Very good thread, thanks for your time

I would have to say this is one of the best posts I have ever read on 2+2. It is like I went to a fortune teller man, perfectly on with so many of the things that I have just started to realize. I will make sure to bookmark this page and show it to any friends/family members who are looking into getting into poker.

A+

btw, I am currently going for my engineering degree, I dont have it yet but close....

Great post, should be a must read.

sticky it...It speaks the truth...you all suck at poker.

You, Sir, need to post more like that.

Excellent transition into the year of small continuous improvements.

so perfect runner runners when taking a shot is playing bad, especially against a finland fish?


Full Tilt Poker $0.50/$1 No Limit Hold'em - 2 players
The Official 2+2 Hand Converter Powered By DeucesCracked.com

BTN/SB: $481.10
Hero (BB): $65.60

Pre Flop: ($1.50) Hero is BB with Q A
BTN/SB raises to $3, Hero raises to $12, BTN/SB raises to $481.10 all in, Hero calls $53.60 all in

Flop: ($131.20) A 6 9

Turn: ($131.20) T

River: ($131.20) 7

Final Pot: $131.20
BTN/SB shows 8 8 (a straight, Ten high)
Hero shows Q A (a pair of Aces)
BTN/SB wins $130.70
(Rake: $0.50)

You were behind when the $ went in. Way to call off your entire stack with A-high. Why do you only have $65 at a .50/$1 HU NL table?

can we please ban cruisin? wtf u were behind and thats a flip cmon

to the post, just great pooh bah, very very spot on

im gonna say it:

I suck at poker

feels good

quoting these as some of the best paragraphs i've ever read in the hunl forum. this absolutely nails the mindsets that hold back most people from truly succeeding at poker, and the basketball example does a good job.

really great post Hince, definitely something to start a strong new year.

this is quite good

wish i read this when i first started.. i've found this is to be very true. i realized and admitted that i suck, back when i bustod my acc in nov (although small stakes)

i used to think i was good. but that was when i sucked
now i'm sure i'm better than before, but now i KNOW i suck

it's very easy to know when i'm not playing my best/tilting now. and instead of keep on playing, i take a break. obviously i'd like to get to the stage where i don't even need breaks even if i'm running terrible, but right now breaks are the best thing possible imo

great post and congrats

post of 2009.. tyvm

lol!! this is a bad beat? imo bad beat should be only hands where you put all your money in on turn and villain hits a 1 or 2 outer on river.

nice post. tyvm for it.

Wow it sounds like you were writing about me, brilliant post ty

Ive saved the link to this thread to my desktop everytime i load up my computer i will be reminded that i suck at poker.

But in all serious poker is rigged and i run terribly...

This is really good stuff.

I just wrote a blog post summarizing my 2009 and it's what the OP is talking about in a nutshell. Basically, 2009 was "Hey Ryan, you just aren't a HSNL player." And in the process I lost out on multiple 6-figures to finally cement that into my head. There's exactly one guy who is the best in the world and I'll take my chances in saying that it isn't you.

It's something rarely talked about on 2+2 but knowing what stakes is your sweet spot is very tough, takes a long time to do, and few people try to do it. The sooner you get that feel for where you truly belong, the sooner you will maximize your money. Sometimes your ego won't let you "settle" for 6-figures instead of 7, or 5 instead of 6... but you will constantly struggle if you don't get it in your head.

The other thing I'll add is that making changes to your mental game is an active process. It's not something where you say "Hey, I need to stop tilting." You get to the core of your tilt. Is it entitlement, is it frustration, is it that you are not able to handle it? For me, I would classify it under entitlement. I felt I did not deserve this luck. Guess who cares? No-****ing-one. What helped is learning how to de-tilt. For me I've always been pretty good at tilt management, but if you strung together enough bad luck in a reasonably short period of time, or made it the status quo for weeks on end, keyboards would get snapped, hands broken, and drywall owned. So what did I do? I didn't let the tilt level rise. After beat 1 I took a deep breath, made the tilt-o-meter go to zero, instead of having it go to 1... so when the second beat came along it would go to 1 instead of 2, one deep breath, and we're back to 0... instead of beat 3 taking me to 3... as you can see by beat 10 I'm at 0 with my new method, and I am elbow deep in dry wall with the old method.

The point being, it takes an active frame of mind to change any habit.

Not to detract OP's thread as it's very good, but I just wanted to add the personal trials and tribulations from someone who learned everything that OP described over this last year. Granted, I've still done very well for myself in poker in general, and even in 2009... but the overall point is to know your place because your place is often the most profitable place to be. Not two levels above your place, not three below.

Hince has always been full of win, just this proves it.

very good post sir, rly hits home :S

wow I needed to read that. ty.
coach me plz?

nh sir nh

thanks Hince

you have articulated things i've been trying to put into coherent sentences for months, i cannot wait to take this advice to my grind in 2010, a million thank yous, and i'd like to buy you a beer if i get the chance, or 12.

I completely agree with your sentiments about your A/B game and how they represent you as a poker player as a whole.

I think alot can be written about playing your A game, and perhaps it is the leaks you know about that can be the most frustrating in retrospect.

solid post, thanks

Thanks guys, I am really quite overwhelmed by the positive feedback this received.

Hey! Maybe I don't suck at poker!?

Wait... maybe you guys are all just leveling me and know that if my ego grows I will start spewing off bankrolls again and you know it will be good for the game. I am on to you bastards! I know I still suck!

Seriously, thanks. I also appreciate nobody pointing out that I misspelled poohbah, cuz apparently I suck at teh spellinz two.