as high as 30/25 on one table and 7/6 on another. You can be card dead or card rich. I glance at those numbers to see what my image at the table is, but I don't get wound up about them. Most of these numbers only make sense over 5k or 10k hands, minimum.

Standard.

Hi, my name is Jyms and I used to be a PT addict.

I solved this problem by playing over rolled and took the money out of the equation. When you need 40 BI"s to move up you won't look when you have 25. It's just not changing that fast. My move down is never in the middle of a session because I will always have 80 or so when I am done losing a session for the lower stake. Money is no longer a concern.

...You should be able to play equally well while winning as you are when you are losing, as well as not knowing if you're winning or losing.

this should be the goal. and, i'll bet some of us have experienced it by accident. you forget to look at PT, or forget to turn on the timer. you go in after a session thinking, "i think i played meh," and find that you were really, really wrong in one direction or the other. thats the point.

robb, as for looking at your HUD and watching your stats on individual tables....i dont think thats a bad thing....being aware of possible image. but, i also have to think that some of these players, if paying attention, have many more than 45 hands on you, too. and its THEIR HUD they are using to formulate their image of you, not the 45 hands you've been there. it can be a double edged sword.

Originally Posted by Trainer_jyms

Hi, my name is Jyms and I used to be a PT addict.

I solved this problem by playing over rolled and took the money out of the equation. When you need 40 BI"s to move up you won't look when you have 25. It's just not changing that fast. My move down is never in the middle of a session because I will always have 80 or so when I am done losing a session for the lower stake. Money is no longer a concern.

+1 for the good guys

Originally Posted by Chopper

...You should be able to play equally well while winning as you are when you are losing, as well as not knowing if you're winning or losing.

this should be the goal. and, i'll bet some of us have experienced it by accident. you forget to look at PT, or forget to turn on the timer. you go in after a session thinking, "i think i played meh," and find that you were really, really wrong in one direction or the other. thats the point.

robb, as for looking at your HUD and watching your stats on individual tables....i dont think thats a bad thing....being aware of possible image. but, i also have to think that some of these players, if paying attention, have many more than 45 hands on you, too. and its THEIR HUD they are using to formulate their image of you, not the 45 hands you've been there. it can be a double edged sword.

A single edged sword can be a double edged sword.

whooooaaa, deeeeeeep.

movie quote: "seriously....smoke more weed." lol.

movie quote: "but we got talls man"