In the beginning

[Swinebag]

top post wayne

I think I play OK but any decent result I get is always credited to "running good"

[AAroddersAA]

POTY candidate right here from Wayne.

Feeling good and confident tends to mean you are more likely to make the right play, even when it is a really difficult play. Playing badly means you are more likely to try and force something to happen usually involving bluffing in the wrong spot (I did this at the WCOAP main event this year). Most importantly feeling confident allows you to move on from tough decisions more easily, for example making a big laydown and being able to forget about it and move on. Or figure out that somebodies line does not make sense and make a big correct call. I would say this sort of thing constitues playing well. As you move through your tournament this often makes you fell even more confident. You will still lose most of the time but if you play most tournament"s like this you will end up a big winner.

Feeling good and not having distractions during the tournament is important. At APAT not wondering what is going on at the bar or wanting to go and talk to other people more than you want to play poker is helpful.

When you are playing well and not letting distractions influence you I would say you are "in the zone". This is not in itself getting lucky, however if you are playing in the zone and get a bit of luck you have a good chance of winning/running deep.

When you play well but still get knocked out early or get unlucky you probably don"t think about it so much, when you are feeling "in the zone" and win some significance gets attached to it.

I would prefer to be "in the zone" as my confidence will grow by making consistent good decisions, I can"t control getting lucky and just have to trust it will happen eventually, I can control how I play.

[nosey-p]

Thanks for the replies

I always thought of poker as a game of skill with a bit of luck chucked in. However after looking at my game recently and looked into my results and how I exited the games I came to the conclusion that Skill is much bigger then I thought. Probably not what you expected me to say.

Most of my exit hands I would class as "damage hands" what I mean by this is that the damage as all ready been done before my exit hand for what ever reason. What I'm trying to find out is why? Did I get unlucky, did I not feel confident, is it variance and was my mind not on the game.

I started playing poker as a hobby; I had seen it on Late Night Poker and thought this is for me so I borrowed a computer to have a go. Put £20 in and never looked back. Then APAT came and I started to play live and discovered that the poker I have been playing is not the same game as what I'm playing live. Playing on line is a bit robotic you see a lot of the same moves and the same plays over and over again, which is a good thing as you can make money but you see more variance due to the more hands you play. So to win a MTT you may have to play 600/700 hands to win but you only need to lose/get unlucky once and you are out. What I'm trying to say is you play the cards more than the player (not all the time) so your mind set is regimental.

Playing live is much more to do with how you feel, confidence, in the zone. You play the player more; your cards become less important, your presence at the table becomes noticeable. It becomes more of a mind game, yes you still need the cards but with fewer hands you cannot always wait for them. 

I still play live like I'm playing on line which as done me ok so far but I want to move my game up to the next level. I believe I have a good all-round game and I feel confident whenever I sit down at a table and I don't believe my game needs looking at much (although we all learning all the time)

The long and the short is, to make the next move do you need to be lucky? Or would you use the words "feeling confident, running good, in the zone, variance, the long term"  

[nosey-p]

Great post Wayne. We need to meet up for a beer or 2 to discuss this one in more detail.

As you know I believe a good mind coach is the way forward for anyone struggling in these areas. I have one, and my attitude to the game is so much better now. I haven"t put in the volume to demonstrate improvement in my game but I KNOW that it"s there. In fact, part of the reason I haven"t been playing as much is because of my mind coach helping me realise other parts of my life that needed to be sorted first.

I could go on and on about this but if I did then it would seem like I was writing my own blog........must get back to that sometime.

If you, or any APAT"ers want to learn more about a "mind coach" or "life coach" (his preferred term) then PM me.

Going to the Alea on the 30th if you or anybody else is up for it?

[nosey-p]

Interesting post Wayne, very thought provoking.

Confidence counts for a lot. I remember watching you play during the latter stages of the ME at DTD last week when it was down to about 16 runners. There was a raise in front of you and then you shoved... I know a little about the way you play and I remember thinking to myself, "He"s got a premium hand there." The confidence with which you shoved your chips over the line got most players to lay their hands down - even though I"d greatly overestimated the size of your pocket pair  

Assuming that we always play well, the only thing better than confidence is running well - that and minimising distractions on and off the felt.

This is what got me thinking, to get as far as I did I got lucky getting my cards in bad 3 times but came out smiling. But knowing this, was my mind set on the game for the later stages or was I thinking "I'm lucky to be here" and my mind was not on the game or I'm just over thinking things.

We had allot of respect for each other so I knew he was only calling with a premium hand. My cards did not matter. I only showed because he made the same move 2 hands earlier and showed so out of respect I did the same.        

