Time To Reconsider

Well, I think it is time for a temporary hiatus. During the first two weeks of August, I was on top of my game like at no other time in the past two years. I then met up with fellow reader Tim and it has all went south since then. This is not Tim’s fault, it is rather my way of marking how long it has been since I posted a plus in the books. Tim’s patience at the table did show me one thing though; I really need to work on my game as it has gotten sloppy.

For the first year of playing hold em’, I felt a fear with every hand I entered. I think this mentality almost served me well. Even though I wasn’t cognizant of it at the time, the reality was that I was playing pot control in most of the hands I was involved in. I never committed my entire stack unless I had the nuts or damn close. Granted, I gave a WHOLE lot of value away by playing this strategy, but it resulted in a very low variance game and one I could stomach.

Fast forward to today and I am playing an entirely different style. My aggression has grown exponentially and I think of optimal strategy on just about every hand played. Although this sounds like a positive, FPS (fancy play syndrome) is getting me away from just playing profitable poker. I do feel that my game right now is best suited for tournaments, but I have always preferred cash games. Maybe that is something I need to change.

Anyway, I need to get back to basics. I need to reconfigure my poker brain into starting hand ranges that are more in line with basic strategy and become a truly tight rock. Otherwise, my bankroll will burn up just about as quickly as it has just now.

Therefore, since I have burnt though my bankroll by playing poorly and by playing 2/5 while I was underrolled (even though my game is suited better for 2/5), I must wait until I can put together another bankroll until I can play again. Therefore, I need to get myself a steady job with some disposable income, although I don’t see that happening anytime soon with all my student loans.

Unfortunately, I feel that is where this blog will take a downturn, as I won’t have as much first hand info to post and readership will surely take a turn for the worst. I will do my best to keep abreast of information though.

I think one of my major leaks is just loving the game of poker too much and being entirely too competitive. I have a drive to win each and every time I hit the table. However, often we just run bad and there is little we can do but limit the losses. That is what has always frustrated me the most about the game. The intangible variance that we all must fight through, regardless of how good our game is. My competitive nature took over about a year into playing poker, where just playing to have a good time wasn’t enough. I began to eat, sleep, and breathe poker. I still do and that is what will kill me to be away from the game. However, all that passion has in a way led to my demise. I am an extremely confident person, but I am humble. My humility allows me to say that right now I am not beating the game of poker and I might have to step away for a while. Quitting is not in my nature though and I am just not sure how long I can stay away from the game.

What I do know is that my normal life can no longer sustain my losses at the table. I do give every true “grinder” out there tons of credit. I can only imagine how tough that road is. And all I am doing is trying to grind out some cash while attempting to find employment. Anyway, I will continue to keep posting my random thoughts about poker and eventually I may make my prodigal return, we will just have to wait and see. That’s all I can do. Wake up and pick myself out of bed. That’s the best I can ask of myself. Grinding doesn’t have to be just at the table. It is life itself.