I know this comes relatively soon after I declared that play money does in fact have value, but I have quickly started to change my mind - or at the very least, qualify the statement.
In the midst of a recent session, I realized that where I am playing (low to mid-level play money stakes in SNG tournaments) simply doesn't present much of a challenge. It's way too easy to make it to the final table, and there's no reward to situations like that. I don't feel like I am gaining anything other than seeing hands, and it's not fun.
So if I'm not having fun, and not really learning anything new, what's the point?
I still think there is some value to be hand from seeing hands, trying to play differently, reacting to different situations, etc...but I also think I would much rather being doing those things in person. Live poker is just so much more fun - more nuanced also, factoring in the environment, being able to read other people and the table dynamic, things like that.
Maybe it would make a difference if I upped the ante, so to speak, on Full Tilt, and started playing for higher play-money stakes. One of the reasons I have historically played so low is because I like building up my bankroll and seeing how high I can get the number. I don't know why; frankly it's stupid because the "money" doesn't mean a thing. I need to get over that feeling and put the money to work for me.
I know one thing for sure - at the moment, I don't feel too "into" the poker scene. I know it will be different once the SFPT starts back up again, but for now, it's hard to just read about poker and play online, and not play for real. I don't want to give up on the whole idea, but I also don't want this "break" I am on to turn into an extended layoff.
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Tuesday, January 29, 2013
The SFPT 2013 Debut
I was very much looking forward to getting the 2013 SFPT season underway, and thus was happy when six others were available on the last Saturday of January to kick things off.
Rather than go into a blow-by-blow recap, I'll provide the facts: I finished second (to Tom), and though my initial recation was that my heads-up play was poor, in retrospect, it wasn't that bad. If I made a mistake, it was that I wasn't aggressive enough, especially in the big blind. There's a lesson there for next time.
Overall, I think I have quickly moved beyond my every-tournament goals of "just play well" and "don't make an ass of yourself". It's been so long since I've made a bad play, that I don't even remember the last one. As long as I stay focused, which I have been, I won't make bad plays.
So, I need new...let's call them "recurring goals". For SFPT purposes, that has to be "win". Plain and simple. I want to get out my mindset of worrying about the Points Championship, because if I win, that will take care of itself. As a sub-goal, I need to focus on getting my chips in when I have the advantage, and letting the math do the work. As Andrew Robl said to Doyle Brunson in a tweet the other day, "it mostly comes down to winning the flips, can't be taught".
So, as long as I can get my chips in when I am in a coin flip position at worst, I will be fine in the long run. At least, that's what I can tell myself.
Up next: TBD. Oscar and I will be working on the re-build of the table, but we should have it done for a tournament near the end of February if all goes well.
Rather than go into a blow-by-blow recap, I'll provide the facts: I finished second (to Tom), and though my initial recation was that my heads-up play was poor, in retrospect, it wasn't that bad. If I made a mistake, it was that I wasn't aggressive enough, especially in the big blind. There's a lesson there for next time.
Overall, I think I have quickly moved beyond my every-tournament goals of "just play well" and "don't make an ass of yourself". It's been so long since I've made a bad play, that I don't even remember the last one. As long as I stay focused, which I have been, I won't make bad plays.
So, I need new...let's call them "recurring goals". For SFPT purposes, that has to be "win". Plain and simple. I want to get out my mindset of worrying about the Points Championship, because if I win, that will take care of itself. As a sub-goal, I need to focus on getting my chips in when I have the advantage, and letting the math do the work. As Andrew Robl said to Doyle Brunson in a tweet the other day, "it mostly comes down to winning the flips, can't be taught".
So, as long as I can get my chips in when I am in a coin flip position at worst, I will be fine in the long run. At least, that's what I can tell myself.
Up next: TBD. Oscar and I will be working on the re-build of the table, but we should have it done for a tournament near the end of February if all goes well.
