Part 3: Let’s Get Serious
I consider the 6 or 7 months i spent in fixed limit rings as my “basic training,” and I don’t regret the time spent there. I gradually moved up in stakes, and, when I got to $1/$2, I made 2 important discoveries.
The first of these was that these games were full of bots, each grinding out a few BBs an hour. I studied these, and eventually got to the point that i could usually beat them. They were playing almost perfectly within the limitations of the information they had, so the counter was to provide them with false information. Relentless aggression was the key.
I also discovered a piece of software called PokerTracker, which saved every hand I played (or even watched) to a database. It had a set of analytical tools that rated every player based on that player’s tendencies. It gave me detailed statistics on players and how they played from each position, This was very helpful.
I eventually moved to no limit rings, and gradually worked my way up the stakes. The lowest stakes were a zoo. Again, nobody was playing anything like how they were supposed to play, and it got to be a little frustrating. And, when I moved up in stakes, i started to run into teamers.
Most of the team players I encountered weren’t very good, even playing as a team, but they were irritating. If you know what to look for, it’s not hard to spot them, and i would report them to support as soon as I did. For every team i took out, it seemed like 2 more took its place. There had to be a better way to learn this stupid game!
I withdrew again and pondered some more. Hmmmm, ponder, ponder, ponder.
I eventually decided that, if I was going to play the kind of poker I had read about, i would have to play with the kind of players that wrote books. If I was going to improve my game, i would have to play against the best professional players in the world. No sweat, right?
mor e later