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Studying poker actually makes you worse.....discuss
Maggiesdad
Member Posts: 439
I know more about poker than I used to.....odds......fold equity......calling range......blah blah blah........but I am convinced I am actually a worse player. Is it just me or does anyone else feel this way? (about themselves.....not me.....for all the smart alecs). By the way this is the first ever thread I have started so it is not just a moan.
Comments
You don't get as many huge 'I can't loose' sessions because you have enough sense to put down the hands that you may have being getting lucky with before.
Studying has improved my game by miles. I can't say it'll work for everybody, but it does for me.
Inevitably you are going to get these advanced techniques wrong the first few times you do it so you should expect to lose money. The thing to remember is to work out where you went wrong and learn from your mistakes. As long as you are analyzing your hands (winning and losing) to see where you could have done better, you will become a better player.
Hi Mike.
I used to run great and win lots when i knew less. This is because I was doing the basics well without actually realising it properly at the time.
I then hit a huge downswing when I learnt loads of fancy terms and trying to play fancy poker hit my profit bigtime. In fact I became a losing player for a while.
But getting back to the basics has helped me tremendoulsy and im back on track now! Who needs to four/five bet light and all that baloney. Just play simple and win innit.
Obviously the occasional donkey move does still occur, but only to make it interesting lol.
I also noticed that certain players were easy to bluff against and others were not. Betsizing was important, but instinct would tell me how much to bet in each situation, automatically computing the relative chipstacks,size of blinds, and ability of the other players. As an example I discovered that if I was on a passive table, I could raise after they had all called and scoop up the chips !
As I went along I discovered a few technical terms. I found out that I was Cbetting, 3 betting, squeeze betting, using position, chip dynamics, fold equity and much more besides !
But does knowledge of the names help my game ? Probably not !
As other people on here have posted, the problems come when you hit the downswing. I know a bit about this because I have been through a few ! And it is easier to get into a downswing than to get out of it. A few bad beats and a few mistakes and suddenly there are a few doubts about your own game. That K 10 suited on the button that last week you would have raised with or folded without a thought, suddenly becomes a problem, and you find yourself limp/folding !
Its a confidence game, and playing badly leads you to spiral downwards, the more mistakes you make, the worse you feel, and make more errors.
Watching other players doesnt help, you see Tikay making a success of playing AA only or those creative guys 4 and 5 betting to build chip mountains ! And you know that neither will work for you.
To me, if you are on the downswing, it is the wrong time to read the poker books and it will not help. You will not find the answers you seek. Far better that you take a decent break from the game. Or get a friend to honestly analyse your play. Some thing that works for me when my online game is not going great, is to get out and play live, it can change the negative mindset.
So I believe that studying can make you worse, often you need to think less about the game not more, and trust your experience and instinct.
The best time to read the books is when its going well, it will reinforce your confidence and help your game.
Confidence is all ! I had a nice Open win last night so I am well up for the Vegas semi later.
Good luck
My results have gone from up to break even over the last year (to be honest actually losing at present) having said that my live results are at an all time high but learning the 4 card game was a goal of mine and I honestly believe it's where the money is!
Dave
Imo, experience is how to learn to play poker, it's an instinctive game, and no book can help us to play--- what we learn by our experience stays hard wired in our poker memory, we don't even know that we know it--- what we learn from a book is soon forgotten. We are constantly put into situations where we have 20 seconds to make our move, what to do? Look it up in a book?--lol-- we have to be playing on our instincts!
Winning poker players don't play abc poker, they play thier own instinctive game, if everyone played the same game there would be no winners, and no losers. If you play abc poker from a book, you are predictable and therefore a soft touch to an instinctive player that has you sussed. Have you ever heard anyone say "I'm a great player because I've read 125 books about how to play poker"?--- My guess is no---
If you want to grind 10 cash tables all day long, you can earn money playing abc poker from a book-- but if you want to become a good player, it's too late!!--- you have already poisoned your poker brain by reading those books!--- In summary--- Individual wolves become great players, not sheep----innit
Just to clarify a couple of points.....
I am still enjoying the game and regularly take breaks, during both winning and losing times (work and life dictate that).
I am comfortably within my real life bankroll and so that is not affecting my decision making (although I am firmly of the belief that brm, important as it is in all forms of poker is most key in cash, especially the way that the game has developed - i.e as long as you are WELL within your br, play any 2, lose a couple of buyins if you must but eventually you will bust someone with your 4 7o and get your money back).
Having said all that, it probably isn't worth bothering to continue the debate if oynutter is right "but if you want to become a good player, it's too late!!--- you have already poisoned your poker brain by reading those books"....lol
I look forward to further views