And other things that SUCK!

So I’m used to losing to a better full house, when i’ve caught the “under” boat (U-Boat?) on the river. Yes it’s easy to “get” how the card that made your full house, gave the other guy a better/higher hand. But….until tonight i don’t recall losing a full house because my pair was a lower pair than the opponent. Yes, the triple As on the board made it all possible, but still, what a way to go

Give a man a fish, he’ll eat for a day. Give a man a table poker table full of fish and he’ll eat like a king, every day!

The bigger fish eats the smaller fish, the smallest fish eat smaller animals and plants and that is the food chain in snapshot. The same in poker. Everywhere you play poker, where at party poker or ultimate bet or royal vegas, there are the fish and players who win their money. Interestingly, these great poker players are just a different type of fish we call them Sharks.

So, it’s the same int poker the big players eat the little ones and then spit out WSOP replays on ESPN!

So what about a Fish? Why the term fish?

Just in case you you aren’t exactly sure what I mean by fish: simplyit’s a bad player, waiting to lose his/her money.

So, why are great poker players sharks and crappy poker players fish? Which came first to poker, the term shark or the term fish? I’m guessing fish came first and the reason is simple, it fits to describe all the players of the game

1. People who fish for a hand. Those who wait for their cards to improve.
2. People who will bite/take the bait on your soft play or bluff.
3. People who can be gutted, for money.
4. People who travel in schools. Call a bet, only because everyone else is in the pot.
5. People who repeat same wrong behavior until they die (run out of money).
6. People who, like salmon, who swim up stream to spawn and die. People playing crap hands hard, against all odds.
7. A shark who eats all the fish.

So, what are you? Shark or chum?

So, i’ve about figured myself out. I go into a game hard, lose my money, learning a bit about the players, before tightening up. Knowing this, i’ve tightened up earlier in the game and i’ve begun to reverse my losses online. It is really clear to me that i am much more impulse and out of control online. Knowing this, i must adjust or give up the game. So far, adjusting is proving to be a success.

Tip of Month: The Short Stack

Well this may not be a regular feature, but periodically I’ll share a tip that ranges on the blatenly obvious. Today’s Tip: Go after the Short Stack. In tournaments, that’s pretty much the rule, but i’ve found that in cash/ring/side games, that the guy with the short stack, likely got the short stack by being a lousy player. Yesterday, I worked that information like magic, to help a couple of guys reduce their stack to 0.

This isn’t fool proof, but remember to watch the action so you can find the guys who are trash cards and fishing for hand.

By now you must be totally wowed by my use of language! Yes, whether it’s French, German, or even Japanese, i can find a word, sometimes 2, to make it seem as if i do more than sit in front of the computer all day! LOL

So, i continue to talk about the lousy play i’m exhibiting at the online tables. I realized that anyone reading this might want to get a piece of my stack by looking for me online. Well i’ve been playing at Party Poker and the increasing popular Aloha Poker, so if you see me, say hello as you take my money!

This Software Is Rigged: and other rants!

So the two most common outburst seen/heard at the online poker table, is 1) the guy you just beat calling you a moron and 2) the guy who’s AA pocket pair just lost yelling “this software is rigged”! In both cases, the guy making the comment probably isn’t qualified to make reach the conclusion.

The flaw in the in the rigged software scenario is the motive. Why would a poker room, that keeps a rake off every real money game need to cheat? With operators like Party Poker sporting revenues approaching $1 billion, via poker rake, what need or incentive would the operator have for risking their business with “rigged” software. People who distrust any online gaming business, seem to forget that all casino games have a built-in edge/commission/profit for the house, so there is plenty of money to be made, without any cheating.

The reason that so many people seem to draw out a win with a crappy hand, is that so many people play crappy hands that you normally do see make it to a showdown. i think someone is less likely to hard play a suited 3-9 at a casino, either out of fear of embarrassment or not being able to keep a strait face. Either way, i think the online bad beats and miracle hands are a function of too many people playing too many hands.

Well i hate to admit, that I, the 1250 ish(and dropping) top pro player (according to http://www.pokerpages.com/ LOL) have been losing at online ring games. Yes, i can’t seem to play a good game online, without tilting and losing my game stake. No, this is not to say that I don’t ever go up while playing. In fact, i usually start out by winning some hands, increasing my stack by 50% to 100%, then I lose discipline and lose my winnings - plus the original stack, before cursing a bit and shutting the game down.

Is this the Poker version of the Yips? Is this like my golf game, where I inevitably start out well, lose focus, discipline and fall apart in the 2nd half of the game?

Well, I for one think it is. All tasks that require thought/focus can be effected by the player’s mental focus and discipline. The difference between Tiger Woods and the also rans, is his consistency. And when Tiger loses focus, even his game can stink.

What is the solution to this Yips/Choke problem that i’m having? Well for playing online it’s all about keeping focused. Since i have a short attention span, I will beginning limit my play at ring games to 30, 45 and 60 minute sessions and compare my results.

Remember, if you aren’t playing as well as you can or should, then don’t just whine, do some research to figure out the problem and a possible solution.