anomaly16

I don't think anyone who doesn't play poker can really understand how tough poker can be mentally. As they say, "It's a tough way to make an easy living".

Poker should simply be a game of mathematical decisions but we are emotional beings and it is very hard to separate the two. I won't list all the emotions here, but I think its possible to feel pretty much every emotion on this list at wikipedia in varying degrees due to poker. Any single one or combination of these can affect our decisions, and any time we are not making perfect decisions and not playing our A-game is a form of tilt.

Tommy Angelo talks about striving to be "tiltless" and I think this is another crucial element in being successful at poker and one that can't be ignored. As Tommy also says, we need to work on "lopping off our C-game" - working on things that we know we are really bad as well as working on improving our already good skills. Many of these bits of C-game are incredibly hard to deal with such as this. However, any improvement to our C-game can affect our winrate just as much if not more than improvements to our A-game. I think many people who play for a living don't do enough work on this because it can be so hard, and therefore if we make any efforts at all we can only improve our edge over the other players.

There is some great material out there to get started, but in the end in just takes some effort to be self-aware and try to reflect objectively on your state of mind at all times and how it is affecting you and your game. Being able to adjust and also quit at the right time can have a huge bearing on results.

I'd recommend the following to anyone wanting to learn more

• Elements of Poker by Tommy Angelo
• The Poker Mindset: Essential Attitudes for Poker Success by Ian Taylor & Matthew Hilger
• The Eightfold Path to Enlightenment by Tommy Angelo

Over the years I've been playing I think I've probably experienced every form of tilt but now I feel I do better at almost all of them, especially with the effort I've put in over the last year.

Tilt comes in many and varied forms. One particular demon of mine was Bankroll Tilt: Playing higher stakes or taking silly risks in an effort to reclaim money that I had formed an attachment to and lost, in an effort to get back to even. This hand from June 2009 before I went full-time pretty much sums it up and the dangers involved.

At the time I was playing 100NL within my bankroll requirements but had not had a good month (down about $1k). It was approaching the end of the month and I wasn't happy with my results.. I jumped into a 400NL game and quickly lost a stack and felt worse. To compound it I then jumped up to 1000NL promising myself only a single orbit of the table and to only consider putting all $1000 at risk if I had the nuts. 2 hands from the orbit being complete the hand above happened.. flopped the nuts in a 3bet pot, got stacks in and then was brutally coolered by runner-runner.

I felt pretty terrible at that point finishing down $1400 for the day - my worst day ever (and still is fortunately!). It took a couple of weeks to really get over it but when I did I was able to really think about what I did, why, and how I could prevent it happening again.

I think I'd always had this tendency, but sometimes it can take an extreme event to really become aware of something. In hindsight I'm pleased it happened in that I have been able to recognise when I've felt the same since and been able to step away from the tables or play some silly cheap game instead until I'm back on an even keel.

Unfortunately, not all forms of tilt are as easy to fix but it can only have a positive effect to make an effort to seek them out and deal with them.

When I first started playing cash I knew the common wisdom seemed to be that to make money at poker you had to multi-table and as many tables as you possibly can (without affecting winrate to the point its not adding more). There were some that played less but they were definitely an exception.

I'd started out with 1 table like everyone else when I first started playing poker, but slowly added a few more over time. When I first started playing cash I varied how many I was playing.. anywhere between 4 and perhaps 10 with the intention to try and add more but never really found a number that worked for me. I think this was as a result of not playing great poker rather than an issue with the number of tables.

At the beginning of this year I knew I needed to play a lot of hands to be able to make a living but didn't have any real idea of how many that might be. My future winrate, stakes and multi-tabling ability were all fairly unknown and I didn't waste any time trying to estimate what with was required. I knew I had time on my side in that I knew I would be able to put in a decent number of hours a week. However, from experience, I also knew that I had a lot of leaks to address before I would be able to comfortably multi-table without making bad and costly mistakes.

When things clicked in January I was only playing a handful of tables at a time. Not wanting to lose/break whatever I had found I stuck with a similar number of tables (2-6). As results came in month by month I was making enough that I wasn't compelled into re-evaluating how many tables I played so just stuck with the forumla. I also was able to continue to improve at a greater rate. In a game of edges, it is important to take every edge you can, and playing fewer tables affords quite a number even if they are small

• more time to make decisions as a whole
• fewer misclicks due to slower action
• fewer misreads due to table/HUD size
• more time to navigate HUD popups and notes
• more time to take notes
• more time to observe game flow
• more time to read hands that others take to showdown
• ability to always tile tables on monitor and not miss any action
• good players with an edge over you are probably playing more tables and will therefore have their edge reduced. (I haven't done it often, but being able to be aware of other big decisions they have at the same time as being in a pot with you can marginally influence the decision in a hand)
• easier to perceive your table image on each individual table
• more time to game select
• more time to seat change/select
  

You do need to be aware of getting distracted too much when there is little action. Also, you need to make sure you aren't trying to play too many pots for the same reason.

