No poker yesterday means not much poker blogging from HoP today. But alas, I wanted to pop in to announce my new goal in poker. It’s a simple one really, and one I look forward to breaking in the next week’s time (probably Sunday), if I know myself.
Only play sober. That’s it, plain and simple. I think the leaks in my past, particularly online, are due to playing suboptimal poker in an inebriated state. This includes a lot of my blogger tournament plays.
Inebriation and poker tend to go hand in hand, so I do not consider this a small feat. However, if I hope to reclaim the confidence and skill I once had, I have to do something.
Other changes include my recent attempt to actually utilize PokerTracker to analyze my play (which utterly failed…why is it such an unruly program? or am I just a technotard?) and reading about poker again, albeit a freebie book that I am reading so that I can give the author my opinion.
Final though on yesterday’s post about Jamie‘s folding gaff: Anyone else in my exact situation would be an asshole to hold Jamie to his declaration, BUT if you change some variables, then holding the player to his declaration is perfectly acceptable. Those variables include location (at a casino, I would argue that the verbal declaration stands), the player (I may be more inclined to push the verbal decalaration against a stickler for rules), and the general game atmosphere (cutthroat players = stickler for the rules).
I should make this statement one more time, since I cannot see how Jamie is not taking some of the comments personally: I am not critiquing Jamie, his play, or his game. Jamie has been a good friend to me since we met, he plays well and this gaff was a one-time slipup, he is not an angle-shooter, and his game is one of the best-run homegames around. So, thanks Jamie for hosting, as always, and thanks for the blog fodder.
Tonight, I head with wifey Kim to a charity comedy show, where, rumor has it, Dave Atell may appear. Tomorrow, I’m back at the Wall Street Game for some 1/2 NL.
Until next time, make mine poker!
April 17th, 2008 - 5:11 pm
J,
You’re a gentleman and a scholar.
April 17th, 2008 - 5:39 pm
word.
April 18th, 2008 - 9:29 am
I hope you don’t plan to play sober at Okie Vegas
IT
April 18th, 2008 - 10:31 am
I set that as a goal a few years ago. Hah!
Seriously, the challenge I have is that 2-3 beers actually seems to improve my game. My judgment is not significantly impaired and I find that it affects me just enough to make me tight-aggressive vs. weak-tight. The problem comes when I continue to imbibe, because somewhere in the 6-8 beer range my play takes a serious downturn into the horrid zone.
That said, my only bloggament win was accomplished when I was about seven sheets to the wind. And seeing double while playing PLO8 is not an advantage.
April 22nd, 2008 - 10:48 am
Odd but I don’t drink when I play…but I think when I do drink I become too conservative…haha!