Recently, I had an interesting discussion with another poker player. He mainly plays limit hold'em (which obviously is almost entirely a different game than the NL hold'em... nevermind the tournament vs cash game discussion) so it's hard for me to give him any suggestions because I only play NL. I don't hate limit poker... well, I hate limit poker. It could be fun once in a while but I just don't find it all that exciting. However, having said that, if there's a wait list at a casino for a NL table, I'll play limit to kill some time. At least it's still poker and since there's a limit as to how much I can bet or how much I'd have to call, I won't lose as much waiting for a table to open up.
Well, the discussion was not about the difference between limit and no-limit hold'em. In my mind, it's such a different game that it's like trying to explain the difference between 7 card stud and omaha. Ok, maybe not that different but close, I think. Anyways, the discussion had to do with being in a slump and how to get out of it. This guy claims that he's been in a slump for like a year or longer. My initial reaction (and I told him) was that if it lasts that long, it's not a slump. That's a lack of skill. But he claims that that's not the case. Well, we can choose to have an opinion on that but I decided that instead of pressing the issue of slump vs skill, I decided to think, what would you do if you were in that kind of a rut? He said that in any given week, if he plays like 3-4 nights, every night that he plays, there would be about 10 hands where he would flop a straight and lose or have trips to lose to a flush, etc. And again, keep in mind this is limit.
Well, let's just say that it's true and he sees a cooler every night he plays for over a year (that's a hell of a cooling streak and that might make me quit altogether). What would you do? Here are some things that I thought of:
1. First and foremost, take a break. Take a break from poker completely. No poker books, no magazines, etc. Maybe blogs but nothing related to strategy. Instead, focus on working out, playing video games, spending time with family, etc. Basically lay off of poker until you get that itch of wanting to play again.
2. Read nonstrategy poker books. There are tons of books that recap a certain tournament run or how they improved their games etc written by guys like Jay Greenspan, Chris Moneymaker, Matt Matros, and Jim McManus. Those are all great books that after you read, makes you think "hey, even I can do this!"
3. Once you start getting the itch, analyze your game. Purchase poker tracker if you play online. Also go to cardrunners.com and many other sites mentioned by other bloggers here to study other people's games. Analyze your game and I don't just mean looking at your position stats, VP$IP, aggression factor, etc. That's part of it but I think you also have to look at hand histories and take a look at the big pots that you've lost. Flopped straight loses to a flush? Did you play it right? Those are the things that you definitely want to take a look at and make sure where you may have been able to limit your loss. Because without hand histories, I don't know how you can analyze your game. All the stats are indicators but sometimes you just have to scrutinize your play and go deeper than what's on the surface.
4. Quit while you are up. I think this is very important and once I even remotely start to run bad, I tend to do this. Planned to play for 2 hrs tonight but you won a few monster pots and you're up at the end of the first hour? Call it quits. Leave the table and you get to shut the lid of your laptop knowing that tonight, you ended the session up. Sometimes (actually, a lot of times), poker is such a mental game that mental boosts like this are also very important. Instead of going to be after a bad beat that killed your stack that you spent all night building, just quit so that the next day, you can attack the table with a good feeling of trying to build where you left off the night before instead of trying to make up for the night before. The difference is night and day.
Can anyone think of other suggestions to get out of a slump? Regardless of what game you play, since these are cards, I think getting into a slump/funk is not only possible but quite probable. But just like in baseball, the better players are the ones who can maintain their hot streak the longest and the slumps the shortest. Has there been something that works for you? Any input on this matter is much appreciated.
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2 comments:
A year long slump? The Redskins had a year long slump last year in MY opinion, but MOST people opined that they were just plain bad.
As far as what to do in a slump I agree with your thoughts...., I also think a lot of poker players know how to play the game, but hesitate to creat their own style and mix things up. They play by the book (the alleged right way to play) and are therefore way too easy to read (in my opinion reading poker books and catering your game after the advice you get out of those books is poker suicide).
Also, as far as your analysis of limit poker, I totally agree with you....unless it's a high limit. Obviously a 5/10 game is a different dynamic than 2/4 (2/4 isn't even poker in my opinion because there is no real reason to fold your garbage gut shots and the like). But I don't know why anyone would volunteer to play Hold Em regardless.
I don't know if I totally agree with your assessment about 2/4 not even being poker. Limit is just a different game because you have to be aware of the math on so many levels. Do you have a draw that is profitable to call over the long run, ie + or -EV hand? If you raise here, are you giving bad odds to the opponents or, would the odds still be correct in them calling and in effect just building up the pot with a vulnerable holding (like AA in multi way flop)??? I think limit is actually a lot deeper than a lot of people give it credit.
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