Back to real life.....

By real life I mean back to cash games. I've been playing a ton of SCOOPS 'cos I got excited by them, but despite a few deep runs I didn't bink anything. I'm still going to play the odd like $27 to keep my cash sessions going, but in general that's my MTT habit over and done with until I have like $20k in my roll at least.

The cash games I have been playing, I've been playing poorly in. This is perhaps to be expected when I've been soaking up so much tournament information, but my mental game has also slipped. I've been paying lip service to the mental game, but there's a ton of evidence that my mindset has slipped back heavily towards pre-MGOP days.

Like, at my mental peak, I used to literally roll my eyes when someone posted a cooler or bad beat. I'd think like, wow what a mental fish, this shit just happens sometimes and you should expect it. Being in several skype groups full of poker players though, the whole culture of money lost today/ money won today/ coolers/ bad beats is hard to resist and I've been pulled back into it. I think I thought that maybe this would be fine, and I could still keep level headed, but I've since realised you really can't have it both ways.

I went on a pure heater the last 7 weeks or so, but by the end winning came so easy that I definitely started to indulge in checking my graph numerous times per day. Then it was at the end of every session, and then of course mid session. And then finally like 2 mins into the session. Craziness.

Mistake tilt has been fairly prominent lately....... but that's also because I've been making too many mistakes. I basically neglected the technical side of my game, getting plans sorted prior to session etc, having good defaults always to fall back on. Again, similar to the 3rd paragraph, I found myself sucked into other peoples' strategy conversations/ ideas and found myself implementing too many changes at one to my game. Adult learning model shows that the brain can only really manage 2 maximum before freaking out and losing a lot of higher level brain function. So for example, I tried implement a 25% cbet strategy, but without properly understanding everything that will mean for turns rivers yada yada. At the same time, I was experimenting with cold calling more IP, and flatting more 3bets OOP, whilst also deciding that I should raise more flops. Obviously with all this stuff outside the level of unconscious competency, it's a recipe for disaster.

So it's important that any changes I make to my game, I am aware of them prior to my session and aware that there is only 1 of them at any time.

I think it would be benefical for me to get down here my basic game in common spots, so when I feel my mind going blank I have something concrete to revert to that I take as my standard. Obviously can't sum up poker in a few paragraphs, but here goes anyway.

Preflop: Open at least 15% EP MP all the time, but open much wider with fish in the blinds. CO open a standard range, but much wider when BTN doesn't cold call a lot. BTN just decide based on the blinds. 4bet KTo QTo ATo KJo etc IP around 100bbs, but more playable things like q8s when deeper. 4bet playable stuff OOP 100bbs, KJs etc. When deep, lower our 4bet OOP bluff range slightly, and if dude is a constant deep 3bettor then ensure we open tighter. 3bet a lot from the SB.

As the cold caller, I think I have this learned to UC level, but basically I'm relatively tight to 3x except where fish are concerned or behind, fairly loose to 2x, and I just have to make sure I don't leak a ton calling 3x in CO with like 22 and squeezy blinds behind.

Preflop facing 3bets, I think have learned decently well to UC level.

Flop: Late position as caller we're just calling a few with any pair a lot. IP as the PFR we're just looking to cbet a lot, whilst OOP we'll cbet and barrel away if they cold call a lot, but CC a lot of our range if tighter.

Turn, in general just always barrel equity as a default, and don't overthink it too much.

Mindset: We need to be constantly taking a snap handread of the situation....... called in the SB so more weighted to pairs, woulda CRd a flopped set on this board facing a turn CR, sizing indicates he doesn't want to be shipped on etc. Basically, hand reading! Have a game theory like approach in spots where we're unsure, but otherwise play completely exploitably and trust instinct and handreading.

Notes:

I've decided to move back to PT notes, and start making a ton more of them. I've stolen one my friend's note template, and as a rule of every session I'm going to end my session by going through the hands and making all kinds of notes.

To track my mental progess, I've also made a spreadsheet to track my sessions. Obviously not the $$$, but a record of my mindset, how I'd grade my mental approach, any notes, and a tick as to whether or not I've gone through the session and made appropriate notes.

Good reset blog! Now to shower and play a session

Quick Scoop and Cash Technical Blog

Trying to introduce a little more aggression into my 200nl game isn't going too well, I feel. It's also had the effect that I feared, of meaning that other leaks creep in. It's like as soon as I start moving away from playing super solid, all of a sudden I can't make folds either, and so on and so on. Failure to trust my instincts with regard to folds has been a creeping problem, and I need to basically go with my instincts and analysis first, and then look at whether the hand falls into a GTO call or not.

Playing the $100 scoop and $11 scoop tonight, I haven't really written about tournaments much as I sorta assume they just take care of themselves, but there's definitely areas I need to improve. Again, folds. Chips lost in tournaments are worth more than money won, and that's without even considering chip utility etc. I feel like most of my bustouts or big pots have been somewhat avoidable given how bad people are. There's always going to be obvious spots to accumulate chips, but dodging the bustouts is the real skill for a cash player transitioning. In cash it's like, who cares if I call down this CR and barrel off with tptk for 30bbs, reload time. In a tournament, we can't just dip into our pocket and pull out some more, they're gone. I realise this is very Captain Obvious, but it needs writing to get my mind clear.

So yeah I think my tourny mental game could probably have been improved. Potential bustouts dodged need to feel like fistpumps the same way I've learned to do in cash. Structures are pretty good so I'm just going to look to get in plenty of cheap pots, rack up chips, and view it as a success if I don't bust or lose a load of chips in spots that may seem cash ABC but in a tourny are more likely folds.

