Haven't played much PLO the last two days, in part because my ISP has been ultra-unreliable (I hate DSL, but it is free for the time being), and I don't like getting disconnected in the middle of 300 BB pots.

I have been playing some more HORSE in recent days, and really been enjoying it. The tables on Stars have been somewhat rejuvinated at the lower limits, perhaps because it is being publicized more, which is great for Poker. Also good for me, because it seems like in every game I sit down, in each round there seem to be one or two players who are just terrible (and it's not the same players in each variant). I am by no means an expert at ALL the games, and there is probably a better player than me in almost every round of every game I sit. But, I would wager that I am probably the second or third best player in every variant, which means I can make money in pretty much every round, which I like. Mixed games are so much more fun to me, although I wish they could throw in Triple Draw to go with the other games, because that would really get some of the folks gambling.

Anyway, I've been thinking a lot about decisions at the table, and how to play your best Poker. Now, the credo is, "always maximize EV." But, sometimes this means more than just making the optimal decision on every street. Sometimes, you are getting the best or worst of it based on things that have nothing to do with your cards.

In a perfect world, we could play cards like EV robots, always pushing our edges, always dodging our losses, and never changing our emotional tenor. In real life, though, we are not robots. We are humans, and we are emotional beings, some of us more than others. When you're playing, you want to be in a good frame of mind, because that can largely affect decision making. In fact, I posit that whether or not you choose to take a close gamble should depend partly on how you will react to the result.

Bart Hanson talked a bit about this on his show, Cash Plays. He was saying that you might pass up a chance to put in all the money when you are either a slight favorite, or you are a slight dog with somewhat favorable pot odds depending on how you will react. If you are stuck, for example, losing the pot might put you on tilt and cause you to make subsequently bad decisions. Any time your judgment is affected, even if you are an otherwise good player, you might be putting in -EV hours, which is no help to your bankroll.

So, ideally, if you feel your concentration starting to slip or tilt coming on, it's far better to call it quits or take a break when you're running bad. Easy enough to do online, but sometimes in live games it's tougher. So, if you have all your money for the day on the table and want to stay in a good game while you're in a good state of mind, you might pass up a situation where you suspect you are a slight favorite because you know that if you lose, you will either play worse and lose the edge in the good game, or you will be forced to quit and leave what is a profitable situation. Again, under optimal conditions, you can always take a break, and always reload. But those times you can't, remember that it's better to take +EV hours, where you are playing well, versus a few slight edges if losing might mean catastrophe.

This requires tremendous self-awareness, which I'm sure all of us need to work on, but hopefully the concept is clear.

4,000 Posts!!!!!

Wow, 4k already. I have to be one of the first 5-10 people to make it here, no?

I'd love to make some spectacular post, but that's unlikely, so I'll just talk about my development a little, bloggish style.

My opinion of myself as a player is probably lower than it was at 3,000 posts, or even 2,000. Back then, I thought I would continue making a meteoric rise through the limits and on my way to winning bracelets and living the high stakes lifestyle. Cue reality check. Not to say I am a worse player than I was then, but I'm more realistic in my assessment I think.

Truth is, I am probably a decent to mediocre player, and No Limit Hold'em is definitely not my best game, which is unfortunate considering its popularity. I have holes in my game, some leaks, some exploitable tendencies as supafrey would say. But I'm working on them. I feel as though I'm still getting better.

A year or two ago I would have told you I wanted to be on TV and be a pro and all that jazz. Now, I'd be lying if I said I still didn't think there would be some fun involved if I somehow luckboxed a donkament win on TV, got a sponsorship, and got to travel the circuit, but I certainly don't view Poker with the same wide-eyed optimism I once did.

At this point, I would settle for being a winning middle limit player who can make a decent extra income in addition to my real job. I certainly do not Poker to completely consume my life, because there are so many more things I want to do. I'm about to start grad school, I want to be a college teacher, I want to write novels, travel, etc. I would rather fit Poker into those things than the other way around. I still enjoy the game, especially since I'm learning a lot more about games like PLO and Triple Draw, and I still think I am getting better and can make some money in this crazy game.

Thanks to everyone on the forum. My time here through my first 4,000 posts has been awesome, and hopefully the next 4,000 will be even more enjoyable.

-Dave

I think learning as many types of poker as possible could well be the way forward.



I only play NLHE. At first I choose this because the number of players online, the number of articles on the forum and the fact there was (albeit limited) coverage on TV in the UK.



However, I'm wondering if learning more games will help my NLHE play.



What do you think? Is it worth looking into other games? If so I assuming PL or FL HE is the best place to start???