Trying To Focus
Thursday, February 21, 2008
Apparently, since Stella got her groove back, she, at some point, lost her groove, right? And I'm assuming that she at least had to battle this more than just at one point in her life, no?
My last year or so at the virtual tables has been a constant battle of trying to stay "in a groove" or trying to get "on a roll." The good runs have been great, the bad runs horrible and the overall up and down blah on a nightly basis has been, well, the norm.
"I guess you're either runnin' bad or runnin' good, but do any of you run in the middle?"
-PokerPeaker
Trust me, Peaker, running in the middle is the most boring, least fulfilling spot to be. My good runs have all seemed too short and the bad runs too long in comparison to the good runs, but running in the middle has caused me to become extremely apathetic to this game. That will lead to poor decisions, mindless button-mashing and overall, losing poker, at least for me.
I'm one of those guys that really needs to focus on what I'm doing to be succesful. Oh, I can multi-task my way around the block, but making it around the block and making it to, say, the top of a mountain are two entirely different things. It's so simple for me to sit here and tell you the things I do that are succesful in this game. Simple, really. However, saying and doing are two different things altogether. Time for another of my Dad's favorite sayings:
"Do as I say, not as I do."
If he said that to me once while I was growing up, I heard it a thousand times. It was usually something trivial that I was trying to call him out on and was usually followed up with this line:
"Because I said so, that's why."
My strategies used to be so simple that they were second nature.
-Log into one SNG or MTT at a time and give that game your full attention.
-Turn off the distractions, whether it be music, the TV or your family and pay strict attention to the action at your table. Take notes on the players and determine your best course of action from those notes.
-Sit back and be patient. Wait for those cards, because they will come eventually and when they do, somebody will pay you off every.single.time.
Those are the basic strategies I used when I first started playing and they have served me well over the last 3+ years.................when I follow them. Doh!
Of late my focus and attention span could be compared to that of a gnat. I'm constantly buzzing around Bodog, Tilt and Stars looking at this tournament, sitting down at this cash table and generally, not paying much attention to anything at all going on around me. I have the TV on in the background, BuddyDankRadio blaring over the speakers and the constant in and out of my wife and daughter throughout the night. That's a recipe for trouble, right there.
Thankfully, my old nemesis, the tilt-monster, has been nowhere to be found of late. Oh, I still take a ridiculous beat every now and then and let out a huge FUCK YOU, ala MiamiDon, but, at least lately, I haven't let it affect my play. I've also been able to log off and stop playing lately when I felt like it might affect my play and that's a good thing too.
I've been playing alot lately, generally from 6-11 pm Monday - Thursday. We've been out of town nearly every weekend, but I also play on Fridays at least one week a month, whenever I have to work on Saturday. The playing alot is not a problem, it's the amount of playing while I'm playing alot that is leading to the lack of focus.
I seem to be trying to do too much every night when I get home to play. Too many cash tables, too many MTT's and SNG's running at the same time and too many distractions around me to play optimal poker for me. Now, I realize optimal poker for me and optimal poker for the rest of you that stop by here on a regular basis are two entirely different things. Most of you have some sort of tracking software running, telling you what your ROI is at all times and try to maximize that return. While I am concerned with maximum return on investment as well, playing more and more tables in an effort to maximize that return leads to poor decision making in most cases, for me. That, again, is losing poker, at least as far as I'm concerned.
I, like everybody else out there, have sat down and listed some specific poker "goals" that I wanted to accomplish at some point. Most of them had to do with being profitable, but I've always, deep down inside, wanted to take a shot at the WSOP. Maybe not the Main Event, unless I was able to somehow win a seat through an on-line qualifier, but maybe a $1500 or $2000 buy-in event. I even came damn close one time a few years back, unfortunately bubbling in 3rd when 2 buy-ins were guaranteed. It might have been the most heartbroken I've ever been after an on-line tournament.
Lately my goals have changed, much as my life has changed and my ideals have changed, as well.
As most of you know and, although I haven't updated it in a while, I started off the new year on a diet. Fatty McLardass started off 2008 in the 245 pound range and I am pleased to report, I am down to around 225, having lost 20 pounds thus far. I feel better and I look better, at least from the neck down, because of the weight loss. After gaining 25 pounds back after the last time around on the diet, I needed to lose the weight again for me, to feel better about me and to physically feel better, as well.
In September, I embarked on a new challenge, as well. I started hunting with a good friend of mine that has a trailer down by our lake place. Bill has become one of my best friends in the last 6 months and my new found passion has taken over a bit of my every day life, as well as a good percentage of my disposable income. Hunting isn't cheap, by any means and if I am going to do it right,(and I do plan on doing it right) I need to come up with some ways to fund the habit. One of those ways is going to be poker income if I have my way.