[ian.ski309]

But knowing this, was my mind set on the game for the later stages or was I thinking "I'm lucky to be here" and my mind was not on the game or I'm just over thinking things.

I"m not sure what you mean here Wayne, but I"m pretty sure you"re over analysing I only mentioned that hand because something you haven"t touched on so far is "table image". I will often adjust or adapt my game when I"m in a hand with a particular opponent, depending on what I already know about them. Sometimes this knowledge can stretch back years, sometimes it"s only what I"ve read about them but in most cases it"s what I"ve observed during the previous half an hour. I"m pretty sure that had I been in that hand I would have been folding 95% of hands to your shove  

[nosey-p]

Only mugs gamble "I am a mug"
There is only one winner "I am a loser"
Only idiots gamble "I am an idiot"
You don't see a poor bookie "I am broke"

From this day on I will never have a bet on the horses, football, cricket, golf etc. If you ever see me at a roulette table or sat at a blackjack table, you have my permission to kick me in the family jewels. If you hear me talking about having a bet, hit me around the face with a wet fish.

I don't include poker in this, as why should I stop at something I win at (sometimes)

Plus a project on Rugby League which I will be doing in February (I may blog about this)

I reserve the right to change any of the above at any time.          

[SirPercival]

Only mugs gamble "I am a mug"
There is only one winner "I am a loser"
Only idiots gamble "I am an idiot"
You don't see a poor bookie "I am broke"

From this day on I will never have a bet on the horses, football, cricket, golf etc. If you ever see me at a roulette table or sat at a blackjack table, you have my permission to kick me in the family jewels. If you hear me talking about having a bet, hit me around the face with a wet fish.

I don't include poker in this, as why should I stop at something I win at (sometimes)

Plus a project on Rugby League which I will be doing in February (I may blog about this)

I reserve the right to change any of the above at any time.          

There is so much more to be told here.

[AMRN]

Wayne - not forgotten the trophy, and will take it to Manchester on Saturday. Are you going to be there? If not, let me know who to leave it with

[nosey-p]

Only mugs gamble "I am a mug"
There is only one winner "I am a loser"
Only idiots gamble "I am an idiot"
You don't see a poor bookie "I am broke"

From this day on I will never have a bet on the horses, football, cricket, golf etc. If you ever see me at a roulette table or sat at a blackjack table, you have my permission to kick me in the family jewels. If you hear me talking about having a bet, hit me around the face with a wet fish.

I don't include poker in this, as why should I stop at something I win at (sometimes)

Plus a project on Rugby League which I will be doing in February (I may blog about this)

I reserve the right to change any of the above at any time.          

There is so much more to be told here.

No story Stuart, just fed up of being a mug punter

Having 2 months of no gambling

[nosey-p]

Wayne - not forgotten the trophy, and will take it to Manchester on Saturday. Are you going to be there? If not, let me know who to leave it with

As you know I'm not going, just waiting to see if Stuart is. I will let you know  

[Santino67]

Only mugs gamble "I am a mug"
There is only one winner "I am a loser"
Only idiots gamble "I am an idiot"
You don't see a poor bookie "I am broke"

From this day on I will never have a bet on the horses, football, cricket, golf etc. If you ever see me at a roulette table or sat at a blackjack table, you have my permission to kick me in the family jewels. If you hear me talking about having a bet, hit me around the face with a wet fish.

I don't include poker in this, as why should I stop at something I win at (sometimes)

Plus a project on Rugby League which I will be doing in February (I may blog about this)

I reserve the right to change any of the above at any time.          

Think it applies to most of us that we"re mug punters, even those who have in depth insider knowledge of any 1 sport will probably gamble on other things. Glad you"ve taken this step if it"s a downward spiral Wayne, it takes guts to come out and actually say it.

Glad I"m not one for loitering at the roulette and stuff when I"m not playing but I do still put on a weekly football coupon and a very occasional horse.

Good to see you"re exception will be playing poker - you know that 1 makes sense, shame though you"re not going to Manchester  

[nosey-p]

One week gone and only fell off the wagon 3 times   (must try harder)

[SirPercival]

One week gone and only fell off the wagon 3 times   (must try harder)

If you hear me talking about having a bet, hit me around the face with a wet fish.

I think this qualifies.

[ian.ski309]

One week gone and only fell off the wagon 3 times   (must try harder)

If you hear me talking about having a bet, hit me around the face with a wet fish.

I think this qualifies.

Would you prefer haddock or cod Wayne ? Or if you were really bad... the frozen trout !