I GOT SKILLS - PART 2

In my blog “I got skills – part I” I never got time to explain what skills I got and how they are useful as a poker player. In this blog I will explain why I made that statement and thereafter list some of the things I working on at the moment in my game.

As most of you know I have worked in Malta for over 6 years. In the first years I worked 12 hours a day easily. I got up around 11 am and went to bed around 2 am and only had short lunch and dinner breaks except for Thursday where I played football. Working and living like that for years made me use to sit in front of the screen for long hours while working concentrated.

I recently had a chat with one of my colleagues here in ‘The Poker Office’ who told me he can only focus 2 hours at the time after that he needs a break. Sometimes he plays 4 hours but then it is only if there is a major fish at the table forcing him to stay.

Read: I Got Skills- Part I

15,822 HANDS IN 8 WORKING DAYS

I have now been playing seriously the past 11 days. In that timeframe I had played 56 hours and been dealt 15,822 hands and paid $3591 in rake. I normally play between 4 & 6 tables. I have to mention that due to my birthday which was celebrated Tuesday, Friday & Saturday with different people I didn’t even play that much and managed to go out 4 nights for dinner or parties in the same period - so the said period was nothing special.

My great skill is therefore the amount of hours I can focus and the volume of hands I can manage in a short period of time. Without getting into details it is fair to say that 50% of the rake paid is easy to get back in form of rakeback, bonuses, loyalty schemes and what not. I did some calculations and the rewards I am receiving from playing due to my expected high volume are enough to pay my rent and cover my living costs. Let us see how I do in November and evaluate. I have noticed there is usually only 1 fish at the table and sometimes I feel like its me. I am playing PLO which is a new game to me so I am a fish in that sense. You might wonder why I don't stick to NLHE (No Limit Hold'em) but I find PLO more entertaining and if I become good I think the value is great since my opponents will be easier to exploit. Below section is only for poker geeks and people interested in my game. If not you can skip that part and jump to the "I Like" button ;) 

PLO STRATEGY STEP 1

When I started playing PLO this summer I had following things I had to work with

• Starting hands
• Pot control vs. Pot building
• Notice Position
• Take initiative
• Fold to aggression (obviously not if I am strong)

KEY DIARY NOTES AUGUST

• Decrease the amount of hero calls.
• Avoid building pots OOP (out of position) till I become a better player
• It is good to be aggressive on dry boards. Avoid building pots without re-draws and with semi-good hands that will make your decision tough on later streets.
• Do not check e-mail, facebook, skype while playing. This is a STRICTLY FORBIDDEN!
• Start with two tables and then increase to four.

PLO STRATEGY STEP 2 

• Only play 4 tables.
• Focus on making good notes on players to find out how they play their draws, their made hands etc.
• PLO is a position game.
• Be more aggressive on flop with nut-drawing hands.

KEY DIARY NOTES OCTOBER

• Stop paying off with small flushes vs nut flush. Solution: play less suited hands which are not part of the ultimate starting hands.
• Do not play drawing hands OOP. Example: Axs since it is too expensive and too obvious when you hit anyway.
• Small double pairs are nothing but trouble. Fx. 5533.
• Fold more hands from blinds.
• Leave if the player on your left is constantly re-raising you. It makes the game too tough especially if we are deep stack.
• Focus on calling with nut draws.

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