You do get to see every brutal showdown - I've noticed when playing more tables that I sometimes am vaguely aware of having made a river bet or raise and don't remember seeing the result. For the mental aspect of the game and tilt control it is probably a good thing not to see every result and just focus on good decisions. The flip side of the coin is that if you don't see showdowns how are you able to adjust your game based on your perceived range of cards that the villain had against what they actually showed up with? Sure, you can review hands later and make notes but the information is most valuable right there.. in that moment and the hands following it. People you play may be creatures of habit, but I think its definitely possible to pick up on how people may be playing slightly differently that day.. particularly if they seem to be on tilt they are likely to be putting their stack in within a few hands and you can adjust accordingly.

Another downside of playing fewer tables is reduced rakeback and bonuses. However, if you can achieve a better winrate then money made at the tables can more than make up for any "lost" income. If the poker rooms change their promotions you are also less affected by any changes (e.g. recent ft rakeback changes and Black Card). The other plus of a greater winrate is quite honestly - it just feels good to crush the stakes you are playing. It feels good to win and I think it helps the mental side and the bad days probably don't feel quite as bad and tilt is much reduced; and less tilt = more money :) I have huge respect for those that can play 16+ tables but I don't like the idea of playing more for bonuses than anything else so I don't think its for me.

Having said all of this, I have played a session or two of 10 tables this month. The number of leaks I had have definitely reduced to the point I think I can safely add a few tables when I'm feeling good and the games are good without affecting things too much. As I try to move up stakes I may find edges are much smaller and it might require playing more hands/tables. I'll continue to fine tune things to try and find the sweet spot that works for me but I'll definitely not be 24-tabling for SNE next year!

So, with the year-end approaching, I've played close to 500,000 hands but don't think I'll make that milestone. Volume was down in April, May and June due to doing a 9-5 to guarantee the trip to Vegas and then being in Vegas itself. I haven't got back to the volume I manged in Feb/March primarily as I wanted to keep the number of tables down while moving up to 100. Now that I feel established there I'd like to push back towards 60k and perhaps even try for 100k one month next year.

Making good poker friends and contacts is as critical to success as much as coaching I think. Coaches are obviously great, but they cost $$ per hour and aren't around all the time. With an array of people in different timezones keeping odd hours there is almost always someone around to discuss hands or strategy with or do sweats.

I've picked up contacts via this blog, 2+2, coach introductions and sometimes chatting at the poker tables. One thing to note is that if you play the person regularly at the same tables it definitely will have a different and sometimes slightly odd dynamic playing against them in the future. e.g. cbetting a flop oop and being called by someone you know can make it quite tought to play the turn - you want to win the hand obviously and you might bet in the same spot against a villain of similar stats, but the fact that they called you probably means they might have a more reasonable hand than they might against a villain of your stats. Perhaps they are only calling with a really strong hand vs you because they want to keep a small pot and not take money from you as much as from others? If you do continue a bit light and it gets to showdown how will they perceive how you played them and how will affect future encounters?

Some people can be quite open in talking while others can be much more withdrawn and be unwilling to discuss specific details of hands between you and them. I think this is Tommy Angelo's "Information Reciprocality" in effect.. in that for the perfect poker strategy you should never give up information unnecessarily while trying to get as much as you can yourself. However, I think for what you can get out it can be worth sharing information with the right people. As in life, there are bad people out there and you have to be on your guard when first getting to know someone - there are enough horror stories on 2+2 of people being scammed so it pays to tread cautiously.

I now participate in a hh review session once a week with El Nino and Perfection - we simply take turns in going through hands we've marked during the previous week using TeamViewer, HEM and Skype. It has been really useful for all of us I think and definitely something I will continue with.

I can't do a section on friends without a special mention for Gary (El Nino 1). We've been good friends almost a year now, and I don't think I'd be the player I am today without all the hands and strategy we have discussed. Also, I don't think I'd have made it to Vegas and had such an awesome time if I hadn't known him. We play quite a few torunaments and often he is generous enough to swap some % (as he definitely a better MTT player than me!) so I need to thank him for winning a lot more for me than I have for him ($540 in vegas after his WSOP cash, and $900 a few days ago come to mind). So, thanks Gary, and I really hope you can win the prop bet for next June. If anyone is looking for a good coach or even staker for micro stakes then I wouldn't hesitate to recommend him and he is great value too.

As in life you can't be friends with everyone, and there will be players that you come across that can really make life miserable for you and you will start to hate with a passion. They might just run really well against you but its really important to try and keep a level head and stick to your A-game. Taking time to go through hands in your database to understand how they play and look for leaks is definitely valuable, especially the ones you play on a daily basis.

I have to make a small brag at this point as the last 2 days have been 2 of my best ever. 26.65 BB/100 is unfotunately unsustainable but I'm enjoying it while it lasts. Posting and rungood are now linked so I have to keep up this posting once a day !

