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What's Wrong with My Game?[ return to main articles page ]

By: seal
Published on Aug 19th, 2008
In almost thirty years of casino poker play I never had a losing year. Oh, I had long dry spells sometimes. Dry weeks, or even months would go by, to be sure. But I always came up ahead of the game at year’s end bookkeeping. In almost thirty years of casino poker play I never had a losing year, until this year.

So what’s wrong with my game?

It’s possible that it’s just variance. A 12 month period without a positive total is certainly within a standard deviation or two of my lifetime average. Knowing the cold math facts don’t help with my emotional distress, so I have my doubts about my play. I talk with a lot of live and online pros and they tell me that I don’t suck.

Still it is possible that I suck. If I do, then I should try to improve. As a teacher I know the best way to improve anything is open minded education. I’ve watched all the videos on three popular online training sites and I have read dozens of books from S/S by Doyle Brunson to Winning Poker Tournaments One Hand at a Time by Rizen, apestyles, and PearlJammer. I talk poker with a lot of players I respect and I really listen to and try to incorporate their ideas. I am constantly trying to improve.

So maybe it’s the situation. My bad streak begins all the way back when Paradise Poker closed their tables to Americans. Paradise was always my bread and butter site and I really miss them. The only site I play on now is Pokerstars and I’ve never been able to get ahead of the game on Stars. Not my favorite situation to say the least.

As I see it, the truth is that all these things and more play a part. There will always be variance, and bad situations, and events transpiring to make a player lose their confidence in their game. It’s how you react to it that defines who you will be as a player.

Variance is going to kick you in the head sometimes when it hurts the most. When my pair of aces lost to my opponent’s pair of queens knocking me out in 25th after a long, great tournament it is variance at its finest. How do I deal with it? I take some comfort in my knowledge of statistics. For every time that happens, over the long run, there will be a time when winning that pot makes me the chip leader with 24 left. When objectively analyzed optimal play leaves me on the rail I pay myself on the back and give myself a well earned, “Good play.”

As for dealing with a bad situation, well that always sucks. But experience has taught me that these things are best handled in stages. First you have to identify the bad situation. Don’t laugh, we all know somebody who is in a horrible relationship and just doesn’t see it. Next you have to explore any and all alternatives and workarounds and see if any leave you better off. I have been looking into other card rooms and also playing more live and less online, so I think I am moving in a positive direction. And I am also trying to learn as much as I can about how to beat the games at Pokerstars.

So that just leaves my self-confidence. I am old enough and tough enough to just kick myself in the butt and tell myself to get over it. I’ve been here before and I will be here again. There are so many good things to be thankful for in my life that if my biggest problem is that sometimes I suck at poker then I can live with that. And having some poker playing friends tell me I’m not the biggest loser they know helps a bit too.

I am also doing what I should be doing to improve. And, maybe not so much lately, but over the course of time I still have a nice track record. Maybe it’s time for one of my annual “Giving up poker for life” vacations from the game. Even your favorite thing becomes jaded after a while and a break is in order. Sometimes, after some time away, things look different. As my old, Jewish grandmother used to say, “It can’t hurt.”

The more I think about it the nicer a break sounds too. I had put myself under too much pressure to win a WSOP main event seat this year and the two times I bubbled those satellites still hurt. I’ve lived in New Jersey for a long time and I’ve never been to the Statue of Liberty, so I just booked some tickets for Friday. And, even though the morning $10 rebuy is about to start, I think I’ll take the kids to a movie today.


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Comments

  1. SaDuke SaDuke is offline

    Posts: 58
    Joined: Feb 06

    Aug 19th, 2008 (8/19/2008 1:15pm)

    <p>Hah Chris spoken like a true idiot, congrats Seal we have all been down this path, only difference is my poker friends say I suck :) took a break myself so fully understand </p>
    <p>Good Luck</p>
    <p>Sa</p>
  2. AntiClimacus AntiClimacus is offline

    United States

    Posts: 268
    Joined: Jul 07

    Aug 19th, 2008 (8/19/2008 1:18pm) in reply to seal

    <p>Chris, thanks for your positivity and insight.  Why praise Seal for his literary work?  After all, he obv knows that an unexamined life is pathetic.  </p>
    <p>LOL  I have always appreciated Seal's input on life.  And after reading your little "Love" profile on your P5's profile, I LOL @ your hypocrisy.  Go back, reread what you wrote on your profile, and reflect on your own words.  My free advice to you, my little ninja.</p>
  3. hokumfool hokumfool is offline

    Posts: 13
    Joined: May 08

    Aug 19th, 2008 (8/19/2008 3:08pm) in reply to seal

    <p>Nice artilce Seal.  I skipped out on a month of poker and came back to my biggest heater ever.  A few deep breaths can work wonders. </p>
    <p>gg gl</p>
  4. 19yearsold 19yearsold is offline