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
FT and the SFPT
After a 32 day absence, I hit the virtual felt again this morning for a 27 person SNG. It didn't take long before the tournament was down to 18, and not much longer after that before I was put to my first big decision:
With pocket queens, I decided to slow-play and simply called the big blind. There were two other players, and the flop came Ac/4c/Qh. The first to act checked, and the second went all-in, putting me at risk. I debated - they could have aces under, or a flush draw, but trip queens is a strong hand. I decided to call, as did the other player in the hand (who was also at risk).
It ended up being a good play: the board ran out and I tripled up to over 5k.
It was down to six-handed when I made another move, doubling as the second-shortest stack when I moved in with K/J diamonds and a jack on the flop. That too held, moving me into a solid third place (with a big gap between third and fourth).
That double was made against a player I dubbed "the pusher", who by that time was going all-in literally every hand. It was obvious he was going to get caught, and eventually did. The remaining five were probably as glad to see him go as I was; I know the player who knocked him out was, as he commented "about time".
Down to four-handed, I made a move again and briefly became the chip leader for a few hands. That fact itself obviously doesn't mean much, but it did mean I was right in the thick of things.
The short-stack was soon eliminated to make it a three-handed affair, with me in second place. I took a calculated risk against the player to my right, and got nailed: my club flush 9/5 under lost to his club flush, J/8 under.
That made me the short stack by a huge margin, but then, a surprise: the player to my left made a move and was KO'd by the guy to my right. The good: I was heads up. The bad: he had me covered by 6:1 or better.
Time for the patented Tina Pagano All-Or-Nothing Strategy. Before I knew it, I was running hot: K/Q diamonds led to a flush and a double, then K/J spades gave me a jack on the flop and another double. The very next hand, I called from the big blind with pocket nines, got trips on the flop, shoved, was called, and it held. All of a sudden, we were almost exactly even.
Things tightened up from there, and I eventually took a lead by getting more aggressive with middle pair bets resulting in folds. My next all-in was the end: Kh/Jc, calling a push. The other guy had 5c/6c, and it was a race, but the board ran out to trip 10s. My king played, and that was that - my second straight 27 person win.
IN OTHER NEWS:
The 2013 SFPT season kicks off this Friday, with what (so far) is a seven person field. If all goes well, this will be the last tournament with the old table; as Oscar and I are finalizing plans for the new table which we hope to build sometime after the Super Bowl. Personally, I can't wait to get back to the felt - I'm riding pretty high after my Turning Stone experience, and I'm looking forward to hopefully bringing down a few titles in 2013.
With pocket queens, I decided to slow-play and simply called the big blind. There were two other players, and the flop came Ac/4c/Qh. The first to act checked, and the second went all-in, putting me at risk. I debated - they could have aces under, or a flush draw, but trip queens is a strong hand. I decided to call, as did the other player in the hand (who was also at risk).
It ended up being a good play: the board ran out and I tripled up to over 5k.
It was down to six-handed when I made another move, doubling as the second-shortest stack when I moved in with K/J diamonds and a jack on the flop. That too held, moving me into a solid third place (with a big gap between third and fourth).
That double was made against a player I dubbed "the pusher", who by that time was going all-in literally every hand. It was obvious he was going to get caught, and eventually did. The remaining five were probably as glad to see him go as I was; I know the player who knocked him out was, as he commented "about time".
Down to four-handed, I made a move again and briefly became the chip leader for a few hands. That fact itself obviously doesn't mean much, but it did mean I was right in the thick of things.
The short-stack was soon eliminated to make it a three-handed affair, with me in second place. I took a calculated risk against the player to my right, and got nailed: my club flush 9/5 under lost to his club flush, J/8 under.
That made me the short stack by a huge margin, but then, a surprise: the player to my left made a move and was KO'd by the guy to my right. The good: I was heads up. The bad: he had me covered by 6:1 or better.
