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Sanai United States. Mar 30 2011 14:40. Posts 643 | | |
I don't know why but I decided to blog a bit more. I'm taking a break between classes atm and I'm chilling here in the student cafe, drinking some coffee.
Probably won't talk much about poker as this month has been a crucible of sorts. It was just very swingy at the limits I play NL25/NL50, but I've come to realize that this is about 95% attributable to my own strengths and weaknesses as a player. There are pearls of wisdom in the poker community that many of us gloss over or take for granted, such as very strict bankroll management, using a stoploss, taking breaks if you don't feel on top of your game, being able to ride out a solid grind vs. having the discipline to call it a day when needed. I honestly believe that these things are the most important aspects of poker success for micro/low-limits players. Forget exploitability, table image, bluffing frequencies, etc. None of this really matters at NL50 and below. It's all about who has the discipline and who doesn't - anything more than that is just icing on the cake.
I don't really fear variance as much anymore. The "ah hah!" moment came for me when I was having dinner with my parents this past weekend. I'm Korean, but I was born and raised in the US. I'm very close to my parents and I communicate with them very often. It helps that my mom moved here when she was 16 and my dad is one of the most open-minded and intelligent people I know.
Anyway, my dad was telling me this old Korean proverb about a mare (female horse). It started out as a proverb that I can't remember exactly, but there was a story behind it that I think applies well to both poker and life.
A farmer is out walking and he finds a stray young mare. Yay! This is a huge boon so he takes her to his farm. Not long after however, a fence falls down and the mare wanders off. The farmer's heartbroken, but there's not much he can do to track it down. A few months later, lo and behold, the mare comes trotting up, having wandered around so much she eventually found her way back to the farm. However, slutty girl that she is, she got herself knocked up by some stallion in her travels and woot, now the farmer not only has his mare back but a foal along with it.
The farmer has children of his own and his son is his pride and joy. One day, the son, who has grown up to be a young man, ready to take on greater responsibilities at the farm, is taking a ride on the mare. The mare gets frightened by something and she bucks, throwing the son off her back and breaking his legs. The son is disabled for quite some time, unable to help out at the farm for months as he slowly heals. A month later however, war comes to the farmer's country and young men are being conscripted everywhere to serve in the king's army. With his broken legs, the son is deemed unfit to be a soldier and passed over for conscription.
Any clever poker player should have figured out by now that the point of this story is variance. It's everywhere. It's just life. Blessings can become curses, which eventually reveal hidden blessings of their own, and so on. When you're downswinging hard and feel like variance is taking a shit on you, look for the hidden blessings, whether it's discovering the motivation to study hard and play smarter or finding a new hobby that brings greater joy at less expense. And when you're riding high, making that ez cash moneys, remember that something as simple as the dealing of some bad cards can take that away from you and never take it for granted.
Be wary of the eventual ups and downs, but don't fear them.
Anyway, this might seem kinda redundant on this forum, but hearing that little story from my dad just helped me realize that we, as poker players, aren't all that special. Any hustler out there, be he a poker player, a superstar athlete, or an entrepreneur, will have these life swings.
Cheers.
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Arirang Canada. Mar 30 2011 16:04. Posts 1673 | | |
Very nice story. Funny how I never heard of such story when I've been born in Korea, read Korean literatures, lived half of my life there, and have pretty damn Korean parents. I'm going to inquire about this interesting story to my parents (I'm also very close to my parents, otherwise they wouldn't be supportive of my degen career path) and see what they say about it.
Thanks for sharing, and cheers. |
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qwerty67890 New Zealand. Mar 30 2011 16:18. Posts 14026 | | |
poker bucked me off and broke my legs |
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jewlian Canada. Mar 30 2011 17:55. Posts 153 | | |
Gotta love them Korean proverbs.
The only ones my parents told me was about pooping in a river and accidentally eating it. |
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Arirang Canada. Mar 30 2011 18:03. Posts 1673 | | | |
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MiPwnYa  Brasil. Mar 30 2011 18:23. Posts 5230 | | |
made me feel like eatin korean food
good read |
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