There's a hole in my bucket (leaks)

[Ayce]

I am winning player and yet I have a whole host of leaks.

1. Doing other things whilst playing - watching TV, cooking, etc.
2. Not bothering with table selection or sometimes intentionally selecting tables with known sharks.
3. Playing weak tight
4. Playing Axs and then calling when the pot odds are not there
5. Intentionally targeting strong players - this is a stupid ego trip
6. Curiousity - when i can't work out a players betting strategy i will throw away money to find out what they have
7. Playing deceptively against poor players
8. Playing ABC against good players
9. Not bothering to analyse my play enough
10. Complacency
11. Arrogance
12. Greed

Wow it's not a very nice list

[rdqlus]

I've found that for #4 if the pot odds are not too bad then the implied odds more than make up for it. Guys with TPTK have called my re-raise on the turn and river several times ... and the poor soul which went fishing with me in that pot with his Kxs has really been bitten.

I'm probably guilty of a few others on that list too.

mj

[michael1123]

Yeah, some of those really aren't that bad at all.

#1 I usually have the TV on while playing, and it doesn't really affect me much.

#4 is fine if you have implied odds and its at least semi-close pot odds wise in a NL game. I don't fold nut flush draws on the flop to a potsized bet and small blinds, for instance.

#6 is fine if its not too much. Paying for information isn't that rare. One time I did this with like Q high on the river just to see what they were betting small all the way down with (thought they had some kind of big hand for sure, and had missed my flush draw), and I won the pot!

[allLiving]

How can you be a winning player if you have that whole list?

[a500lbgorilla]

Losing players don't have lists.

-'rilla

[stevedonel]

7. Playing deceptively against poor players
8. Playing ABC against good players

I am completely perplexed as to why you knowingly do these

9. Not bothering to analyse my play enough

says the man with a 12 point list of his mistakes

[Chicago_Kid]

5. Intentionally targeting strong players - this is a stupid ego trip

You should always target strong players for study. I try to study, but I'm careful about making big moves until I've got some stats on them.

[Ayce]

Why do I win? I play tight but I also vary my play very occasionally.

ABC against good? Because I am 4 tabling and not paying enough attention.

Deceptive against poor? Because I am not thinking properly and so use an advanced strategy against someone who is only really thinking about their own cards.

Not enough analysis of my play? I don't download and read logs of past games. I will only look immediately after a game or when i want to see mucked cards at a showdown to get a better read on an opponent.

I am trying to work on these leaks because i would like to be playing 5/10 NL by the end of the year. I watch the 5/10 games and although there are some great players there are also a few fish. It's also usefu because players who commonly play at higher levels occasionally come down a level or two for easy cash and it pays to know who they are.

[Obertray]

What about the Complacency, Arrogance and Greed? how did u pick those up?

[Excalibur]

I'm pretty much new to the game. I had a large list too...

Then I posted a thread not to long ago in witch a asked the question "for how long time do you play per session"?

Alot of experienced guys answered "30 mins", "45 mins"...
At this time I played for about 1½h per session ATLEAST.

So i said to myself: -Ok, my new rule is to only play 30 min per session.

Of course, in the beginning, I couldn't stop while I were "on top". So I thought "well, 15 more mins..." And all of a sudden I made very bad calls!!! Between the 30 and 45 mins I always lost some of my winnings, ALWAYS!

Now I have learned to stop, take a break and then maybe restart again after a 1-2h break...

This is how I reduced my list!!!
Maybe you just play for too long per session!!!

[Remy_LeBeau]

How can you be a winning player if you have that whole list?

That was going to be my question. The list isn't your average drip drop from the sink leak, it's a titanic leak. If those are your weaknesses, what are your strengths? Also, if you know what your problems in your game are, and chose not to fix them, how can you be helped? What's the question? You obviously know the problem...

I'm pretty much new to the game. I had a large list too...

Then I posted a thread not to long ago in witch a asked the question "for how long time do you play per session"?

Alot of experienced guys answered "30 mins", "45 mins"...
At this time I played for about 1½h per session ATLEAST.

So i said to myself: -Ok, my new rule is to only play 30 min per session.

Of course, in the beginning, I couldn't stop while I were "on top". So I thought "well, 15 more mins..." And all of a sudden I made very bad calls!!! Between the 30 and 45 mins I always lost some of my winnings, ALWAYS!

Now I have learned to stop, take a break and then maybe restart again after a 1-2h break...

This is how I reduced my list!!!
Maybe you just play for too long per session!!!

David Sklansky had a saying in his book about table sittings. It was something like you should never leave a table simply because you're up, you should only leave because you're on tilt, tired or someother personel reason. Playing a long amount of time has nothing to do with anything. If you play right, nothing will change. Ax in early position is still Ax in early position now, and will be forever. Stick to your guns at all times and you'll win. If you get bored and play to much and lose, then maybe you're right. But it sounds like you're excited about being on top, not bored. If you would play AK early in a game, you would play it later in a game right? If you wouldn't play 27 early, then don't play it late. Play the same way you would early, late.

[poskid_1982]

Playing a long amount of time has nothing to do with anything. If you play right, nothing will change.

I disagree totally. If you play too long you can take a big loss quick against players that live off suckouts. I have detailed notes on almost every player I see on a regular basis. The fish have learned to stay away from me. (comes from playing the same tables too often). But they will still see the flop against me on my PFR. I have learned to adjust my play more to stop giving them implied odds but will take the same bad beats and lose big pots when I've played too long. I never sit down for more than an hour playing Ring games but will play 3-4 SNG's in a row because I don't multi table and the play is much slower, I can relax and pay better attention to the style of play.