I am simple minded, not much for school. I got a G.E.D. And alot of knowledge from my dysfunctional life. I dont really know how I came to love this game so much, I started playing 7-card stud with my dad, grandfather, and other familes members over fun games. I really miss that. While living in a motel room quite a few years back, i was bored and watched an all day ESPN cast of the 2004 WSOP Main EVENT, i watched it for like 8 straight hours. I remeber early on seeing David Williams, and i dont know why but he was my favorite from just watching and it was cool to see him go so deep, it sparked my intrest of the tournament. throught that long boring day. i was probably around 14 then. maybe 15. I saw an add on t.v. for pokerstars.net with Greg Raymer on it about a year later, talking about playing for free and all that jazz. I remeber playing the play money table for hours, building my 1k chips to 10k chips then losing the 10k chips in a matter of 5 minutes. Then i got into the play money sit and gos, liked it it more because of my natural competitive style. I remember getting 2nd place in a 45 person 2000 buy in chip tournament and winning 22k chips in thinking that was the coolest thing in the world. Alot of things has happened since but to make a long story short i have blown a $200-$1000 bankroll on so many different sites likeStars, fulltilt,absolute, and more recently . i call that learning money. I am a better live player than i am online. It is too easy to get distracted and not focus, play many tables etc. I feel i have an abilitys to read other players well, and online doesnt use require that skill. I can know when a player is aggressive, but really the face is what let you know where you are at. Betting patterns can help, but in the end you cant be sure. and on spadeclub especially i tend to not give people credit for hands, and it can build my stack, or demolish it. but most times, i am right... Ace rag, sure as hell...
I dont ply alot, and most times when i play, i go all in alot or just play crazy have fun, raise 10x BB with 3 7, then bet 3x pot on flop, because it doesnt matter, i pay $20 a minth not a tournament, and most times i know i dont have the time to play it out anyway, so i have fun. and that helps with my image, and i like that. people think i am crazy... and allthough paperwork proves that correct. i still denie it. But when i am in "that mood" to play, i can tear this site up, i got that abilty to take control of a tournament late, and manage a final table down to a win. I have won over 1/3rd of the final tables i have made on this site, and alot of 2nds in there aswell, because i know how to win. and allthought there are players on here with literly 5-10x my final tables, i usally have around the same or more trophys as that player, and not to mention 200% less hands played. And that is not because i am a better player than these guys and gals, I am just a real randomly good player. usally i hit this buzz about 3-4 times a month, i dont play as often as you might think. I play more live in the $20 buy in games on tuesdays,thursadays,and saturdays, that game usally attracts about 15-20 players. and when u bust out of the game they have a .25/.50 table to pass time at waiting on the next game. And not trying to jynx myself, but more often than not I come out of that game ahead. The point of this blog is to get serious plyers to pay attention and maybe help me with my flaws. I know the online market is a great poker playing training ground, and i have faith in my abilities as a player, but not as much as of lately. ir used to be, i would play serious in the $20 dailys and try to get trophys and enjoy the site. Then it came down to just playing the 500s and weekly/monthlys "serious" now i barely ever even register for the 500s. and today i reached an all time low, first hand of the weekly 5k, i came in feeling serious, but after the flop i decided to try to outplay nd win the first pot. and i made a nice aggressive check raise on flop. then solid bet turn.and bet all but 200 chips on river and got called after a 10 second deliberation i got called by top pair. now this play would work in a real game, i know, but again, i also know better. And even that being said, i know there is no reson to even play much less win the first hand of a tournament, especially with0ver 2k players... whats i wrong with my mindset here. i am breaching out, as i want my online game to improve.. What is it that motivates you guys to play your bet game all the time. passitonover is a good example, this guy is insane good, and when he plays, he does well. he is a good friend of mine,but i truley belive if i am at his tournament table, i can win his chips more often that he can win mine. but this guy will still somehow make it to that final table with a chip and a chair and occassionally he comes out on top. i got mad respect for this, as he is so consistant.. If i could play my best game as often as he does his\ in front of a computer, i dont know really what, but that is what i want to find out. Any feedback is nice. be constructive...
thanks,
-JW
mistershifty
Mike's comment is right on, the "ball" being what you intend to acheive in any given moment. In other words, stay focused on your goals during each and every decision you make.
When you run streaky or get distracted easily, it can be very important to only play when you are well rested and in a good mind state. Not all day. This means being very honest with yourself when you aren't playing your best, and having the ability to stop playing when you are losing to avoid a catastophic loss.