Are the blogs helping your game?

I've always been open to trying new things. My aunt told me once not to deny something without at least trying it. At the time, she was talking about eggs (because I didn't want to eat them, though I've discovered from that moment on that she was right... I love eggs), but I've kept that with me all through life and told myself that in most instances, I should at least give things a try. Blogging, I suppose, falls under that category. I've always been one to be highly opinionated and I always had a thing or two or three to say. So, once I discovered blogs, I figured this might be another outlet for me. What I didn't realize was a) what a commitment it was, b) how time consuming this could be, and c) how addicting it was. And it's not even the writing part. I had no idea there were so many interesting blogs out there. I also had no idea how much it would end up helping my game. I used to visit some poker forums very regularly. I would read hands that other people post and make my own decisions and see how that compares to other thoughts and the opinions of the brighter minds of poker. But as good as they were, the blogs are even better in my opinion. I can't begin to tell you how much my game has improved since I started reading blogs by guys like lucko or fuel. And they're just some of the ones I read. Ok, maybe I haven't necessarily gotten better but their imaginative and aggressive plays definitely added some ideas for my own personal aresenal. It also made me realize how far I have yet to go in this journey of my poker life.

I'm a big fan of comparing certain stages in life to teenage years. I don't know why. I think maybe because teenage years might be the first defining period in life that I can remember. I'm in no where near being a teenager, nor do I have a teenager in my family but I always said that teenage years is when you think you figured out life. That's when you feel that you are invincible and yet so fragile. That's when you think parents are overrated, you can make it on your own, and that life is not all that complicated as most people make it sound. Then eventually, you grow up and realize, holy crap... there's so much more... well, that's kinda how I felt when I ran into these blogs. I knew my game was no where near complete or even good to the point that I want to be but I was a winning player and based on Poker Tracker numbers alone (5+ BB/100 at 1-2NL), I thought I was definitely alright. Then came the blogs and I realized how small my world was at the time.

Another part of the blog benefit I didn't realize was how brutally honest you can be with yourself and your assessment of your game when you write it down... or type, in this instance. There are times I would think through a hand and the way I played it and have no gripes about it. I think, considering the situation, the players, the hand, etc, it was the right move. I'd put the same thoughts down on paper and all of a sudden, there are holes everywhere. It's amazing how different things can look when you finally put it on paper for you to read. In that sense, blogging has helped me a lot. The only downside is that these posts become so time consuming. I already feel like there's not enough time in the day to play poker, let alone analyze my hands and my play which I started doing very little of, and now, I have to blog about it... This is not a complaint. I'm just now realizing even more so how amazing it is for people like I mentioned above as well as the other bloggers to keep posting the way they do and I'm truly grateful for it. I'm also amazed as to how dedicated such players are to poker. So, this morning, I'd like to salute all the great blogger/players that I've found in my short experience in blogs... For the very few that read my blog, these are definitely worth visiting:

Lucko21
Fuel55
Hoy
Cracknaces
MiamiDon
Gnome