Technical + Mental Update

My mental game definitely went off the boil in the past week. I realised this when I was again checking results, and talking about results, and planning my results. Total nonsense, so today I'm focussing on getting back into the correct mindset.

Technically, I *could* just cruise along the way I have been doing, and play well, but the lack of anything knew to learn was knocking my motivation. This is covered in MGOP1 as a common reason for lack of effort and motivation, so to that end I need to incorporate new conscious competencies to supplement all the unconscious competencies. I feel I can play pretty much on autopilot at the moment, but yeah I need to improve stuff, so........

To that end I'm looking at a few things; namely getting looser PF, and getting my WWSF up postflop. Winning pots with the standard bet bet bet line isn't a problem for me, I think I play those spots well, but where I am lacking is in the spots such as flop goes check check and I'm OOP....... I basically just auto cede pots too much when the flop checks through and I need to be aware that many of those are there for the taking.

In terms of PF looseness, I just need to start looking at spots where regs behind are tight to cold calls and simply open much wider. So, 83s in MP, with 2% co cold call and 3% btn cold call, probably becomes an open.

So yeah, those are my two things to work on at the moment. I need to make sure that incorporating these doesn't lead to other leaks, like for example I start getting too loose in reverse equity spots.

Mental Clearup

I've had a few days of not-mental-greatness, and just need to write some stuff out to clear mind and reset it. I've had some mental leaks creep in, or at least noticed symptoms of mental leaks. For example, indulging in checking my monthly results so far, and my bankroll. This can seem fine at the time, but then leads to trouble when you lose a few BIs. Basically, you can't have it both ways, you can't be all 'oh yippe my BRs up to $10k' and then not be tilted at losing a few stacks.

So I need to back to mental basics. There's 14 working days of the month left, and that equals around 60-70k hands. I can't control the amount of money I win or lose in that sample, but I can make sure that I'm making 5/bb decisions in every spot. I've definitely got disengaged from the mindset of 'every spot is just another chance to make a 5/bb decision'. Being without this mindset leads to entitlement when the board runs out bad, and frustration at mistakes and runbad. I also really need to remember that mistakes, runbad, bad boards etc all form part of a decent winrate, and therefore that doesn't mean such a winrate is unattainable when a marginal river call goes wrong, or AA << KK 3 times in a session.

Money lost- this has been mildly tilting me for sure. If I've been down on the day, it's been annoying me. But until such a time as month end, money won or lost is an illusion. Nothing is won or lost until such time as we elect to check results, and if we must be mindful of money 'down', then simply view it as an investment in our edge which will eventually be back with interest so long as we put in enough good quality hands.

I have a few life things faintly preying on my mind too, so today I have to make a Leggo vid or 2, open letters, respond to letters etc. Apparently the games have been really good like 2am onwards, so hopefully by then I'll be super pysched with mental A game. Until then, shoring up my F game to be more of a B game has been a good start.

Update, Hands + Mental Stuff

I've had a good mental start to 200nl in May. I'm still waiting for a proper downswing to really test me, but hopefully these won't be as frequent now that I'm more skilled at nipping mental leaks in the bud.

A line from Sauce's vid really stuck with me, he said something to the effect of 'I think a large part of my edge at these 500nl games will be in my execution, ie I know what my strategy is and therefore all I have to do is execute it without any second guessing'. Second guessing everything has been a huge problem for me in the past I think; I'd spot patterns where there are none (fooled by randomness), then I'd 'expect' marginal calls and bluffs to work 100% of the time, so that when they didn't my strategy swung completely the other way 'NO MORE BLUFFS, NO MORE MARGINAL CALLS EVER'. Just so so mentally weak basically, whereas now I feel like I make these marginal calls and bluffs and whatever else and fully realise they won't work the whole time, and don't need to, and I just get on with implementing my strategy.

Example of spotting silly patterns- having 3/3 4bets jammed on early in a session 'um ok 4bets don't work at 200nl I'll STOP doing it'. So ridiculously lol now I think about it.

In terms of technical stuff, not a whole lot to say really just 'cos I don't feel like I'm having a ton of problems. Touch wood. I seem to have found a decent image where people spaz to me decently often, especially taking lines like leading flop, or cc flop lead turn etc. Could all be variance though, I'll know in a greater sample.

Going back to execution, one thing I have improved on is in simply taking a snap read of the situation on the flop, and then going with my reads without any second guessing. For example:

http://weaktight.com/5781620 - By the river there's literally only 77 plays like this for value, maybe 3 combos of KTs are an outside possibility. In the past, had I lost this hand though I woulda retreated into my shell 'no more stupid mistakes' whereas now I've shed the expectations that such big calls should have a 100% expectation I'm able to not let it affect me the next time one comes up.

http://weaktight.com/5781617 - When you're really focussed and playing well, you just can't beat that feeling that comes over you when you know someone's bluffing. This is definitely a 'zone' call, a state of mind that Mental Game of Poker 2 is all about delivering with more regularity.

http://weaktight.com/5780190 - People are so lol.

Right, Stars is back up. Need to get them hands in. Have a nice day.

Mental, Technical Update

Played a couple of 200nl sessions last night, happy enough, though I did feel my mental bandwidth overstretched when I had a zoom tourney going at the same time. I think having a normal paced tourney would be fine though.

So nothing really to come out of it so far, I just need to get more hands in and I'll have more to report/ muse over soon enough.