    Salt Lake City, UT
    United States

    Posts: 1
    Joined: May 07

    Aug 19th, 2008 (8/19/2008 5:13pm) in reply to seal

    <p>hey chris way to speak ur mind man.....just tell it how it is</p>
  5. Spraggs Spraggs is online now

    United Kingdom

    Posts: 847
    Joined: Aug 07

    Aug 19th, 2008 (8/19/2008 5:13pm) in reply to seal

    <p>I miss Paradise too :(</p>
    341 
  6. flubsky flubsky is offline

    Halifax
    Canada

    Posts: 7
    Joined: Jul 07

    Aug 19th, 2008 (8/19/2008 6:42pm) in reply to seal

    <p>It seems like you've hit the wall.  you might be trying too hard to get your game back. I think you need to take the focus off of what's wrong with your game and look for weaknesses in your opponents that you can take advantage of.  In other words: 1.  Identify players who are on tilt or just plain bad.  2. take the easy pots from them.  3. avoid tough situations until you get your confidence back.  IMO</p>
    <p>gl getting it back!</p>
  7. Tsupa Tsupa is offline

    Mustang, OK
    United States

    Posts: 4,666
    Joined: Aug 05

    Aug 19th, 2008 (8/19/2008 6:48pm) in reply to seal

    <p>Nice article Seal.  Gives me hope that maybe I don't suck and it's just variance I'm going through right now.</p>
  8. ChrisA69 ChrisA69 is offline

    Henderson, NV
    United States

    Posts: 287
    Joined: Jan 08

    Aug 19th, 2008 (8/19/2008 7:22pm) in reply to seal

    <p>If you want to read an article about someones personal life and situations SEAL is fricken awesome. No joke he writes well about personal situations etc. He however offers little or no insight into poker. He asks lots of questions that we all ask ourselves but he does not answer.</p>
    <p> Im not saying im anything special. Im just wondering why these articles are on P5's. I would read them if I was reading his personal blog and think aww thats nice and then offer him some sypathy or advice or something.</p>
    <p>  I  expect information and insights in an article from this site. Just my opinion, no hard feelings to the guy. His articles just feel like FILLER to me.</p>
  9. PiKappRaider PiKappRaider is offline

    United States

    Posts: 1,208
    Joined: Jul 07

    Aug 19th, 2008 (8/19/2008 7:37pm) in reply to seal

    <p>Ya I think I have to agree with Chris here... I mean the articles are always interesting... but if db is correct, seal is a losing player, and always has been over a huge sample size</p>
    <p>I have no clue how anyone can study poker this much and not beat low level mtts.</p>
    <p>Hope you crush live at least or are setup with your teaching job, but fwiw keep the life articles coming, very interesting most of the time</p>
     
  10. AntiClimacus AntiClimacus is offline

    United States

    Posts: 268
    Joined: Jul 07

    Aug 19th, 2008 (8/19/2008 8:00pm) in reply to seal

    <p>Well, it's like the off-topic posts.  It's always there, hundreds go and read posts there, but not everyone looks at it or has to.  If you don't like the topics, don't read it, but no reason to rain on anyone's parade. Do you go into that discussion group and post," I don't like this group, it shouldn't be off-topic, screw the other players that enjoy it"...   ?   No.  Because it would be dumb to, wouldn't it?</p>
    <p>/rant</p>
  11. Lasor Lasor is offline

    United States

    Posts: 75
    Joined: Oct 07

    Aug 19th, 2008 (8/19/2008 10:32pm) in reply to seal

    <p> Philosophy comment less please</p>
  12. pokerfan X pokerfan X is offline

    United States

    Posts: 456
    Joined: Feb 06

    Aug 19th, 2008 (8/19/2008 10:32pm) in reply to seal

    <p>I think there's definitely two factors at work here:</p>
    <p>1. Your average field size on Stars is 1374. Since our profits come mostly from Top 3 finishes and those 3 spots are much harder to come by the more people you play against at once, large fields like that will lead to much higher variance. Try a different website with smaller fields or search out smaller fields on Stars and restrict yourself to those for a while.</p>
    <p>2. There IS something amiss in your game. Based on your OPR, you are busting out too often(36%) in the bottom 30% and so making it into the top 30% below average amounts of time(27%). And 12% ITM is probably too low as well; it needs to be closer to 15%-18%. </p>
    <p>This suggests to me that you are playing too loose early, before you have reads on your opponents, or you are not paying enough attention to the game in front of you. Whatever the reason, it's clearly your early game play that needs adjustment.</p>
  13. indi227 indi227 is offline

