Table Hopping
My poker pysche sucks. I don't know how people play this game for a living. Just a couple losing nights makes me start questioning my poker "abilities". I use that word loosely, because I am very confident that I know enough about poker to know that there is a whole lot I don't know yet. I have been playing for seven months now and with the exception of the 2nd month, I have been in the black. For each of the past five months in a row I have increased my wins over the prior month. I originally deposited $200, have never needed to replenish it and have grown my online bankroll to over $6K (though I did deposit additional amounts to take advantage of bonuses in the early going). Bonuses make up the vast majority of that growth though, but winnings have been steadily increasing and are just under $1,300 to date. So, overall, I am doing fairly well, but I am still very very cautious.
I figure that I am only doing well because I play at baby limits with total beginners. However, whenever I do finally prod myself to move up, I find more people who play like total beginners, so perhaps all is not lost. At what point does one consider themselves to truly be a winning player? It takes a ridiculously long time for true winning rates to converge and the vast majority of poker players are losing players, so I hesitate to think of myself as a winning player yet. I am content to be a player who has won so far though.
My greatest weakness at poker is my lack of guts and the mental fortitude to handle big losses. This will keep me from moving up quickly through the stakes and will cause me to take up camp at a low comfortable level of play, stifling my potential for growth. I will not make a fortune playing poker. The flipside of this weakness is that one of my better strengths is my bankroll management (alternatively called "being a pansy with my winnings") which if it continues means my risk of going el busto should be pretty damn low. I have no problem moving down in stakes, my issues lie with moving up.
When mentioning weaknesses, I should probably include my lack of time devoted to study of the game too. That more than anything else is probably slowing me down as it would contribute greatly to adding the confidence to move up. I rarely review my sessions which leads to me rarely posting questionable hands on 2+2. I do read 2+2 a fair amount, which helps a bit but I haven't done much reading of books other than a couple readings of SSHE and I am slowly making my way through TOP right now. My desire to play for fun is apparently greater than my desire to improve. I hate losing and love winning, so perhaps my overall enjoyment factor could be increased by devoting some more time to study and a little less to playing. I'll have to ponder that one a bit.
.......
Anyway, no clue where all that came from, I really just meant to post last nights 6-max limit results, which included a lot of table hopping. I was a bit jumpy after a couple poor sessions and was quick to leave tables if I didn't like the look of them. This caused me to play at 5 tables over the course of a couple hours. Usually I am too lazy to search out better tables but it is something I should do more often. I originally sat at a $1/$2 6-max table but it was a very brief stay as it quickly dropped to three players, leaving me up $20. I then followed a buddy to a $0.50/$1.00 table and made a whopping $0.50 there over the next 15 minutes before my buddy left. And on it went through the next few tables as well, with me packing up and shipping out whenever the remaining players were either too tight, too aggressive or too few. When all was said and done, I was up $46 for the night.
In other news, Bravo Canada apparently doesn't carry Queer Eye, so I missed the Ed Miller episode.
I figure that I am only doing well because I play at baby limits with total beginners. However, whenever I do finally prod myself to move up, I find more people who play like total beginners, so perhaps all is not lost. At what point does one consider themselves to truly be a winning player? It takes a ridiculously long time for true winning rates to converge and the vast majority of poker players are losing players, so I hesitate to think of myself as a winning player yet. I am content to be a player who has won so far though.
My greatest weakness at poker is my lack of guts and the mental fortitude to handle big losses. This will keep me from moving up quickly through the stakes and will cause me to take up camp at a low comfortable level of play, stifling my potential for growth. I will not make a fortune playing poker. The flipside of this weakness is that one of my better strengths is my bankroll management (alternatively called "being a pansy with my winnings") which if it continues means my risk of going el busto should be pretty damn low. I have no problem moving down in stakes, my issues lie with moving up.
When mentioning weaknesses, I should probably include my lack of time devoted to study of the game too. That more than anything else is probably slowing me down as it would contribute greatly to adding the confidence to move up. I rarely review my sessions which leads to me rarely posting questionable hands on 2+2. I do read 2+2 a fair amount, which helps a bit but I haven't done much reading of books other than a couple readings of SSHE and I am slowly making my way through TOP right now. My desire to play for fun is apparently greater than my desire to improve. I hate losing and love winning, so perhaps my overall enjoyment factor could be increased by devoting some more time to study and a little less to playing. I'll have to ponder that one a bit.
