What Can We Learn from Expert Gamblers?

The title of this post is also the title of a 16-minute Ted Talk by Dylan Evans.  There is a link at the bottom.  Evans put poker players that he interviewed into three groups:  problem gamblers, leisure gamblers and expert gamblers.

Evans talked about how some of the expert players get very rich, and he attributed that to the way they approach the game.  He said that the experts approach the game with "a cold, rational pursuit of profit."

That's exactly how I look at poker.  Evans said it so well that I have nothing to add.

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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jyokhjUCyk

Bluffing and Game Theory

One of my main goals was to spend at least 25% of my poker time studying.  I knocked that one out of the park.  I'm exceeding 25% almost every week.  So far this week I'm at 33%.

It's paying off. I've run up a bankroll on a poker site from $34 to $220 without making a deposit, just grinding it up, starting with $1 tournaments.

One of my biggest leaks has been bluffing.  When I study, I'm plugging leaks.  I often pick an area where I'm weak and concentrate on it for about a month.  Bluffing is my big study topic for September. My study text is Bluffs: How to Intelligently Apply Aggression to Increase Your Profits from Poker, by Jonathan Little and Albert Hart.

I'm slowly getting some of the many new ideas to stick in my head.  I'll be digging into a lot of fairly complex math.  We're not talking theoretical physics here, it's an algebra problem with a lot of variables.  Understanding the math concepts, then learning how to do it myself, and finally applying it at the table, will definitely take a while, probably running over into next month.

One of the most complicated things, one that I've been putting of forever, is building a range.  The top players don't think about "my hand" against "his hand."  They think about their range against the opponent's range. It's a difficult topic that gets into GTO (Game Theory Optimal) concepts.  I understand the concept in broad strokes, but not well enough to explain it, so I'll let Jonathan Little do it for me.  Here is a paragraph from his teaching on this subject:

"Whenever you have multiple options, if you take different lines with various hands, you split your range. In order to be difficult to play against, you should play different types of hands in the exact same manner. For example, after the flop you should often bet or raise with your best made hands as well as your draws. By playing your best made hands and semi-bluffs the same manner, your opponent will have no idea whether you are value betting or bluffing, forcing them into a guessing game."

https://medium.com/@JonathanLittle_99428/5-ways-to-stop-losing-or-breaking-even-at-poker-cfdfd9db1928

In one of my tournaments tonight I will try out the ranges on Little's charts (scroll down the linked page to the charts with the red and white squares) to find out how comfortable I will be playing such wide ranges.  Like the work on bluffing, it will take some time.

The letters and numbers are shorthand for the cards, for example, AQs is ace-king suited and 85o stands for ace-five offsuit.

As always, questions and comments are welcome.



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August Poker Results

I played 56 online tournaments in August, the most that I have played in any month.


Juicy Stakes Poker, August 2017
56 tournaments played:
14 net win tournaments:   +$111.26
41 net loss tournaments:   -$97.41
                                                ---------
                                              +$13.85

Americas Cardroom, August 2017
6 tournaments played:
3 net win tournaments:   +$0.29
3 net loss tournaments:   -$0.44
                                              ---------
                                           -$0.15


Combined results for August 2017: +$13.70

Making money playing poker tournaments is all about a few big cashes. I've said that many times.  There is no such thing as a steady income.

That was never more true than in August. The first three weeks were a train wreck.  I was about to post by far my worst month of the year. Two days later my losses were wiped out.  I cashed for $21.60 (3rd of 35) on 8/25  and $50.00 (1st of 63) on 8/26.  I turned a disaster into a small profit.  I'll take that.

I have a lot of work to do on Americas Cardroom, but my balance on Juicy Stakes Poker is $220.16, which is a significant number.  The standard advice for tournament specialists is to have a bankroll of at least 100 buy-ins to survive the ups and downs.  I now have over 100 buy-ins to play $1.10 and $2.20 tournaments.  I can relax a little and not be so concerned when (not if)  something like the first three weeks of August happens again.

The next step is to get myself bankrolled to play higher.  Of course I want to play $3 and $5 tournaments which have bigger prize pools. The goal is always to move up to the next level and make more money, but there is another consideration.  Almost all of my play is between roughly 1830 and 0300.  That's when tournaments are available that have good structures and are affordable.  Every step up the ladder means not only bigger prize pools but also more choices.  I could play more $3.30s in my usual time slot*, or I could play one in the afternoon or whenever else I was free to play.

As always, your questions and comments are welcome.

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*During my usual time block I play a few $3.30 tournaments, maybe three or four per month, but since my average buy-in is less than $2.20 I'm in good shape.