Sunday 24 October 2010

Working space, having a schedule and 3tabling

Last week we received our things from Greece. That meant a huge improvement on our quality of life because not only we stopped sleeping on the floor or on a couch bed and moved to our actual bedroom, but we also improved our working spaces. For my boyfriend that meant receiving his super-powerful computer and his two 30 inch screens. For me, that meant getting the computer that my boyfriend had been using so far, along with a 30'' screen as the main one and a 24'' screen as the secondary one that we put in vertical position. Considering that the past 3 years I have been using the same laptop with a 15'' screen, having a desktop is already a huge improvement for me. Now I actually have a computer that takes far less than half an hour to turn on, runs so fast that I do not have time for a coffee while waiting for an application to load, and the screens are so big that I need to slightly turn my head around to see everything from one side to the other. I'm telling you, it's like I fell asleep and woke up in high-tech heaven! The only "downside" if you can call it that, was the keyboard. After using a laptop's keyboard for so long, I found the regular ones hard to use cause the keys felt hard to press. Problem solved though: I bought a Mac keyboard which is absolutely divine and now my happiness is complete. : )


Moving on to poker stuff. Last Sunday I finished Collin Moshman's "Sit 'n Go Strategy". I already told you I liked it, but I'll say it again: the book is great. It's very easy for new players to read but most importantly: it has tons of examples of hands to illustrate each and every one of the theoretical parts. The previous book I read (the one by Phil Shaw) was very good too, but lack of examples made it a bit harder for a new player like me to fully understand the information presented. I will definately read more of Moshman's books in the future.

So, having finished the book, from Monday my schedule consisted of watching training videos online, reviewing my hand histories on SitNGo Wizard, and playing. The ideal ratio according to my boyfriend/coach for that would be 4 hours videos, 1 hour SitNGo Wizard and 3 hours of play. That however, would mean I can dedicate 8 hours per day to Poker, which is hard to do since I have lessons at university every morning. This week there hasn't been a day where I did more than 5.5 hours of poker. The plan is to do something extra today though, Sundays seem to inspire me for poker related activities since I usually spend 10 hours studying /playing or so. 

Goal for next week: try to keep up with the schedule. It really is harder than it appears to be. We all make plans and schedules, but when the time comes to apply them in our lives, something always comes up to get us off the track. It can be from having a coffee with a friend to going to the super market. The important thing is to have the discipline to keep everything according to your plans, especially when you have a certain goal in your mind. Let's see if I get any better at it during next week.

Up until some days ago I was always playing two tables at a time. Then I noticed that I was getting bored while playing, so I was always looking for more things to do. If you can manage playing two tables and chatting with your friends on msn at the same time, then it's probably time to open a third one. And that's exactly what I did. It went pretty well, and I think it won't be long before I'm able to move up to 4. My only problem is when all 3 tables I'm playing require me to make a more complicated decision. Then I sort of start losing it and make missplays. Playing two HUs while a third table is at high-blind play and I get a good hand, is still too much for me. I even folded KK at a table where I forgot to click on the time clock and got sitout. I guess you get my point. :P

My question is this: is it better to start all tables at once so that the blinds go up at more or less the same time, or is it better to start one, then after the blinds go up a bit start another one and so forth? My coach is firm that the first option is better cause you adapt the same way of playing at all tables and change it as the blinds increase. On the other hand, I believe that the second option might be better, cause even though the tables are at different blind levels and therefore require you to play in a different way, not all of them will require the same amount of your attention. We are still arguing about that one... What do you guys think?

Last thing I want to mention is that I started a new book which I will be reading during my free time (that is whenever I'm not at university, doing my homework, doing my videos- SNG Wizard- playing poker schedule, yep, lots of free time left!). It's called "Kill Everyone" by Lee Nelson, Tysen Streib and Steven Heston. I'm reading the second edition that has been revised and expanded by Bertrand "Elky" Grospellier. But I won't give you my opinion just yet, cause I've only read a few pages.

See you soon, until then good luck at the tables!

10 comments:

  1. És namorada do "Acoimbra" certo?
    Bom professor ja tu tens, boa sorte.
    Jogas com que nick?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Filipe, my nick is katerina289 :)

    ReplyDelete
  3. Hi Katerina,
    My name is Joao ,i have 35 and live in Algarve(south of portugal).Im a a novice in poker too.
    wich video sites do you recommend? I assist a lot in Pokerstrategy site
    http://www.pokerstrategy.com
    ,i would recommend you to subscribe this site(its free).They have live coaching for free,and offer you 50$ after passing a small quiz exam.
    I Also assist videos from here :

    http://www.pokersitandgoreport.com

    Do y have some sites to share?(even the ones we need to pay)

    ReplyDelete
  4. Hi Joao! I know about Pokerstrategy, it is indeed a nice site. I haven't heard of the other one you mentionned though, thank you for the suggestion!

    I am currently watching videos on PokerXFactor, which is a site with a renewable monthly subscription and I really like it so far! I hope this helps, good luck!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Hi Katerina, good luck at the tables!

    I am a SNG player, I already read both books (Moshman and Kill Everyone) and they are some of the best in the market.
    Kill Everyone is more mathematical (latter you will learn bubble factors/tournaments odds), and more inclined to muiltable tournaments.

    I had played some single table SNG's but right now I am focusing on multitable SNG's (18/27 Mans).

    About the question on your blog, I like to start multitabling all my tables at the same time. That way I have every table at the same blinds level, but I guess this is personal preference.
    I will add your blog to my blog list, here is my blog address: http;//LuisPoker.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. Curious, I have same question, but I really don't know. :) But I only grind (just 8 tables) at double or nothings, not at normal/KO (well, sometimes, but I don't have many profit).

    I have a question for you. I saw that you play at Knockout tournament, just the same that I start (1,40$) and I continue many times by 13,50$. I thought is just for +EV with bounties (if you win, are 2 bounties and just need an average more than 1 to be more profitable than normals), but I really don't know if I understand all knockout concept. Do it's mostly like SnGs normal or have a big difference? More donkeys or just the same level?

    The question is: why do is knockout your A-game?

    P.S.: sorry for any mistake, I'm not very good at english, but I think it's communicable.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Hi João!

    I play knockout tournaments in the same way I would play the normal ones. More often than not, I find that this attitude gives me an edge over other players that tend to get involved into risky plays just to win the bounty. If you are playing many tables, the bounties do make a slight difference on your bankroll. However, I don't think you should adapt a going-for-the-bounties-at-any-cost strategy.

    So it's not that I consider the knockouts my A-game, I just find them a bit more fun than the regular ones and I think the level of players is slightly lower.

    I used to play the DoNs too, but you don't get to play so much poker at those. It's just a matter of personal preference I guess.

    I hope I answered to all your questions, good luck at the tables!

    ReplyDelete
  8. Well, we have similar preferences here. ;)

    My better up at bankroll ever was at DoNs (5$ turbo) at October. Was a dream run with almost 30% ROI, but I'm almost break even at last month (100 games). ;)

    I think that 10$ DoN are more harder and players level was much better than 5$, so I don't play (it's less fun for me and I only looking for profit).

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hello! I know, it's very old post, but I have a question! :)
    Why do you play exactly SNG? Why not cash?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It's just a matter of preference... Why do some people like Coca Cola more than Pepsi? ;)

      Delete

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