Time for the patented Tina Pagano All-Or-Nothing Strategy. Before I knew it, I was running hot: K/Q diamonds led to a flush and a double, then K/J spades gave me a jack on the flop and another double. The very next hand, I called from the big blind with pocket nines, got trips on the flop, shoved, was called, and it held. All of a sudden, we were almost exactly even.
Things tightened up from there, and I eventually took a lead by getting more aggressive with middle pair bets resulting in folds. My next all-in was the end: Kh/Jc, calling a push. The other guy had 5c/6c, and it was a race, but the board ran out to trip 10s. My king played, and that was that - my second straight 27 person win.
IN OTHER NEWS:
The 2013 SFPT season kicks off this Friday, with what (so far) is a seven person field. If all goes well, this will be the last tournament with the old table; as Oscar and I are finalizing plans for the new table which we hope to build sometime after the Super Bowl. Personally, I can't wait to get back to the felt - I'm riding pretty high after my Turning Stone experience, and I'm looking forward to hopefully bringing down a few titles in 2013.
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Breaking the Seal Again
As I've mentioned before, my grand total of live cash game experience is a spur-of-the-moment session at Terrible's in Las Vegas two years ago, where I profited a grand total of $8 in a limit game. So much has changed since then, not the least is that (in comparison to 2010) I have a much better idea of what I'm doing.
Ever since I decided to take the game more seriously, I determined that I would need to go into my next cash session with a plan, a goal, a loss limit, and a time limit. These would be determined by each session, with plenty of variables each time.
Fast-forward to last Saturday, when Tina, Matt, Danielle, Cuffe, and I made the annual casino trip for Cuffe's birthday. I had my bankroll planned out, and $100 of it was earmarked for poker. Last time I visited The Stone, I wanted to play poker but basically wussed out. I was determined to not let that happen again.
We arrived at The Stone just before four, and were planning on playing bingo at 6:30. No time like the present - Tina and I both decided to hit the poker room and play until then. Surprisingly, there were two seats available, and we sat right down with $100 buy-ins and got right to work at 1/2 NL. My goals:
Play smart, don't chase
100 loss limit
3 hour time limit
I ended up playing for about two and a half hours, and I was very happy with the way things went. Mainly, I didn't make any stupid plays and didn't embarrass myself. The cards were slightly on the poor side; I can't count how many times I had A/6 or worse. I had to laugh and also pat myself on the back a little bit, because if I had been playing two years ago, I would have played all of them just because of the ace, and busted in like 20 minutes max.
I recall three hands in particular:
One: I had Ah/2h, and called a pre-flop raise to 6 (not a terrible play IMO because of suited connectors). The flop gave me a nut flush draw, and thus I called the only other player left in my hand (the guy to my immediate right, who was pretty cool) when he raised to 10. The turn bricked, and when he raised 30, that was it for me - I wasn't about to piss away that much of my stack on a draw.
"30 was enough to get me out," I laughed afterward.
"Was....25 enough?" His (obviously drunk) friend to his right asked.
"30 was enough," I repeated with a laugh. In hindsight, I think this exchange established me in their eyes as someone who knew what they were doing. (I sure as hell was already ahead of the game in that regard compared to some others at the table, who were too busy having side conversations and had to be reminded when to bet by the dealer, and when they did, bet wrong because they didn't realize someone ahead of them raised.)
Two: I raised to 10 pre-flop, and got three callers. The flop came 9-10-2, and I was first to act, and raised another 10. Two people folded, but one woman thought about it for a while, then spied my stack and put me all-in for my last 24.
"You got a big pair?"
"Yeah," I said, flipping my kings. She shook her head and flipped A/8. I knew what was coming - an ace.
Only, it didn't - I faded the last two streets and doubled up, getting me back around 75.
Three: Again, I raised to 10 pre-flop and this time got two callers, including the same woman. The flop was similar garbage, and having both players covered, I raised all-in for about 40. The first to act (a young girl who was actually carded by the dealer and looked like a young Natalie Portman) immediately folded, leaving action to the same woman. Again she debated, again she called, again she asked "got a big pair?"
