You're a Bunch of Factors

Ok so tomorrow is the Vic state semi finals and I am really excited. I want to wish everyone who is going the best of luck. I always head along to these with high hopes and end up going out fairly early on. I know that some of you have really done well at these and similar events and I was hoping for a little bit of advice on how to tackle this big day.

Any tips would be greatly appreciated

my advice would be to get aggressive early and put people to the test. later on in the tournament, the blinds will be pretty steep, so you wanna try and build a stack before this happens.

imo its better to go you early losing a flip then being blinded down to 8bb and getting it in with any two cards.


good luck to everyone playing

benny the cunt my aggression as you know is my weak point. I lose all confidence at these games and play really badly in the early stages. You have seen me live and I think you know what I mean. I limp and just call and if I do raise look so weak that the aggressive players at the table push me around. It tends to get better as the day rolls on but by then I am usually short stacked. I am really working on my hand selection early on as well as I tend to be far too tight. My problem is when I loosen up I do it in the wrong spot. I know how to play fairly well but my knowledge seems to fly out the door as soon as I walk in.

Ok perhaps I should ask a different question.

Do you get nervous before a game and how do you overcome these nerves?

madali wrote:Do you get nervous before a game and how do you overcome these nerves?

in general i think nerves come about from a lack of confidence, as you have described

so if i were you gayle, in the car ride to the venue, i would just start thinking about all the times that you did well in a tournament. think of pivotal spots where you think you played well. i know you have a big score online ($14k?) think about how you smashed the competition that day. get in a good frame of mind and visualise doing well in the tournament.

ask yourself how many of the other 888pl chumps have ever won that much playing poker.

convince yourself that you are better than 99% of the people you are playing against (quietly of course, dont be a hellmuth about it )

think about hands where you thought you played well because you were aggressive.


then when you sit down at the table, for the first 2 blind levels, watch everyone like a hawk.

think about whether they are tight or loose, passive or aggressive.
think about whether they will lay down a big hand to aggression or are they one of those players that cant lay down top pair.

you will soon work out how to play against each player, and how to exploit their play.

finally, look to steal at every opportunity, especially if the people in your blinds are tight. remember, that every steal that you make allows you to play for 8 more hands until you are at the same starting stack again, which allows you to keep afloat until you get your big hands.


good luck everyone

When benny the cunt gets nervous he pulls his mirror out of pocket, see's how awesome he is, and doesn't look back.

Thank you benny the cunt,

I get like this before every big game. Not likely to pull a Hellmuth dont have it in me ( my husband does and I cringe everytime he does it lol).
Quietly with the big win I lost my nerve half way through the game when I was massive chip leader. Did not play a hand for over 1/2 an hour and friends came over to check I was ok Once I calmed down I was ok and have not had a moment like that online since. Online I dont tend to get so worked up anymore and can play big games without much stress. I will try your suggestions which as always are great. Again thank you.

David wrote:When benny the cunt gets nervous he pulls his mirror out of pocket, see's how awesome he is, and doesn't look back.

Lol Dave. I don't even need a mirror for that

Best thing is as benny the cunt said remember all the good plays you have made. Build your confidence there. Especially if you have outplayed someone.

If you do lose your nerve. Stand up and get away from the table. And go through the same thing. Take a look back at the table and then try and work out the players rationally e.g. He is tight, he is loose, he is crap. ANd then once you start to realise you can beat the table or at least 75% of the table, avoid the difficult 25% unless you have them cold. Obviously fold those marginal hands if they reraise.

You will be suprised at how good a walk is. At the Crown in a ten Minute break, i can get from poker room to the new food court and back again with time to get a drink. Just the walk helps to take some of the attention away from the game. Give yourself a mental break.

And obviously from Last night, you do play well. Don't let people's name intimidate you. I was worried playing against you after doubling you up, hence why i probably limped more on your bb that raising. And have a plan for each hand. If something does feel weird don't be afraid to fold and find a better spot.

Good Luck though.
Brett

Thanks Brett I really enjoyed that game last night. It is always great to play against really good players as it helps me learn. You are right about instincts I so badly wanted to fold those kings last night as I knew you had me smoked but I went with my heart instead of my head ( the hand when I chipped you up when you had the full book with the 9s).

I think you are right about the walk too as when I play online when I get nervous I clean on break and forget about the game completely.

So tonight I have put the following plan in place for tomorrow. Meditate for 1/2 hour to get my zen going and an early night so I am mentally alert . Tomorrow it will be happy pink shoes, sunnies and pink hat to help me feel happy, visualization in the car on the way down with my showtek playing loudly to help clear the mind and plenty of walks when I am getting nervous. I might even throw in a few chants maybe something like "mmmmmmmm let Gayle win her poker today mmmmmmm. Be thankful you wont be in the car Wish me luck and by the way you guys are awesome!

madali wrote:I might even throw in a few chants maybe something like "mmmmmmmm let Gayle win her poker today mmmmmmm

lmfao this is hilarious