So much to learn

"The more you know, the more you know you don't know and the more you know that you don't know."
— David Byrne (The New Sins)

A year ago, I thought that I knew a lot about poker.  Now, I know a lot more, but I'm amazed at how many things I've discovered that I don't know, and need to learn.  It occured to me recently that someone who knows my live game, or who has tracked my online stats, would be amazed how much my game has changed--and I don't mean just that I'm a better player.  I mean that bit by bit, without even realizing it, I've completely changed my approach to the game.

I'm much more of a game-theory based player.  I've never studied game theory, and I doubt that I could take such a class.  I don't have the mathematical coursework that would be a prerequisite.   But I've put together pieces here and there, from reading those like Andy Bloch* who do understand game theory and how to apply it to poker, that game theory is more and more becoming my approach.

I started playing with a careful, very conservative approach, playing very few hands and not wanting to make any mistakes.  Then I opened up a little, learning to be an exploitive player, one who takes advantage of obvious mistakes by his opponents.
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Now, I'm much more of a game theory player.  I'll give a specific example:

Conservative Clif would only play very good hands, around the top 10%, so when I played, my hand would probably best.  That's fine as far as it goes, but I didn't play enough hands to accumulate enough chips to survive large-field tournaments.

Exploitive Clif, against a very loose player, might play a few more hands, probably the top 15-20%, knowing that I would still often be best against an opponent who likes to play a wide range of starting hands.

But Game Theory Clif knows that if I'm facing an opponent that plays 62% of his starting hands, it is optimal to play in the top half of that players range.  That is, when facing a bet from that player, I should call or raise with anything in the top 31% of starting hands.  To play fewer than exactly 31% would be missing out on long-term profit opportunities.

I'm completely revamping my game.  Based on other charts in one of Andy Bloch's charts in The Full Tilt Poker Strategy Guide: Tournament Edition, I have been adding to the number of hands that I play when I am the first to raise an unopened pot.  I have to work form a chart, because I'm tweaking my list before I have even attempted to memorize the old one.

But it's not just game theory.  Just like the musician that discovers that there is more to music that learning the notes and the major scales, I'm coming across more and more things that I consider fundamental, and I'm working to learn those things.. It's overwhelming, and at the same time it's exciting.  While I'm memorizing one thing, or studying one area, I come across three more things that I want to learn.

It's a lot of fun to learn all these new things, and to see my game get better and better.  Trying these new things, I'm making a lot of mistakes, and I still have a good shot at increasing my bankroll by 50% this month.

Here are just a few of things that I need to learn, practice, or memorize:

The odds of being dealt an ace, and at least one other player having a ace, given the number of players (2-10) at the table.
Which hands are favored against a random hand, a top 10% hand, a top 25% hand,  and a top 50% hand.
What starting hands I should play at a short table (7 players or less).
The optimal bluffing frequency in different situations.
When to call a raise, and when to reraise.
When I am getting the correct pot odds to call with a very weak hand.
How to make better use of opponent statistics displayed in the Holdem Manager heads-up display.
How to use the Holdem Manager replayer to study my hands and look for leaks.
Learn about different statistics that I might want to use in my heads-up display.

I could make the list a lot longer.  There are a lot of poker books that I would like to read.  I want to learn more about both hardware and software, such as how to set up and use two monitors, or the best way to share my HEM database between two computers.

There certainly is a lot to learn.

*Andy Bloch, one of the top poker pros, also coached the M.I.T. blackjack team, which was made famous by the movie "21".  He holds degrees from M.I.T. and Harvard.  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andy_Bloch