Again, I answered "yeah", this time flipping over queens. They held, and suddenly I was firmly in the black with just over 150.
Only one other hand stands out, my only other pocket pair of the session. I had nines, and was hoping to limp and get lucky, but the guy to my right raised 30 preflop and it was a no-brainer to fold. I did have a few other situations where I got to see a free flop, but none of them panned out.
I tightened up even more after that, and by the time Tina was ready to go (unfortunately, because she'd busted out), I had a profit of 52. Nice!
Time to break it down:
What went right:
Obviously, it was a good session; I hit all my goals, and most importantly, I have the confidence to get back at it again.
Total time: 2.5 hours
Total winnings: $52
Career bankroll (cash games): $60
Ever since I decided to take the game more seriously, I determined that I would need to go into my next cash session with a plan, a goal, a loss limit, and a time limit. These would be determined by each session, with plenty of variables each time.
Fast-forward to last Saturday, when Tina, Matt, Danielle, Cuffe, and I made the annual casino trip for Cuffe's birthday. I had my bankroll planned out, and $100 of it was earmarked for poker. Last time I visited The Stone, I wanted to play poker but basically wussed out. I was determined to not let that happen again.
We arrived at The Stone just before four, and were planning on playing bingo at 6:30. No time like the present - Tina and I both decided to hit the poker room and play until then. Surprisingly, there were two seats available, and we sat right down with $100 buy-ins and got right to work at 1/2 NL. My goals:
Play smart, don't chase
100 loss limit
3 hour time limit
I ended up playing for about two and a half hours, and I was very happy with the way things went. Mainly, I didn't make any stupid plays and didn't embarrass myself. The cards were slightly on the poor side; I can't count how many times I had A/6 or worse. I had to laugh and also pat myself on the back a little bit, because if I had been playing two years ago, I would have played all of them just because of the ace, and busted in like 20 minutes max.
I recall three hands in particular:
One: I had Ah/2h, and called a pre-flop raise to 6 (not a terrible play IMO because of suited connectors). The flop gave me a nut flush draw, and thus I called the only other player left in my hand (the guy to my immediate right, who was pretty cool) when he raised to 10. The turn bricked, and when he raised 30, that was it for me - I wasn't about to piss away that much of my stack on a draw.
"30 was enough to get me out," I laughed afterward.
"Was....25 enough?" His (obviously drunk) friend to his right asked.
"30 was enough," I repeated with a laugh. In hindsight, I think this exchange established me in their eyes as someone who knew what they were doing. (I sure as hell was already ahead of the game in that regard compared to some others at the table, who were too busy having side conversations and had to be reminded when to bet by the dealer, and when they did, bet wrong because they didn't realize someone ahead of them raised.)
Two: I raised to 10 pre-flop, and got three callers. The flop came 9-10-2, and I was first to act, and raised another 10. Two people folded, but one woman thought about it for a while, then spied my stack and put me all-in for my last 24.
"You got a big pair?"
"Yeah," I said, flipping my kings. She shook her head and flipped A/8. I knew what was coming - an ace.
Only, it didn't - I faded the last two streets and doubled up, getting me back around 75.
Three: Again, I raised to 10 pre-flop and this time got two callers, including the same woman. The flop was similar garbage, and having both players covered, I raised all-in for about 40. The first to act (a young girl who was actually carded by the dealer and looked like a young Natalie Portman) immediately folded, leaving action to the same woman. Again she debated, again she called, again she asked "got a big pair?"
Again, I answered "yeah", this time flipping over queens. They held, and suddenly I was firmly in the black with just over 150.
Only one other hand stands out, my only other pocket pair of the session. I had nines, and was hoping to limp and get lucky, but the guy to my right raised 30 preflop and it was a no-brainer to fold. I did have a few other situations where I got to see a free flop, but none of them panned out.
