November was another month when my volume wasn’t really up to par. Once again I had only 60 hours of play, although I’m still very satisfied with the work I’ve done over that period.
I’ve spent a lot of time analyzing and working on my game and my mindset. It wasn’t until now that I fully realized how much I needed it. At the beginning of last month I had huge problems with achieving a sufficient level of concentration before the session. Additionally I got a little cold, so physically I wasn’t feeling that great either. I’ve ended up making few stupid decisions, and my session was over before it even began. After the poor start, and losing a couple of BIs due to many types of tilt, I realized that playing in such state doesn’t make any sense. After taking some days off I returned ‘to the battlefield’, with the assumption that I’m gonna focus on working off the tables, and play only when I absolutely feel like doing it. With each consequent analysis the hunger for playing was rising.
Working on the game theory
For years, I have been spending very little time evaluating my game. I felt, that the amount of time I can allocate for poker over the year is somewhat limited, so I can’t ‘waste’ it on theory. I’m a type of player who learns a lot during the live play. I try to invent new concepts and statistical correlations, which will enable me to go even deeper into my opponents’ thought process. On the other hand, one of the reasons why I avoided working on my game was that I did not have the certain amount of know-how. Throughout all those years, I`ve developed a game plan that was very profitable, despite the fact that my game had a lot of basic leaks (folding too much vs. 3bets, auto-opening PF against aggressive opponents). By constantly putting away working on the game theory until ‘someday’, I’ve reached the point where my arrears were so overwhelming, that I didn`t really know where to start anymore.
Recently I’ve been listening to a lot of mindset-related podcasts by Jared Tendler, joined by Martin Jacobson, Max Stainberg and in particular Phil Galfond (2012). It caught my attention that Phil has been using a system of learning similar to mine for a very long time. Every now and then I was mad at myself for not focusing well enough on the mathematics behind it all, not examining my performance with CRev or Flopzilla. Nonetheless, the fact that of the best poker players in the world uses (used to) a system which resembles mine, allowed me to accept that there is no universal method and that creating new conceptions or game plans is just as meaningful as the in-depth analysis of range.
‘Actually I’m not somebody that does as much away from the table, sitting down, number crunching, HH reviewing. I do however think about a game at the table maybe more than almost everybody, and then away from the table as I’m finished with the session I just continue to think about the hands I`ve played.’
Dealing with the downswing
Over the course of my career I had several periods of DS/BE which lasted more than 2-3 months (the longer was around 200k deals). During those moments there was always a worry that I got left behind, my opponents started to take advantage of my leaks, or I was simply ‘lucky’ and the time came to give away some wins. Apart from the fact that variance was not in my favor, I need to add that the condition of my performance was also quite dreadful, and the lion’s share of $$$ was wasted away by the tilt. If the quality of my decision-making was closer to the optimal level, the adjusted win-rate would have been higher, which would most likely result in shorter DS/BE periods.
The daily revision of the game allows for building confidence and stability, which rely on quality of the decisions, and not variance. Confidence that depends on the latter can be really tricky. When variance swings our way, we might feel overly-confident and not even realize that the game is in fact sub-optimal. On the other hand, losing may lead to the exaggerated perception of the negative emotions: a huge dip in confidence, discouragement, and the fear of not winning in future.
‘When there is a kind of extended downswing, and you are not only obviously losing money, and just losing at the game for such a long time. You worry about the future and, if there is something, maybe you’ve lost something, maybe your opponents are getting better. And you kind of question, whether you gonna be able to win, and be as successful as you were before.’ Phil Galfond
In the end, the thorough analysis let me reach the conclusion that ‘I know that I know nothing’. I acknowledged that my game is far off from the perfect poker (if such a notion even exists) and there will always be some imperfections. Thanks to that, I know which things I can improve upon, and what my weak points are. With a sufficient amount of work I can take my A-game to a brand new level.
New Organization
I’ve also decided to change my timetable and its different variants, which I’ve been using for the last couple of years. In the past I always planned when I play, and when I have my days off. Last year I worked 4 days a week (5 in cases I had no arrangements for Saturday). Possibly it was one of the reasons which contributed to my burnout, as sometimes I felt like a robot. Very often I had days when I completely didn’t want to play and I had to spend like 2-3 hours on concentrating before the session. What’s more, I chose to return to the mode of playing one session a day. What does it entail? I will have to spend more days on reaching the set goals. My main ambition for the next few months is to spend time on poker only when I really want it, and accept that sometimes it’s better to give up on grind and do something entirely different. Of course, I do hope that I will be eager to play more often than not, and that wish goes to all the players out there ;]
Entertainment
Adele is one of my favorite singers. Even though her latest album ‘25’ is in my opinion, her weakest, there are few gems on it – below you can find one of them:
Recently I also saw a film which happened to be on my to-watch list for months. I’m talking about a Polish movie ‘Bogowie’, where Tomasz Kot stars as Doctor Zbigniew Religa. Undoubtedly, it was one of the greatest Polish productions of the last several years, and if Religa’s characterization in the film was anywhere close to the real deal, then he was a truly extraordinary man.
Another Polish movie I really wish to watch is ‘Pod mocnym anio?em’, however, as it is a movie by Wojciech Smarzowski, I need to prepare my mental state for it.
Peace out,
Makan
0 votes
Vanity definitely my favorite sin
3
PuertoRican United States. Dec 12 2015 05:51. Posts 13044
Post some sexy girls in your blogs, that way you'll get some responses.
What I mean is, post the girls at the end of each blog. Think of it as dessert after a meal.
^ Thanks for the advice, althought I don`t seek attention that much. If nobody wants to comment, it probably mean that they don`t find my writing interesting or don`t think they have anything to say in topics I write about. Either way I have no hard feelings;]
Vanity definitely my favorite sin
1
Minsk United States. Dec 21 2015 10:25. Posts 1558
I got your number sonny
So ain't no use of fighting, yelling or running from me"
"I never ran man", "Well then you ain't a clever man Sam"
