New Year, Same Sh*t
Sorry for taking this long to update. I put in three sessions since starting this thread and it's pretty much been more of the same for me. First night I lost ~1.5 BI, second night I won ~1.5 BI, third night I lost ~1.5 BI. I just can't string together consistent wins right now.
My biggest issue right now is my thought process at the table and how quickly I am making my decisions. I find myself acting more quickly and instinctively when I am not currently knowledgeable enough to be doing that. I need to be taking more time to take in all of the information (board textures, villain ranges, pot size, etc.) post flop before making my decisions. I find myself very often betting the wrong amount on certain streets simply because I am not thinking enough before acting.
I took Saturday off and will be taking Sunday off to do some exercises that I think will help improve some of my problem areas.
I didn't have any AIDS hands this week but I did have this one where I played it wrong on the flop and river but I think the result would have been the same no matter what. I don't think I've been on the other side of one of these hands since I started getting staked:
Effective stacks: ~$600
Preflop ($7):
Hero is in MP2 w/ J
J
Two limpers (including one that looked like a 12 year old version of McLovin who wouldn't stop talking about rollercoasters) to
Hero who makes it 30,
BTN calls, blinds fold,
UTG+1 limper calls.
BTN is a fish on a SUPER heater unlike anything I'd seen in quite a while. He was playing aggressively post flop with strong hands. When he raised flops he usually had a very strong showdown hand.
UTG+1 is an older fit or fold nit.
Flop ($102): 2
3
3
UTG+1 checks,
Hero bets 55,
Button calls,
UTG+1 folds.
Turn ($212): 4
Hero bets 80,
BTN calls.
River ($372): J
Hero's erection slaps the bottom of the table and he bets 180,
BTN tanks and hollywoods for a couple of seconds and goes AI for the rest of Hero's stack,
Hero snap calls.
I cut my session short after this hand because I thought I played it absolutely atrociously but after going over it with Kydd I wasn't as disappointed with it as I originally thought. I really think I'm going to turn the corner now in terms of my bet sizing and being able to recognize board textures.
Another goal I want to add is to read one non-poker book per month. I am going to start with "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman. I have heard this book be highly recommended by others and after reading the synopsis I think this will greatly help the mental barriers I can't seem to overcome at the table.