I tightened up even more after that, and by the time Tina was ready to go (unfortunately, because she'd busted out), I had a profit of 52. Nice!
Time to break it down:
What went right:
- Didn't play any stupid hands
- Didn't chase anything
- Took advantage of strong hands when I had them
- Made decent reads on people (guy to my right was a good player, his friend was loose but seemed lucky, guy to my left was a good player and didn't play bad hands)
- Could have taken some more chances, especially instead of checking through with one other player post-flop (maybe could have stolen a pot with a mid-range bet)
Obviously, it was a good session; I hit all my goals, and most importantly, I have the confidence to get back at it again.
Total time: 2.5 hours
Total winnings: $52
Career bankroll (cash games): $60
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Two Words For Today
Haven't been playing a ton lately; being that its the holidays and all and plenty of other stuff going on. But I have done some, and I have come to a couple of realizations (or more accurately, confirmations of things I knew). They can be summed up in one word each.
One: FOCUS. The other day I tried playing poker and working on some other stuff at the same time. BAD idea. There are levels of focus, I've found, and I can get away with paying a bit less attention online than on the felt. But the level I had on this day was terrible, and I could feel it. As a result, I knocked off until I got my other stuff finished, and by then, I didn't even feel like playing any more. Which is fine - sometimes, it's just not your day.
The lesson: make sure that when I play poker, I am there to play poker and nothing else
Two: INSTINCT. I've never put too much stock into players who say they "had a feeling" regarding a hand, whether it be how well one in their hand would perform against others, or as a read against another player. But, I'm coming around on that. I still don't think it's some kind of mystical ability given by God; I think it's more along the lines of subconsciously processing all of the information available and narrowing down possibilities. When these possibilities are narrow enough, players get a "feeling". At least, I think that's how it works for me. Last time I played, I called down on a river push while saying to myself, "I know you have the ace". Like an idiot, I didn't trust my gut, and got burned because guess what, he did have the ace. NOT FANCY.
The lesson: in the absence of overriding evidence, trust your gut. It just might mean something.
On to the latest results. About a week ago, I played four games on Full Tilt, with awful results. My best outcome was 21st in a 90 person, 2000 chip tournament, which is so far from cashing as to not be worth mentioning. Three other attempts were just as worthless, and after the last, I decided it just wasn't my day (see above) and packed it in.
Most recently, things got better. I decided to play in another 90 person SNG to start off, before multi-tabling. I didn't get that far, but for good reason. After treading water for a while, taking down a couple of pots to keep me in the bottom third of the rankings, I made it to the final table in sixth. It was obvious the two short stacks were sitting out, and soon two others were KO'd. Long story short, I got down to three-handed, by which time it was obvious the second-place player was sitting out as well.
I stole a few blinds and small pots before a nice double-up right before the break. I was still behind about 3:1, so not feeling too confident, but I was back in the race. After the break, the sit-out was finally eliminated, and I went to work. I'm not sure what to make of it, because my opponent seemed very conservative - even more than me. For once, I made a read and took advantage, with many pre- and post-flop raises winning pots. Another big double-up on a showdown hand put me in the lead, and soon it was me who was up roughly 3:1.
Again, I tread water for a while, despite a number of pushes that didn't get called. Finally, I was victorious: two pair J/9 (nine in the hand) after the river, and I pushed all-in. My opponent called and flipped pocket sixes - not a bad move on their part at all; again, I think their conservative play was a bit too much.
(You have NO idea how odd it is for me to call someone else overly conservative.)
I won, but I'm most happy with HOW I won - I made reads on my opponent, and had the guts to take advantage.
Now, the big question: can I bring that same approach to the felt?
One: FOCUS. The other day I tried playing poker and working on some other stuff at the same time. BAD idea. There are levels of focus, I've found, and I can get away with paying a bit less attention online than on the felt. But the level I had on this day was terrible, and I could feel it. As a result, I knocked off until I got my other stuff finished, and by then, I didn't even feel like playing any more. Which is fine - sometimes, it's just not your day.