I've had 3 coaches - Baz, Kush and Jason. Its impossible to say who was best - each has had an effect on shaping my game into what it is today. Getting coaching is critical to success in poker and its essential that you approach it with the right attitude, be prepared to listen and think really deeply about your reasons for doing anything and everything at the tables.

It has been over a year now since I had my last coaching, and although everything seems to be going really well I still make horrendous mistakes and have lots of room for improvement. I think I posted a few weeks ago that I was thinking about getting more coaching and I've not moved any further forward as yet. I'm still considering a number of different people and also what I want out of it.

As teaching is a great way to gain a greater understanding, I've taken on a student myself recently. I think I'm starting to have a positive effect on his game but it is probably taking a bit longer than it should as I'm learning the ropes myself. If it works out I may take on more students next year.

As for methods of coaching hand history reviews are best, but as many coaches say these days, its best for the student to decide the format that will work best for them. I know from experience that being sweated can be just what you feel is needed even it isn't going to give the best value for the time. I think the reason is that there is a gap between connecting up the theory of what to do and what you actually do when you are at the table, faced with decisions and limited time. I think this connection is part of what changed for me last January.

Cliffnotes prior to this year:

• Started playing in 2004/2005 recreationally (mainly sngo and mtt) - didn't work on my game or use a HUD but did well enough to keep playing for fun
• In 2008 I switched to cash, got some coaching, started using a HUD - did well initially but a lack of understanding and some tilt control issues kept me from winning much
• October 2009 I was hating my job and decided to take the plunge, so quit and decided to try poker for a living

I had a few months of contingency money in case things didn't work out and I needed to find a job, but I was starting out with no track record that I would be able to actually win enough to cover all my expenses. I had enough belief (and hope!) that with the extra time I had for poker that there was no good reason I couldn't do it. I had one clear goal for the year - thats was to prove to myself that I could make a living from player poker full-time. There were a few things in my favour -

• Its easier to play from the UK in that all winnings are tax free so you don't need to win as much
• I always found it easy to spend hours in front on the PC playing games, so knew that I could put in the hours and volume required
• I already had a reasonable understanding of the game and knew I wasn't completely incompetent

Once I'd made the decision to quit my job I got some coaching from jasons0147. We only had a few sessions but they were really useful, especially as I was really motivated to learn. He had some great suggestions and his clear thinking definitely helped refine my thought process at the tables.

Between November and January I played mainly 0.25/0.50 at both Absolute Poker and Full Tilt. I was managing to put in the volume and starting to win a little more consistently, but still not enough to really live on. Being paid in arrears and trying to live a little cheaper meant I could keep going without resorting to using any contingency.

Towards the end of January something magical happened - in fact two things! Full Tilt made changes to the buyin limits to the tables which meant that the games were no longer infested with shortstacking players. Secondly, a number of things clicked into place in my game.. its hard to put my finger on exactly what it was, but able to think/play full-time as well as game select better definitley allowed it to happen as well as the effect of the coaching from jason. I'd also had time to be able to talk with and do some sweats with El Nino 1 and Incognito which were invaluable.

In the early months I was winning at around 2BB/100, but Feb saw me jump to 3.5BB/100 and 5BB/100 in March. I'm not sure what my "true" winrate is, but I've played enough hands since to know that this wasn't just variance and I had definitely turned a corner.

As I posted in my November review, I'm going to do a series of posts about my first year of full-time poker this month - I'm going to try and make a post a day if I can manage it. This will count as 1st in the series and I'll take the next 24hrs to finetune the list of topics I'm going to cover and shuffling the order before making post #2.

1. Index (this)
2. The Beginning
3. Coaching
4. Friends / Villains
5. Volume
6. Tilt / Mental Game
   
7. Game Selection
8. Playing for a living in the UK
9. Studying
10. Playing without distractions
11. Healthy lifestyle
12. Life balance
13. Results-Orientatedness
14. Ego
15. Vegas
16. WSOP
17. Bonuses
18. Shorthanded / HU
19. Bankroll management
20. EV
21. HEM / HUD
22. PLO / PLO8
23. Some things I'd like to post about but won't
24. Live play
25. Table etiquette
26. Goals
27. Benefits
28. Drawbacks
29. Hands of the year
30. Results
31. The Future

Its been another solid month with around 40k hands played. In the closing hours of November I was within $150 of it becoming yet another record month, but a quick series of coolers for $450 moved it out of reach.

Cash results were a bit down on the last couple of months, but winning a live £50+£30 at the casino and getting $900 as my 25% share of Gary as he ran deep and chopped a tournament HU definitely helped!

Overall it makes it my 3rd best month, and the last 3 months have been the best ones of my "career" so I'm hoping for a good December to finish the year.

A couple of people have asked what happened to my epic post I was going to write about my first year as a pro - I think the problem that it was just too epic to make as a single post and I kept putting it off. Instead, I'm going to write a series of posts in December that covers everything, each one focussing on one important element.