More Technical Problems

I'm down again, and this time it's my Avast antivirus and cleanup package that did it to me.

Their cleanup program lets me put programs to "sleep" to clear space in the system when I'm not using something.  When their display suggested I put Postgres (my database program) "to sleep", that sounded reasonable.  The only time I use that program is when I'm on the computer and playing poker.  When I'm doing a blog post, reading the news feed or checking my E-mail I don't need access to the database for anything.

Well, it seems that when Avast uses the word "sleep" it really means "kill."  The link between the database and the program that uses it (Holdem Manager 2) is broken.  I got into the guts of the Postgres database to restore the connection, but I was unable to do so.  In stead of playing poker tonight, I will be working on solving that.

I know that I gained some new readers (hello everyone at Eye Care One!) in the past week, so an explanation is in order.  You're probably wondering why I need a database to play poker.  Don't be afraid to ask questions.  The next two paragraphs are copied and pasted from my 6/1 post.

My wife asked me if I could play without a HUD, and the short answer is yes--but it would be a very bad idea.  I have a poker rule: Never bring a knife to a gunfight.  I never go to a tournament unprepared.  If I don't have a bankroll of 100 buy-ins for that level, I don't play.  If it's a rebuy tournament I won't play if I can't afford at least three rebuys.  If I haven't had enough sleep, I won't play.

If I play without a HUD, I'll have the knife and the players with a HUD will have the guns.  I can't do that.  I've been plowing through some of the videos (there are hundreds of them) on how to use the Holdem Manager 2 HUD, but for some reason I haven't been able to make it work, even though I've set up HUDs in the past.

The bottom line is that tracking and studying information is important to poker players that want to make serious money.  Information technology is important in almost every profession.  When pro (American) football players are on the sidelines you will often see a group of players huddled around a coach who is holding a tablet.  If I'm playing against someone who studies and uses technology and I'm not using it, I'm at a competitive disadvantage.

I'm not going to play at a disadvantage, so I'm out of commission for a day or two or whatever it takes to get back the connection between the Holdem Manager 2 program, the Postgres database and the HUD (heads-up display.)

For any of you who are curious, the link below will show you what a HUD looks like in real time during play (the pretty girl in the picture is a bonus I guess.)

https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=poker+hud+software&&view=detail&mid=AD58FF5E55ECEB7E35F7AD58FF5E55ECEB7E35F7&&FORM=VRDGAR

As always, your questions or comments are always welcome (see box below.)