.......
Anyway, no clue where all that came from, I really just meant to post last nights 6-max limit results, which included a lot of table hopping. I was a bit jumpy after a couple poor sessions and was quick to leave tables if I didn't like the look of them. This caused me to play at 5 tables over the course of a couple hours. Usually I am too lazy to search out better tables but it is something I should do more often. I originally sat at a $1/$2 6-max table but it was a very brief stay as it quickly dropped to three players, leaving me up $20. I then followed a buddy to a $0.50/$1.00 table and made a whopping $0.50 there over the next 15 minutes before my buddy left. And on it went through the next few tables as well, with me packing up and shipping out whenever the remaining players were either too tight, too aggressive or too few. When all was said and done, I was up $46 for the night.
In other news, Bravo Canada apparently doesn't carry Queer Eye, so I missed the Ed Miller episode.
posted by FloppyJT at 9:07 AM
8 Comments:
There is something to be said for nut peddling. Lots of people want to put down this type of player. Lots of 2+2er's want to try to humiliate someone who just sits around making a steady income.
It is nothing to be ashamed of. Most players lose. The ones beating their chests and making it four bets with any two, just to prove how aggressive they are, often experience bankroll variance that would cause another type player to have a heart attack. And often times, in the long run, they are losers.
You can take pride in your fabulous results. Maybe in a day that $43 doesn't look so awesome, but in ten years where will you be? And where will they be? I'll be you won't even remember their names.
I had posted something about table hopping and got some interesting thoughts on the subject. I almost never ever did it then started when I was at the tail end of a significant slide (NLHE). The downside is less knowledge about players at your table, but there seem to be more steal opportunities as well as better chance to hide you natural tendencies. I think it is good to mix in, but table hopping probably isn't good as a habit. Switching tables is something I don't do enough of, however. If the table turns into a sharkfest, I've started leaving more and more often.
Hey Felicia,
My results have far surpassed my initial expectations, so in that regard I am quite happy. Every now and then I sit down and look at my $2/hour winning rate and have a good chuckle. The alternative would be spending money/hour on some other hobby though, so it is all good.
I can handle beats and losing nights much much better now than in the early going, so I figure given more and more time I will toughen up further too.
Every time I read you, I am struck with an urge to sit at an Omaha table and nut peddle like mad. I still don't know what the hell Omaha nuts look like though, crazy fun game.
Thanks for the comments!
Hi cc,
I am pretty sure that I stole my title today from your table hopping post. Just before posting this morning I read your comment from the other day and recall your post regarding table hopping. So, my subconscious probably ripped it off!
I am trying to practice better table selection lately, though I am often too lazy to move when a table isn't ideal. I agree completely that the downside is less knowledge. I don't want to table hop just for the sake of hopping but with so many tables to choose from there aren't many compelling reasons for me to stay at a table that I am not comfortable at for whatever reason. I find I am making much more use of my buddy list lately and will be much more diligent in updating it in the future.
Thanks and cheers!
I'm with Felicia on this one. I would also be considered a "nut-peddler", but I don't care. My puny 16% VPIP and 1.7 AF in full ring works for me. I bring it home slowly but surely.
It's all about winning and that's all that matters. It's not about showing the world you have the biggest balls by being the most aggressive player. It's about the money.
Hey michael,
I haven't played full ring in a while, but those stats look familiar. I'm fairly tight and definitely not over aggressive, generally.
Slow and steady.
It is all about ambition .. there is no shame in nutpendling, but it is all about ambition. If you wish to evolve as a poker player then you will miss out on a lot of skill if you only nutpenddle.
Not that being loose aggressive is the way to play, but handreading and being able to adjust are skills that suffer if you have only been nutpeddling.
Ex-lags are much better nutpenddlers than just you average Nit.
So the question is whether you want to make the most money longterm or just always be a winner, but perhaps not realizing your full potential.
Hey gelford,
There is no doubt that I am content to forego realizing my full potential for the sake of making the game more "fun" for myself. Whether that be by playing more than studying or playing at lower limits that are more comfortable to me or by playing a style that is less prone to higher variance. It's all a tradeoff I suppose.
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