    Canada

    Posts: 217
    Joined: Jun 06

    Aug 19th, 2008 (8/19/2008 10:49pm) in reply to seal

    <p>Loved the article Seal.  Nice to see how someone else deals with drastic swings. I'm still trying to work that one out.</p>
    <p>Cheers</p>
     
  14. shuggen shuggen is offline

    Brisbane
    Australia

    Posts: 291
    Joined: Jul 07

    Aug 20th, 2008 (8/20/2008 2:14am) in reply to seal

    <p>I was actually pretty shocked to see that Pikapp was right, and your Stars DB has been at negative ROI over the last two years. Perhaps your online game needs some pretty radical changes.</p>
  15. bigcoled bigcoled is offline

    La Farge, WI
    United States

    Posts: 15
    Joined: Mar 06

    Aug 20th, 2008 (8/20/2008 5:20am) in reply to seal

    <p>Positivity pays.  In athletics in high school I found a key in keeping a positive mental mindset, eliminate the negatives.  Seems easy, sounds simple right? When a coach is talking to a player is it better for him to say "Go get'em, I believe in you, but what ever you do don't step out of bounds." or "I have faith in you, we both know how important it is to stay in bounds, right?"</p>
    <p>Obviously the latter is if not positive at the least practicing avoidance of the negatives.</p>
    <p>What creates the negative?  Word with "n't" at the end are preceived as negativity in our brains, and thus triggers negative emotions. Buts and ifs create illusions of doubt in a person's mind.</p>
    <p>Even reading your article, when you are talking about bad situations you will see these words arise, and when you are being positive and optimistic they're absent.  Keep these things in mind and make a conscious effort to avoid the negativity an doubt, even if it seems it is from a subliminal stand point.</p>
    <p>We create our own luck...</p>
  16. gert30k gert30k is offline

    Zrich
    Switzerland

    Posts: 3
    Joined: Jun 08

    Aug 20th, 2008 (8/20/2008 9:29am) in reply to seal

    <p>honestly, if you have only a little fear, that you suck at poker, then you suck at poker - it's kind of self-fullfilling prophecy, imho.</p>
    <p>taking a break is a wonderfull idea, but do something creative, make a baby, start a buisennes, paint a picture. </p>
    <p>and besides, if it is true, that opr says your -roi% for the last 2 years on pokerstars, then i would play for smaller buy-ins.</p>
    <p>and thanx for the article, enjoyed it.</p>
  17. RAMARAIDER RAMARAIDER is offline

    Fort McMurray
    Canada

    Posts: 2
    Joined: Mar 07

    Aug 20th, 2008 (8/20/2008 2:23pm) in reply to seal

    <p>The answer is inward. forget everybody else and focus on what u know. You are too saturated and confused. Empty and reboot yourself with what works for u. stay focused and do not stray in this large poker universe. Remember, poker is a devious game that attracts addictive personalities. Recognize them and exploit them. Be the predator!</p>
  18. ArmyDrill ArmyDrill is offline

    Honolulu, HI
    United States

    Posts: 6
    Joined: Jun 06

    Aug 27th, 2008 (8/27/2008 1:16pm) in reply to seal

    <p>If you are a poker player and have been for any amount of time, you have been through these ups and downs.  Overcoming this obstacle is one of the most important parts of being a "professional" in poker.  This separates the "pros" and amateurs".  Just like in billiards, running out and then knowing when to play safe instead of continuing your non-miss streak.  It is very hard to stay on track (staying positive)when you make the right call, make the right raise, make the right read, put your money in while your opponent is on a draw (for all his chips) and lose when your opponent hits his 4.5 percent, runner-runner draw.  I don't think anyone has an answer to this self confidence vacuum.  My best advice to any poker player is to keep playing, don't dwell on the past and look at the future.  I appreciate your article and I respect what you're saying, but no one has any "right" answer to this inevitable event.  Keep your head up and continue to march forward!</p>
  19. 12DanK 12DanK is offline

    Wolfville
    Canada

    Posts: 15
    Joined: Dec 07

    Aug 29th, 2008 (8/29/2008 10:14am) in reply to seal

    <p>these articles are nice here and there, but i find way too many of the front page articles here are theoretical and have no real advice on how to actually play the game in the first place. Is it just assumed these days that everybody is a shark and the winning players are just the ones who don't tilt?</p>
  20. Dave1650 Dave1650 is offline

    Evansville, IN
    United States

    Posts: 3
    Joined: Aug 06

    Sep 4th, 2008 (9/4/2008 11:31am) in reply to seal

    <p>I think the most obvious reason is the overall quality of play is much higher now than 2 years ago.  This could be my first losing year also, it will be close.  I've reverted to playing lower, and more SNG's.  I think its easier to focus on SNG's than on a MTT that may take 5-6 hours.  Good luck to you.  </p>
 
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