The lesson: make sure that when I play poker, I am there to play poker and nothing else
Two: INSTINCT. I've never put too much stock into players who say they "had a feeling" regarding a hand, whether it be how well one in their hand would perform against others, or as a read against another player. But, I'm coming around on that. I still don't think it's some kind of mystical ability given by God; I think it's more along the lines of subconsciously processing all of the information available and narrowing down possibilities. When these possibilities are narrow enough, players get a "feeling". At least, I think that's how it works for me. Last time I played, I called down on a river push while saying to myself, "I know you have the ace". Like an idiot, I didn't trust my gut, and got burned because guess what, he did have the ace. NOT FANCY.
The lesson: in the absence of overriding evidence, trust your gut. It just might mean something.
On to the latest results. About a week ago, I played four games on Full Tilt, with awful results. My best outcome was 21st in a 90 person, 2000 chip tournament, which is so far from cashing as to not be worth mentioning. Three other attempts were just as worthless, and after the last, I decided it just wasn't my day (see above) and packed it in.
Most recently, things got better. I decided to play in another 90 person SNG to start off, before multi-tabling. I didn't get that far, but for good reason. After treading water for a while, taking down a couple of pots to keep me in the bottom third of the rankings, I made it to the final table in sixth. It was obvious the two short stacks were sitting out, and soon two others were KO'd. Long story short, I got down to three-handed, by which time it was obvious the second-place player was sitting out as well.
I stole a few blinds and small pots before a nice double-up right before the break. I was still behind about 3:1, so not feeling too confident, but I was back in the race. After the break, the sit-out was finally eliminated, and I went to work. I'm not sure what to make of it, because my opponent seemed very conservative - even more than me. For once, I made a read and took advantage, with many pre- and post-flop raises winning pots. Another big double-up on a showdown hand put me in the lead, and soon it was me who was up roughly 3:1.
Again, I tread water for a while, despite a number of pushes that didn't get called. Finally, I was victorious: two pair J/9 (nine in the hand) after the river, and I pushed all-in. My opponent called and flipped pocket sixes - not a bad move on their part at all; again, I think their conservative play was a bit too much.
(You have NO idea how odd it is for me to call someone else overly conservative.)
I won, but I'm most happy with HOW I won - I made reads on my opponent, and had the guts to take advantage.
Now, the big question: can I bring that same approach to the felt?
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Becoming an Expert, Per the Experts
This is going to take a lot of time and tracking, but I think it will be worth it in the long run.
It is commonly believed that in order to become an expert at something, one must practice that particular thing for 10,000 hours. For poker, I believe that can be a bit misleading, because 10,000 hours doesn't necessarily mean actually playing - for all the time spent at a table, a good portion of it is in hands that are folded pre-flop.
I was about to go into a calculation of how many hands I would actually need to play to reach the magical mark, but the more I think about it, I realize there is plenty of value in those hands that are folded pre-flop. As long as the player concentrates on how the hand plays out, there is still plenty of value to be had. This could come in the form of seeing how other players act, and/or how you could have played the hand differently.
This brings me back to the comment I mentioned previously about Greg Merson having seen over 7 million hands during online play. I didn't realize it at the time, but the key word there is "seen" - not "played. So, that makes my calculations a bit easier going forward, as I try to reach 10,000 hours.
However, I don't want to completely ignore what I have already done. While it is an understatement to say I play differently now than when the SFPT first started in 2004, it can't be completely discounted. After all, those tournaments and the hands therein are what helped get me where I am now. I want to keep things as conservative as possible with my estimates; if I end up having actually played over 10,000 hours when I say I've reached that mark, that is to my benefit.
That being said, if I say an average of 1 hour per SFPT tournament, I will credit myself with 91 home game hours. In the future, I will be more accurate with my estimates. If I'm out first, it might be an hour (or less); but if I make it to heads-up, it could be 3 or more.
