Ask Garth!

[muzzington]

What was the first compliment you received in regards to your poker playing that has stuck with you?

[maccatak11]

(inspirational)

[Garth Kay]

The first ever comment that stuck with me wasn't a compliment:

"The stupid kid doesn't know when to stop betting." - Big Guy at poker table in the first $100 live tournament I played.

Reply from Peter Aristodou: "Aggression at the poker table is a good thing. He did alright and he got most of your chips didn't he, he'll make the cash today in this field."

That stuck with me. I don't know why, but it did. I see Peter a lot at the casino now and he actually remembers that time. Almost 4 years ago now, maybe longer.

The two other comments that stick in my head was during Vic Champs, I had just eliminated a female, we were inside the cash, she kept on calling me a donk and I thought it was a straightforward play and read and she's: "how do you call me there, you can't it's just stupid, blah, blah, blah".

Manny Ramirez who went on to win event 5, was seated at my start table and we played the last half of both day 2 on the same table, we tangled in a lot of pots and his one comment was "It's enjoyable to play against an equally skilled opponent who can think past what he has in the hole"

And then there was the comments from Tino Lechich, Tim "Luckyshades" Horan, Max van Heuzen (Those surnames are so wrong but it's late) who also came up to me and said it was fun to play against me and that I displayed a lot of skill.

Suzie can probably remember more of the comments than me on the day.

But that first comment at a poker table by Pete really stuck with me.

[bennymacca]

garth, i have a question

i think the biggest weakness in my poker game at the moment is that i don't show enough discipline.

there are times when i know i should fold, even if i have a big hand, but instead i go the other way, and this is where the bennyjam comes from.

there are times where it feels like i have to win every pot i catch a piece of - i find these hands really hard to lay down, especially in situations when i have invested a significant portion of my stack in the pot

there are many times when i spend ages building or rebuilding my stack, playing solid poker, only to throw it all away with a rash decision like i have described elsewhere tonight. its almost like a tilt even though i haven't copped a bat beat

do you have any comments or tips to stop me from doing this?

[Origami]

The first ever comment that stuck with me wasn't a compliment:

"The stupid kid doesn't know when to stop betting." - Big Guy at poker table in the first $100 live tournament I played.

Reply from Peter Aristodou: "Aggression at the poker table is a good thing. He did alright and he got most of your chips didn't he, he'll make the cash today in this field."
.

So did you make cash in the first $100 live tournament you played ??

What was the hand that took you out ??

[Brett Kay]

Think Garth might be distorting the truth about the 100 tournaments. It might have felt like 4 years ago, but it has only been two.

Christmas time 06, Family trip to the casino. little bro, big bro, few mates. Enter in the $100 tourney, Brett comes out in 8th spot with the money.

Following week, Garth takes out 8th spot and the money.

Then a week or two later, Nathan takes down the money at the first Pokerpro challenge, and Brett folds to 5th. First decent hand after the bubble i get two pairs on the flop, the guy has hit a higher two pair to knock me out. Such is life.

I will always be my brothers biggest supporter but at the same time, i will also be his harshest critic. Seeing him grow from poker leagues, to memorizing numbers and random plays. Then learning and growing from the more information he recieved. He is a scary player. He has ran into the problem though of knowing the information but not completely understanding it. Once he understands it, and makes it work for him. God help us all.

Mum is gonna kill me.

[bennymacca]

garth, i have a question

i think the biggest weakness in my poker game at the moment is that i don't show enough discipline.

there are times when i know i should fold, even if i have a big hand, but instead i go the other way, and this is where the bennyjam comes from.

there are times where it feels like i have to win every pot i catch a piece of - i find these hands really hard to lay down, especially in situations when i have invested a significant portion of my stack in the pot

there are many times when i spend ages building or rebuilding my stack, playing solid poker, only to throw it all away with a rash decision like i have described elsewhere tonight. its almost like a tilt even though i haven't copped a bat beat

do you have any comments or tips to stop me from doing this?

this comment from super system pretty much sums up what i find hard to do at the moment

one of the elements in a player's courage is the realisation that the money you have already bet is no longer yours regardless of how much is involved. You no longer own and money you've already put in the pot. It belongs to the pot. your decision must be based on the current situation. If you feel that a large bet is now necessary to win the pot, then that's what you should do. If you think that there's no way to win the pot, then you have to give it up even if you've already committed a large amount of money. Its a cliché, but true anyway, don't throw good money in after bad

this is pretty much what i do.

any tips on how to combat this, aside from just not doing it?

[Scotty]

That's a discipline issue - just keep running that mantra over and over in your head.

[Garth Kay]

It is just a discipline issue.

I like post it notes on the computer monitor.

"I have a right to the pot, but the pot is not mine until I have won it"

"The chips I put into the pot will come back to me, not this hand but possibly the next."

"I must strive for +EV"

"Variance is the bane of my existence, but it is a fact of life. Everything balances out in the end"

"Being ridiculed because of the "bennyjam" is not fun and I must discipline myself to stop being a complete twat - it's ok to give up on a pot if I'm behind".


Stuff like that should help.

[Des]

The last one should be on a tshirt