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An extremely long NL multi-table session last night led to lying in bed, just before sunrise, contemplating the status of my game and just where the hell I am on the path to poker mastery. Even after I fell asleep, my dreams seemed to dwell on the question as a vision of sitting at a WPT final table drew out images of having Mike Sexton taunt my every fold to Randy Jensen's relentless reraises.
Outside of my nightmares, the past couple weeks have been solid poker. Since *finally* topping the field at Henry's home game, the confidence has gone up and my play has improved. The grind at 50NL and the MTT win have bouyed my bankroll enough to motivate a move up to the 100NL. And last night, I sat 3-tabling while listening to some of John Williams' best music not associated with Star Wars. Yes, even *I* need a break from it now and again.
I've noted some big changes in my game in the last six months, and I don't believe they are not rock solid, rather they are trends that I see peeking out of the ground: not unlike the idea that these are not fully integrated into my game, rather they're starting to show and seeing if they fit.
Monsters under the bed: I do not assume strength in an opponent's hand unless he gives me reason to. If an opponent checks into a scary board, I'm not afraid to bet at it. If I raise pre-flop, you have to give me a good reason not to continue to be the aggressor. Free cards are the enemy.
Wide Open Ranges: Limping pre-flop is becoming less and less of an option. If i'm opening the bet, I'm raising, which means I'm raising with a bigger range of hands. As a side-effet, this also means I'm playing tighter in early position.
Making My Read: I give the Phil Gordon DVD credit for this. If I get a read on an opponent's play, I act on it. I won 70 bucks on a single pot after betting on all three streets when a player called down with an obvious flush draw. When it didn't come on the river, I bet hard again and he laid it down.
When I showed him ten-high, he wasn't pleased.
Like I said before though, these are not whole components yet. They come and go when the confidence is there, when everything clicks and I am in that rare zone when the cards become secondary to the players and the chipstacks. I played an extra 90 minutes last night because one huge stack at the table had such a huge bullseye on him due to his playing style, I could not forgive myself if I left without doubling up on him.
His style was to check-raise all in for his entire stack if he sensed any bluff weakness at all, so I quickly made like an injured animal when I flopped top set. With a 5 dollar pot in front of me, I bet a dollar. He paused for a minute before check-raising for his entire 216 dollars.
I already had my mouse hovering over the call button. Goodbye, sir.
If I don't stop in the middle of the maddness of multi-tabling to make that kind of observation, I don't profit. I try to check the flop and he checks right through. But I make the read on what gets this guy in a raising mood, and nail him. It's an extreme example, but a valid one nonetheless.
Getting back to Henry's path, I have no clue where I am. This could be the last stage before plateauing and getting stuck in a lack of development. This could be the start of another huge jump. But if I don't continue to act on every opportunity to improve, I'm never going to find out.
So on to the next stage, and I hope to see you at the table.
Bring chips.
-Chris
Outside of my nightmares, the past couple weeks have been solid poker. Since *finally* topping the field at Henry's home game, the confidence has gone up and my play has improved. The grind at 50NL and the MTT win have bouyed my bankroll enough to motivate a move up to the 100NL. And last night, I sat 3-tabling while listening to some of John Williams' best music not associated with Star Wars. Yes, even *I* need a break from it now and again.
I've noted some big changes in my game in the last six months, and I don't believe they are not rock solid, rather they are trends that I see peeking out of the ground: not unlike the idea that these are not fully integrated into my game, rather they're starting to show and seeing if they fit.
Monsters under the bed: I do not assume strength in an opponent's hand unless he gives me reason to. If an opponent checks into a scary board, I'm not afraid to bet at it. If I raise pre-flop, you have to give me a good reason not to continue to be the aggressor. Free cards are the enemy.
Wide Open Ranges: Limping pre-flop is becoming less and less of an option. If i'm opening the bet, I'm raising, which means I'm raising with a bigger range of hands. As a side-effet, this also means I'm playing tighter in early position.
Making My Read: I give the Phil Gordon DVD credit for this. If I get a read on an opponent's play, I act on it. I won 70 bucks on a single pot after betting on all three streets when a player called down with an obvious flush draw. When it didn't come on the river, I bet hard again and he laid it down.
When I showed him ten-high, he wasn't pleased.
Like I said before though, these are not whole components yet. They come and go when the confidence is there, when everything clicks and I am in that rare zone when the cards become secondary to the players and the chipstacks. I played an extra 90 minutes last night because one huge stack at the table had such a huge bullseye on him due to his playing style, I could not forgive myself if I left without doubling up on him.
His style was to check-raise all in for his entire stack if he sensed any bluff weakness at all, so I quickly made like an injured animal when I flopped top set. With a 5 dollar pot in front of me, I bet a dollar. He paused for a minute before check-raising for his entire 216 dollars.
I already had my mouse hovering over the call button. Goodbye, sir.
If I don't stop in the middle of the maddness of multi-tabling to make that kind of observation, I don't profit. I try to check the flop and he checks right through. But I make the read on what gets this guy in a raising mood, and nail him. It's an extreme example, but a valid one nonetheless.
Getting back to Henry's path, I have no clue where I am. This could be the last stage before plateauing and getting stuck in a lack of development. This could be the start of another huge jump. But if I don't continue to act on every opportunity to improve, I'm never going to find out.
So on to the next stage, and I hope to see you at the table.
Bring chips.
-Chris
posted by Chris Hanel at
3:55 PM