I also don't want to discount the hands I've seen online, though I don't have any records for those prior to this year's FTP re-launch. So, I will go only by this year and beyond, and again, make a conservative estimate. Call it 5 online hours.
Perhaps my best experience thus far (in terms of value to my game) has come in actual casino play, in a grand total of two sessions: one each cash and tournament. I'm going to call it 1 hour live cash and 1 hour live tournament, and I think that's pretty accurate.
So, that makes the grand total 98 hours. Wow - lots of work to do until 10,000. But that's good, because I have a lot of improvement to make.
It's funny, and also a little eerie: for a long time I have felt that the best way to learn something was to just do it, dating all the way back to when I played Little League baseball. Now, I have a chance to do just that. Combine that with continued reading and research, and I'm excited to see where this leads.
UPDATE: I played some online this afternoon, and was pretty successful: a win in a 27 person SNG (first victory in that size tournament), and a second in a 9 person, 2000 buy-in (highest buy-in yet). I also played a 6 person turbo and finished 5th, thanks to my pocket kings losing out to Ah/10c when the board played out to quad 10's. What was cool about that was the reaction of the winner: an obviously sarcastic "in your face :P, after which we chatted for a moment and wished each other good luck. I like that - a bit of the live game, brought online.
Today's totals: 2 online hours
Running totals: 7 online hours, 100 total hours
It is commonly believed that in order to become an expert at something, one must practice that particular thing for 10,000 hours. For poker, I believe that can be a bit misleading, because 10,000 hours doesn't necessarily mean actually playing - for all the time spent at a table, a good portion of it is in hands that are folded pre-flop.
I was about to go into a calculation of how many hands I would actually need to play to reach the magical mark, but the more I think about it, I realize there is plenty of value in those hands that are folded pre-flop. As long as the player concentrates on how the hand plays out, there is still plenty of value to be had. This could come in the form of seeing how other players act, and/or how you could have played the hand differently.
This brings me back to the comment I mentioned previously about Greg Merson having seen over 7 million hands during online play. I didn't realize it at the time, but the key word there is "seen" - not "played. So, that makes my calculations a bit easier going forward, as I try to reach 10,000 hours.
However, I don't want to completely ignore what I have already done. While it is an understatement to say I play differently now than when the SFPT first started in 2004, it can't be completely discounted. After all, those tournaments and the hands therein are what helped get me where I am now. I want to keep things as conservative as possible with my estimates; if I end up having actually played over 10,000 hours when I say I've reached that mark, that is to my benefit.
That being said, if I say an average of 1 hour per SFPT tournament, I will credit myself with 91 home game hours. In the future, I will be more accurate with my estimates. If I'm out first, it might be an hour (or less); but if I make it to heads-up, it could be 3 or more.
I also don't want to discount the hands I've seen online, though I don't have any records for those prior to this year's FTP re-launch. So, I will go only by this year and beyond, and again, make a conservative estimate. Call it 5 online hours.
Perhaps my best experience thus far (in terms of value to my game) has come in actual casino play, in a grand total of two sessions: one each cash and tournament. I'm going to call it 1 hour live cash and 1 hour live tournament, and I think that's pretty accurate.
So, that makes the grand total 98 hours. Wow - lots of work to do until 10,000. But that's good, because I have a lot of improvement to make.
It's funny, and also a little eerie: for a long time I have felt that the best way to learn something was to just do it, dating all the way back to when I played Little League baseball. Now, I have a chance to do just that. Combine that with continued reading and research, and I'm excited to see where this leads.
UPDATE: I played some online this afternoon, and was pretty successful: a win in a 27 person SNG (first victory in that size tournament), and a second in a 9 person, 2000 buy-in (highest buy-in yet). I also played a 6 person turbo and finished 5th, thanks to my pocket kings losing out to Ah/10c when the board played out to quad 10's. What was cool about that was the reaction of the winner: an obviously sarcastic "in your face :P, after which we chatted for a moment and wished each other good luck. I like that - a bit of the live game, brought online.
