In what was a somewhat unfortunate circumstance, my internet connection failed catastrophically over the weekend. And since my net is an extension of my phone, that meant that my phone was out too. I’ve been cut off.

I had planned to play ~8000 hands over the 3 day weekend I’ve just had, and instead I’ve played zero. I’ve spent most of my time either cleaning my house, cooking or being irate with the pain in the arse phone company that seems to believe that it’s ok to charge a person for a service without providing said service.

/rant

In an attempt to make a valid point though, this led me to the conclusion that if one were to look more seriously at online poker as an income source then a necessity is likely a backup connection. I also feel like it would be wise to use hardline connections, ie. not use an in home wireless network. I’ve been thinking about setting myself up a bit better, with a decent screen and such too. I’m in no hurry as I’m happy to let the hobby pay for its accessories. Maybe even look at using FPP’s if the conversion rate is anywhere near decent. I’d be interested to hear anyone’s opinion on best set ups, best screens etc. I have a strong urge to use a dual monitor set up so I can easily view the very detailed stats on villains by having HEM open on one screen and tables on the other.

As far as any strategy ideas for this post.. I’m just going to outline 1 of the stepping stones that I think was a major pivotal thing that have helped improve my game. I was lucky enough to never be a losing player. My first attempt saw me drop nearly $10 at 10NL before going up and up to a healthy 100NL bankroll. I don’t think that is at all a testament to my ability as a poker player, only that my opponents have been consistently horrible. The climate of the game now vs then is much different. The players I’m encountering are still horrible, but not so horrible that I can blissfully blunder through hours of cards thinking that my results are proof that I’m playing well. Today I find that in all sessions I find errors regardless of results. And so often highlight where my winnings should have be significantly greater, or alternatively, my losses should have been limited

So my point for today will be – Understanding, accepting and acting on the fact that I’m not good at something, and striving to improve even though my results suggest that I am significantly ahead of the competitive field. As a specific extension, acting on the fact that decisions in poker that hold a positive expectation are sometimes wrong because they do not have the largest possible positive expectation.

The latter part of this occurred for me (and still does occasionally) in situations where I hold a strong hand and make badly sized value bets. More specifically, betting small to guarantee a call when I should shove and shoving in situations where I should bet a smaller amount for value because only better hands would call a shove, ie. a small/midsized bet/fold would be the correct play. Occasionally this would also occur in situations where I should be flatting river bets or raises rather than raising over the top of them.

These mistakes always occur on turn and river and are always a result of failing to place villain on a range that considers all streets, as well as acting too much on instinct/emotion. For example, flopping a set and being emotionally attached to the idea that this is a hand where I’d make money. This led to focusing on my hand, and bet/raising in turn/river situations where I haven’t filled up and straights/flushes are likely holdings.

These situations are where I feel its easiest to make mistakes that cost you a lot long term if you’re a player that has mastered (roughly) preflop fundamentals and has a good idea of play on the flop. This is because bet sizing is getting bigger on the turn and river and therefore even small errors are hitting you a lot harder than will smaller preflop/flop leaks that bleed 4-10bb vs the 20-30+bb of their turn counterparts.

hooorah for now. Hopefully next time I'l report some pwnage.