My dreams and aspirations of playing in a WSOP Event may one day come to fruition, but for now, I am going to be concentrating on grinding out profit, night after night, at the Limit tables. I'll still be playing the blogger events with my friends and I will still be playing to win, regardless of what 2 cards I flip up when I get called, but, the majority of my time is going to be spent trying to increase that bankroll and fund my other habits.
I have alot of "goals" and "dreams" for the rest of my life, some poker-related, but most, non-poker-related and I am going to concentrate on the non-poker-related goals for a while. It's funny that I plan on using poker to help me reach those goals, but, that's how I roll. I'm funny like that.
So, Peaker, to really answer your question - running in the middle is certainly better than running bad, but I think there are certain things that you (or I, in this case) can do to avoid running in the middle and I plan on trying to regain that focus that I have let slip away of late. There is absolutely no reason that we don't win buy-in after buy-in from these ass-clowns on a nightly basis. It just takes a little personal restraint and sticking to the guidelines that made us succesful in the first place.
My last year or so at the virtual tables has been a constant battle of trying to stay "in a groove" or trying to get "on a roll." The good runs have been great, the bad runs horrible and the overall up and down blah on a nightly basis has been, well, the norm.
"I guess you're either runnin' bad or runnin' good, but do any of you run in the middle?"
-PokerPeaker
Trust me, Peaker, running in the middle is the most boring, least fulfilling spot to be. My good runs have all seemed too short and the bad runs too long in comparison to the good runs, but running in the middle has caused me to become extremely apathetic to this game. That will lead to poor decisions, mindless button-mashing and overall, losing poker, at least for me.
I'm one of those guys that really needs to focus on what I'm doing to be succesful. Oh, I can multi-task my way around the block, but making it around the block and making it to, say, the top of a mountain are two entirely different things. It's so simple for me to sit here and tell you the things I do that are succesful in this game. Simple, really. However, saying and doing are two different things altogether. Time for another of my Dad's favorite sayings:
"Do as I say, not as I do."
If he said that to me once while I was growing up, I heard it a thousand times. It was usually something trivial that I was trying to call him out on and was usually followed up with this line:
"Because I said so, that's why."
My strategies used to be so simple that they were second nature.
-Log into one SNG or MTT at a time and give that game your full attention.
-Turn off the distractions, whether it be music, the TV or your family and pay strict attention to the action at your table. Take notes on the players and determine your best course of action from those notes.
-Sit back and be patient. Wait for those cards, because they will come eventually and when they do, somebody will pay you off every.single.time.
Those are the basic strategies I used when I first started playing and they have served me well over the last 3+ years.................when I follow them. Doh!
Of late my focus and attention span could be compared to that of a gnat. I'm constantly buzzing around Bodog, Tilt and Stars looking at this tournament, sitting down at this cash table and generally, not paying much attention to anything at all going on around me. I have the TV on in the background, BuddyDankRadio blaring over the speakers and the constant in and out of my wife and daughter throughout the night. That's a recipe for trouble, right there.
Thankfully, my old nemesis, the tilt-monster, has been nowhere to be found of late. Oh, I still take a ridiculous beat every now and then and let out a huge FUCK YOU, ala MiamiDon, but, at least lately, I haven't let it affect my play. I've also been able to log off and stop playing lately when I felt like it might affect my play and that's a good thing too.
I've been playing alot lately, generally from 6-11 pm Monday - Thursday. We've been out of town nearly every weekend, but I also play on Fridays at least one week a month, whenever I have to work on Saturday. The playing alot is not a problem, it's the amount of playing while I'm playing alot that is leading to the lack of focus.
I seem to be trying to do too much every night when I get home to play. Too many cash tables, too many MTT's and SNG's running at the same time and too many distractions around me to play optimal poker for me. Now, I realize optimal poker for me and optimal poker for the rest of you that stop by here on a regular basis are two entirely different things. Most of you have some sort of tracking software running, telling you what your ROI is at all times and try to maximize that return. While I am concerned with maximum return on investment as well, playing more and more tables in an effort to maximize that return leads to poor decision making in most cases, for me. That, again, is losing poker, at least as far as I'm concerned.
I, like everybody else out there, have sat down and listed some specific poker "goals" that I wanted to accomplish at some point. Most of them had to do with being profitable, but I've always, deep down inside, wanted to take a shot at the WSOP. Maybe not the Main Event, unless I was able to somehow win a seat through an on-line qualifier, but maybe a $1500 or $2000 buy-in event. I even came damn close one time a few years back, unfortunately bubbling in 3rd when 2 buy-ins were guaranteed. It might have been the most heartbroken I've ever been after an on-line tournament.
Lately my goals have changed, much as my life has changed and my ideals have changed, as well.