Today's totals: 2 online hours
Running totals: 7 online hours, 100 total hours
Friday, November 9, 2012
Does Play Money Have Value?
Full Tilt is back up and running, and I had a chance yesterday to play a little. To start, I multi-tabled with two SNGs, a 90 person and a six-handed single table. It had been since well before Black Friday since I'd played online, but it didn't take me long to remember one of the reasons I had started to shy away from it.
Put simply, people play like idiots.
There's no question that people play differently when it's not real money on the line. I see that on Full Tilt, I see it on the WSOP app we have on the Kindle, and I'm sure its the same everywhere. For a long time, even at the beginning yesterday, I wondered if it was worth it for me. Should I spend my time on the play money sites, or would that time be better served reading, watching videos, and doing other research?
Ultimately, I decided it IS worth the time. For one, with my vast inexperience, I just need to see hands. I remember hearing during this year's ME final table that Greg Merson had seen 7 million hands of poker, online. Staggering. The discussion went on to emphasize how beneficial this was in Merson's improvement as a player. Obviously, I'm never going to see that many hands, but there is value in seeing as many as I can - knowing when to get involved in pots and when to get out, how to play relative to my position, raising patterns, etc.
For two, despite the fact that there are people who play like idiots, it doesn't take long in one of the SNGs for those people to be weeded out. Invariably, there are three or four people who go all-in on the first hand, but by about five hands are so, things have calmed down a bit and it resembles something more like a real tournament. This was the case with the 9-handed SNG I played to end my session: it didn't take long for it to get down to five players, counting myself, all of whom seemed like they were playing, for lack of a better term, "normally".
I finished second in that tournament, and was proud of the way I played: no stupid decisions, and I lost heads-up when I pushed short stacked in the small blind and my opponent's Jc/7c beat my Qh/Jh thanks to a rivered 7.
That was my best result; I was out 20th in the 90 person and actually dead last in the six-handed, though I didn't play poorly there either. I also played around with some PLO and found it interesting; I wasn't very successful but I think I could be in the future. But first things first - to get to a point where my NLH game is more respectable, both in tournament and cash games.
Put simply, people play like idiots.
There's no question that people play differently when it's not real money on the line. I see that on Full Tilt, I see it on the WSOP app we have on the Kindle, and I'm sure its the same everywhere. For a long time, even at the beginning yesterday, I wondered if it was worth it for me. Should I spend my time on the play money sites, or would that time be better served reading, watching videos, and doing other research?
Ultimately, I decided it IS worth the time. For one, with my vast inexperience, I just need to see hands. I remember hearing during this year's ME final table that Greg Merson had seen 7 million hands of poker, online. Staggering. The discussion went on to emphasize how beneficial this was in Merson's improvement as a player. Obviously, I'm never going to see that many hands, but there is value in seeing as many as I can - knowing when to get involved in pots and when to get out, how to play relative to my position, raising patterns, etc.
For two, despite the fact that there are people who play like idiots, it doesn't take long in one of the SNGs for those people to be weeded out. Invariably, there are three or four people who go all-in on the first hand, but by about five hands are so, things have calmed down a bit and it resembles something more like a real tournament. This was the case with the 9-handed SNG I played to end my session: it didn't take long for it to get down to five players, counting myself, all of whom seemed like they were playing, for lack of a better term, "normally".
I finished second in that tournament, and was proud of the way I played: no stupid decisions, and I lost heads-up when I pushed short stacked in the small blind and my opponent's Jc/7c beat my Qh/Jh thanks to a rivered 7.
That was my best result; I was out 20th in the 90 person and actually dead last in the six-handed, though I didn't play poorly there either. I also played around with some PLO and found it interesting; I wasn't very successful but I think I could be in the future. But first things first - to get to a point where my NLH game is more respectable, both in tournament and cash games.
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