PooBah Post: You suck at poker. - Page 6 - Heads Up SNG -- Two Plus Two Poker Forums

4_ducks · 01-01-2010, 11:46 AM

Thank you for such an awesome post. I honestly think this is really going to help me.

Hince · 01-01-2010, 05:22 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Riorin

HOW? HOW? HOW?

I wish I had an easy answer. The problem is the ego is the slipperiest bastard around. Even the act of trying to get rid of the ego is an act of glorifying the ego.

Quote:

Where do you hire one? I feel my mental weakness is the single worst opponent I play against.

I hired Jared Tendler. I truly owe so much to Jared, and would not be where I am today without him (and I am not just talking about poker).

Quote:

The most important measure I took that really helped me. The only problem is that I occasionally buy into a tournament and catch a glimpse on how much money is there.
I wish they would introduce "Self-exclude me from looking at a cashier" feature.

Squint. Or put your hand over the registration window. I got this tip from leatherass, and it ends up being a game in itself especially with the rematch option popping up all the time.

You find yourself all-in then you cover the screen, cant really see if you won or not, and it sorta gives back that joy and excitement you once had when you first were introduced to NLHE.

Hince · 01-01-2010, 05:31 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by PtMx

Awesome Pooh-Bah post. In terms of my own poker "journey", I'd place myself somewhere near what you were describing in the middle of your post. Consciously, I've realized that I suck at poker; despite having a decent mind for poker and playing over 200k hands throughout my life, I'm still just barely breaking even. Even with the awareness that I suck at poker and that my losses are probably my own fault, my ego still chalks my losses up to bad luck. When I lose, I become furious with the fact that the simp who beat me is probably grinning smugly on the other end thinking he's a better player than me. If I'm in the middle of a particularly brutal session, the unfairness of it all makes me play indefinitely until I break even or pass out, regardless of how poorly I'm playing.

At least for me, this applies to more than poker -- your post resonates so strongly with me because I've also never had any trouble with school and have coasted through life without any serious setbacks. But my math degree isn't coming easily to me. In large part, this is because my easily-gotten success in the past has cemented some really bad habits -- making it to even half of my lectures (hell, even 25%) is a major struggle and I usually don't even get most of the assignments done. I won't bother with any of it, acting on the (false) principle that I'll always be able to cram for a few days before the exams and pull through just fine. I find myself in a situation analogous to that in my poker life: I've come to the conscious realization that I'm intellectually unremarkable. Yet when I don't understand a concept instantly, I become frustrated and come up with an excuse to do something else -- the reality that it's too difficult for me to immediately understand is too painful for my ego to accept. The peculiar reward system in my brain would rather have me fail than accept that I'm not as brilliant as I think.

The conscious awareness of my leaks helps, though. My realization came a couple of months ago, and my results have improved dramatically since then. My win rate still isn't half of what it ought to be if I really had a handle on things, but I'm working on it. I think I'm going to adopt your policy of not looking at the cashier during sessions and I'll do my best to thoroughly review the "frustrating" hands from my sessions. Hell, maybe I'll make some minor changes to that letter and force myself to read it before every session. In any case, your OP perfectly captured what is probably my biggest leak in the game, and I'm happy to hear you've gotten through it.

Hahaha! your post really resonates with me!

My school was a lot harder than it needed to be for me looking back, and I've always looked for the easy way to do things, even if it is way more complicated than the original issue. Even as a baby, I was one of those kids that never really learned how to crawl. I learned to roll and just rolled where ever i needed to go until I learned to walk.

Reading over your post I realize I often do that in poker. I sometimes look for more complicated solutions to beat a weak opponent... Sometimes the most profitable, is also the easiest.

So thanks, I really got a little something from this.

dookie · 01-01-2010, 06:05 PM

this post will hopefully be a good mentality check for my 2010 grind. Thanks for clarifying i suck and im not jsut running bad

Grow · 01-01-2010, 06:22 PM

This thread seems to have brought out some lurkers with early registrations and low post counts. Post some more around here.

Hoopie1 · 01-01-2010, 06:26 PM

Epic post, thank you Hince.

spamz · 01-01-2010, 06:33 PM

really loved the post, should post some more as said 1000 before in here

ohly · 01-01-2010, 06:37 PM

lol, when i read this i asked myself: is everybody an engineer in here? seriously, i could really relate to your story, thanks for that.

nothing really new but good to be reminded.

r1tony · 01-01-2010, 08:02 PM

very nice. ty.

sejje · 01-01-2010, 08:10 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ohly

lol, when i read this i asked myself: is everybody an engineer in here?

yes. if you aren't you should probably find somewhere else to go.

neckface · 01-01-2010, 08:12 PM

these thoughts have been floating aorund in my head for awhile, thi spost sort of put it together for me thanks.

ohly · 01-03-2010, 04:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by sejje

yes. if you aren't you should probably find somewhere else to go.

fortunately i am!

sejje · 01-03-2010, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ohly

fortunately i am!

your sn tilts me.

derosnec · 01-03-2010, 04:24 PM

kinda funny reading the OP, which is very good btw, because i get so used to playing mouthbreathers hu that when i play a decent reg (or at least one with constant aggression who won't back down), i get owned. i was playing a very aggressive reg recently and dropped around 8 BIs to him (i jacked up my 3bet% to 35% which was dumb, he didn't let up, and it just got ugly).

anyways, after reviewing the hands/stats the next day in detail, i realized how many leaks he had and all kinds of patterns/frequencies that i did not notice in game. very humbling and made me realize i really am not as good as i think i am - it's just the constant flow of fish makes me feel like i'm really good. a couple of days later i play him and exploit him left and right because while he is aggressive he just doesn't adjust to someone who has adjusted to him - i just need to work on making more and quicker adjustments in game.

PrimordialAA · 01-03-2010, 04:42 PM

finally took the time to read all the way through this. Very good post Hince, ty, and best of luck in everything, and in poker