October 2021
Poker
Firstly, there were some key events in October, which was a month when I took time off. After the WCOOP I felt tired, but in hindsight, that was not overdoing it with poker but came from my daily relationship with poker. Essentially it tended to be a lot of work, then burning out. I didn't find the sweet spot of consistency. I still worked hard, just not effectively, meaning that time off was needed.
Despite this, I got results and still improved, which led to FTs and trophies. I won the $30 deep stack mara on GG, the 7.50 with 2k runners on stars, and the 22 classico on Party. A bit of everything, and good signs. I only launched 6 sessions in October also, so I’ll take the run well. What this does show me though is how valuable that sweet spot of healthy, consistent poker playing is. That is necessary to first get to the high stakes, and then stay there.
So, here's a breakdown of my performance evaluation, split into good attributes and ones to improve in Oct:
Good:
-Blind vs blind study and understanding has paid off significantly -- win rate is up a lot
-Typically eager to perform on FT, plan really well how to use my different strategy given opponent profiles. Heads-up practice has helped this.
-Always looking to pressure relentlessly. Lots of testing on FT to profile players. Even if this pressure is to play defensively and not lose.
To improve on:
-Mental game: rushing into session and not consistent with study practices. Playing is sometimes the first poker related thing done in the day (red flag).
-Mental game: Phone distractions are coming back -- all the work to distance myself from technology use can be undone if you are not conscious about stopping it and not being present.
-Strategical: SRP oop and multiway pots. Lots of these happening on Sat and Sundays especially. Can be lost with mechanics of medium strength hands. Means I play a bit "plain Jane" and don't think deeply enough
-Strategical: constant practice of giving player's ranges and estimating from there is needed. Practice this to prevent feeling rusty and making mistakes.