Poker Adjustments
I feel like I’ve made a few adjustments to my game since arriving in Mexico. Being that this is, after all, a poker blog, I thought it might be interesting to detail some of these adjustments.
1. Fewer tables
I started registering for fewer events on Sundays. Since I’m also trying to give a pittance of attention to what’s happening with NFL action on Sundays, I have to be careful about registering for too many events. I noticed that when I have 12+ tables running, I start to feel overwhelmed and frustrated. I feel like the action happens so quickly that I have to make really hasty decisions. So what happens is I start folding like a maniac and passing up on marginal +EV situations just so I don’t have to deal with making more complicated decisions while I have a bunch of tables running. Basically, I feel much better off overall just playing 8-10 tables and playing them well than trying to play every tournament under the sun. I stopped registering for the least interesting ~20% or so of tournaments that I had been registering for previously. The adjustment has made the experience of grinding a lot more pleasurable overall, and I don’t think I had to give up much EV to do it. If anything, I might have gained a little EV.
2. Less urgency with 15 bb stack
I used to treat a 15 big blind stack about like I’d treat a 10 big blind stack. In other words, if it would fold to me in the cut-off and I had Queen-Ten offsuit, it didn’t matter if I had 10 or 15 big blinds, I was just going to shove that hand. Now, I’m starting to treat the two stacks a bit differently. I have a greater willingness to raise-fold with a stack of 15 big blinds. Most of the structures in online tournaments are so good these days that you really don’t need the huge sense of urgency with a 15 big blind stack like you used to back in 2005 or whatever. Over the years, open-shoving a 15 big blind stack has gradually become less and less of a +EV move due to players understanding that they can call with more than just the top 5% of hands. I’m adjusting by being a little more patient with this stack and realizing that I don’t need to be jamming it in there with Ace-Six suited in middle position. I can just fold and hope for a better spot. Hopefully this increasing willingness to be patient will lead to more frequent deep runs.
3. Three-betting more
Three-betting is really awesome when the stacks are deep. I feel like I missed out on a lot of EV over the years by being too much of a nit when it comes to three-betting. I now three-bet all the time in the early stages of the tournament with hands where I have that, “uhh… what should I do?!” moment with. Now, my answer is just, “three-bet!” Of course, I’m three-betting the premium hands too for value. A good example would be during like 15/30 in an event where the stacks are 3,000. Say someone in middle position opens to 90 and I have King-Queen suited in the cut-off. Years ago, I would have just flat-called here almost always, but now I’d probably re-raise to something like 240. I’ve been three-betting just as frequently in the later stages of the tournament provided the stacks are like 40 big blinds or higher. I think you need to narrow your three-betting range a lot when the stacks are smaller than this.
4. More patience at final tables
I think I’ve spewed a lot of EV over the years by playing too impatiently at final tables. I used to get this mentality at the final table where I felt like there was some huge urgency to win and that I need to do it rightnow. This lead to trying to do too much and spewing off chips in certain spots. Now, I’m playing much more relaxed at final tables and picking spots more wisely. Again, the structure is so good in most online tournaments now that when you reach the final table you can expect the event to still be another couple of hours away from completion. There’s really no rush. I’ve found that if I just take my time and let the action unfold at its natural pace that I’ll be just fine. There’s no sense in trying to rush things.
5. Fewer cash games
When I moved to Mexico, I envisioned that I would grind cash games for ~20 hours or so per week. In the past three weeks, I think I’ve played a total of about 2 hours of cash games. Basically, I hate cash games. They’re boring and a total grind. I don’t like sitting down for a session without there being a possibility that I can win at least $5k on the day. I’m the first to admit that I’m an action junkie. I can’t handle the boredom of grinding cash games. They’re not for me. I get too impatient and try to force the action which leads to spewing EV. I think the only way I could really be a cash-game grinder is if I had some sick dual-monitor set-up where I could play 16 tables at once and just be a total rakeback whore folding mostly at every table. At least with that many tables going, there’s enough action at all times to cut down on the cash game boredom factor. Another issue here is that I’m just not that good at cash games (read: poker). I think I play as well as anyone on the 95% of decisions that are the easiest, but for those 5% of decisions that are the hardest, I think really strong, experienced players have a pretty big edge over me in a deep-stacked cash game setting. Most online cash games are stacked with experienced grinders nowadays. I guess between feeling like I don’t have a huge edge and generally being bored with them, I’d rather just do something else with my time.
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