Poker Journal Entry #2: Misunderstanding Poker Advice from a Pro
Poker Journal Entry #2:
Misunderstanding Poker Advice from a Pro
This is my second
entry in the learning journal that documents my return to poker. This one came from a video on YouTube as well
as me reviewing my first poker session in PT4.
I had no idea what I was looking for yet. I still thought I was just going to watch or
read the one perfect thing that would turn me into a crusher. I knew I needed more than I had learned the
day before. That was clear because I
hadn’t won the day before. How could my
strategy be any good if I lost one session?
Lol @ past me.
Anyone who knows
anything about poker should read through this list and see just how far off the
mark I was:
-
Flops are fine to check OOP (duh!)
-
Flop bluff stabs should be small and IP (I
didn’t know the term range bet yet.)
-
Flop value should be big IP (I am starting to
teach my self some dumb things because I am working on my own. The whole “bet big with good hands, bet small
with bluffs” idea will recur throughout this list)
-
Bluff small on turn and value bet big (OMG STOP
IT past me!)
-
Do not bluff rivers (ever?) and value bet big
(how could they not call!?!?!? IDIOT!)
The note at the
top that says, “Pre-Germans aka wrong,” means this was before I linked up with
the study group of mostly German guys who helped me start to get on the right
track. Obviously, this was added in
later upon review. At the time I thought
this was for sure the list that was going to turn me into a crusher. I reviewed
the list before playing and proceeded to play for a few hours.
I lost that
day. For some reason, no one would pay
off my HUGE value bets. It was like somehow,
they could see the strength of my hand.
I also was still having some issues with feeling like a victim. I thought maybe there was some hacking going
on where they could see my cards. It is
not like my game plan had a built-in way for people to know exactly how strong
my holdings were…. This is embarrassing
to look back at, so I hope you are enjoying my pain :)
The only positive
I can take from this day was that I got beaten up so badly that I decided I
needed to look for a course to take online.
I decided to spend my second poker session of the day looking up reviews
for the newest courses. I was looking for
one that wasn’t too expensive but was especially good for helping people who
were new to the game. I didn’t know
much, but I did know that I didn’t know much.
That is why I was searching for something for beginners. I was ready to tear apart the horrible style
I had built over the years and rebuild it from nothing.
I landed on the
Raise Your Edge Elementary Cash course.
It seemed to have all the ranges I needed, and I liked the vibe of the guy who taught the course (Fallout86.)
The reviews said that it would help me get a good foundation with which
to attack online 6-max cash. I decided
to sign up and start reviewing the ranges every day until I learned them well
enough to play them by heart (If I’m honest, I still try to learn ranges to
this day and I probably always will be tweaking and relearning them through
time.)
Another thing I was lucky to pick up early
on in the Elementary Cash Course was that people can figure it out if you bet
big with your good hands and bet small with your bad/bluff hands. Of course, I still had a lot to learn, but it
did finally feel like I had a path to follow.
I reviewed my day and when I was out of the game I could see how
mentally out of control I became while playing.
This list of rules is a dumb one, but I couldn’t discipline myself
enough to follow it.
This was not a
feeling I was used to in the recent years of my life. When I decided to get sober I found a plan
and I followed it exactly. When I
decided to lose weight I researched the way I wanted to do it, wrote out a
plan, and stuck by it. When I wanted to
learn about philosophy I made a list of readings and I set aside a chunk of
each day to use for reading and listening to lectures. Poker was different. For some reason, I couldn’t figure out how to
bring my calm mindset and self-discipline to the poker table… yet.
The last thing I
learned while researching poker courses was that RYE was linked to a very
popular discord channel. I had read
enough by now to hear people (such as Landon Tice) talking about how finding a connection with other poker players was one of the keys to learning. I wanted to do that, but I needed to thicken
my skin and really, deeply admit to myself and others that I needed help. I focused on that need during my evening
meditation and I felt like I would be ready to share my mistakes. I was lucky enough to adopt the mindset of
“no matter how brutal they are on me for my mistakes, it won’t hurt as bad as
getting my ass kicked on the tables every day.”
I will end today’s post with that mental game breakthrough and I will be back next time with my next entry in my poker learning log.
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