As most of you know and, although I haven't updated it in a while, I started off the new year on a diet. Fatty McLardass started off 2008 in the 245 pound range and I am pleased to report, I am down to around 225, having lost 20 pounds thus far. I feel better and I look better, at least from the neck down, because of the weight loss. After gaining 25 pounds back after the last time around on the diet, I needed to lose the weight again for me, to feel better about me and to physically feel better, as well.
In September, I embarked on a new challenge, as well. I started hunting with a good friend of mine that has a trailer down by our lake place. Bill has become one of my best friends in the last 6 months and my new found passion has taken over a bit of my every day life, as well as a good percentage of my disposable income. Hunting isn't cheap, by any means and if I am going to do it right,(and I do plan on doing it right) I need to come up with some ways to fund the habit. One of those ways is going to be poker income if I have my way.
My dreams and aspirations of playing in a WSOP Event may one day come to fruition, but for now, I am going to be concentrating on grinding out profit, night after night, at the Limit tables. I'll still be playing the blogger events with my friends and I will still be playing to win, regardless of what 2 cards I flip up when I get called, but, the majority of my time is going to be spent trying to increase that bankroll and fund my other habits.
I have alot of "goals" and "dreams" for the rest of my life, some poker-related, but most, non-poker-related and I am going to concentrate on the non-poker-related goals for a while. It's funny that I plan on using poker to help me reach those goals, but, that's how I roll. I'm funny like that.
So, Peaker, to really answer your question - running in the middle is certainly better than running bad, but I think there are certain things that you (or I, in this case) can do to avoid running in the middle and I plan on trying to regain that focus that I have let slip away of late. There is absolutely no reason that we don't win buy-in after buy-in from these ass-clowns on a nightly basis. It just takes a little personal restraint and sticking to the guidelines that made us succesful in the first place.
--
With Eh-Vegas right around the corner and Mookie's gathering following that in May, I thought I would toss up a little update on the Oklahoma plans this summer, for anybody that might be interested.-July 9th-13th.
-Oklahoma City and various other places in the middle of nowhere.
The agenda will be loose and the weather will be hot, that I can promise you. I have lots of tentatives and lots of definites so far and I am looking forward to our biggest showing yet here in the heartland.
The lovely MrsGCox25 will again be my co-host and, although I haven't heard from her yet, I'm hoping Miss Maudie will again help me show off that Oklahoma hospitality.
Tentatively we will spend Friday, the 11th, down at my lake place again and the tournament will be at my house in the city on Saturday, the 12th. I think we will probably play poker in one of the casinos on Thursday afternoon/evening and then drive on down to the lake place on Thursday night/Friday morning. That will give us a full day down there to ride jet-ski's, drink lots of booze and play some mind-numbing poker with the locals. Yes, she did call your raise with 10-7 off-suit, I promise.
If anybody has any questions, feel free to drop me an email or a comment here and I will be glad to try to answer them for you.
The agenda will be loose and the weather will be hot, that I can promise you. I have lots of tentatives and lots of definites so far and I am looking forward to our biggest showing yet here in the heartland.
The lovely MrsGCox25 will again be my co-host and, although I haven't heard from her yet, I'm hoping Miss Maudie will again help me show off that Oklahoma hospitality.
Tentatively we will spend Friday, the 11th, down at my lake place again and the tournament will be at my house in the city on Saturday, the 12th. I think we will probably play poker in one of the casinos on Thursday afternoon/evening and then drive on down to the lake place on Thursday night/Friday morning. That will give us a full day down there to ride jet-ski's, drink lots of booze and play some mind-numbing poker with the locals. Yes, she did call your raise with 10-7 off-suit, I promise.
If anybody has any questions, feel free to drop me an email or a comment here and I will be glad to try to answer them for you.
--
Until next time, I fold.
G
posted by GaryC @ 3:22 PM,
4 Comments:
-
At 11:44 AM,
23skidoo said...
-
YEEEEEE HAW!!!
I can't wait!!
I'll be booking my trip sometime next month!!!!
All systems GO -
At 6:24 PM,
pokerpeaker said...
-
Ths week looks to be good so far. :)
Thanks for the link.
I have often wondered if my constant flitting about, checking on this cash game or that cash game (ooo, this one has a higher pot per hand!) has drawn a bit away from my win rate, and I'm trying to do what you're doing.
Good post. -
At 7:56 AM,
said...
-
Gary,
Hey there, long time reader here. I do not have a blog but really enjoy reading everybodys blog. I am going to be spending a lot of time in the Wichita area this summer for work. If the timing is right I was wondering if you might mind if I make the drive down for maybe a day or so. I think this would be a great time.
-Nick -
At 1:52 PM,
Mookie said...
-
Any chance you can make it down to Austin this year?
I'm a maybe for July.
