This is the week - I'm looking forward to meeting the intrepid poker bloggers who are making the trek to our humble state to mix it up Okie style. Gary's got some great stuff planned. I'd hoped that there'd be a couple or so of additional pals in attendance, but not even my winning smile or perky breasts could coax them this way (uh, did I just type that for real? ...).
The picture was stolen borrowed from Duggle's blog - clever guy that. Just under 5 days away from a grand Friday eve at the Newcastle Gaming Center - that's Okie for "Casino," by the way.
Last week was a good week for me, poker-wise. Four out of five sessions at the 5.10 were positive ones. I've been advised to move back down, now, for a while and - reluctantly - I will. It's been an interesting return to the grind after my long absence. With a fresh attitude, I have to say the most critical adjustment to my game right now is an adherence to discipline and focused concentration. Unfailingly, when I let my concentration lag (i.e.: surf the internet), my game suffers.
I've come to the conclusion that I am developing into an intuitive, in-the-moment player - more out of necessity rather than choice. I have a grasp of the basics such as hand strength, playing position and the standard numbers regarding outs on draws, et al, but, beyond that, I just don't have the brain power to do the snap calculations on the odds, etc. - especially in those tricky hands. I can usually land somewhere in the parking lot of the ball-park, if not closer - however to compensate for a deficiency in right brain power, I lean on my ability to follow patterns on-line.
For instance, I've pretty much abandoned running software aids such as Poker Tracker (did I just hear a collective gasp out there?) while I play. I've found it more of a distraction than an aid. I'm a visual thinker/learner - draw me a picture instead of a lecture - so, online I have a picture in front of me telling me things like the upper right of the screen is in a lot of pots, the lower left shows movement on and around the button, over to the side there, that guy is pretty quiet. Crazy, I know. But once I tuned into that, my EV began to see a plus sign in front of it instead of that nasty -.
Of course I still pay attention to odds and outs, and in tough decisions I've even punched the numbers into a calculator when the brain shorts out, so it's a mix. I'd be interested to know if I'm the only nut who plays like this.
