The art of patience

A few days ago I went back and read some of my early blogs. It was interesting seeing how I have adjusted my game with experience. Like most beginners, early on I played too many hands. Then I reached a point where I was probably playing about the correct number of hands. Then I got to where I probably did not play enough hands. Then too many again.



And the real irony is I have had success across the board. Early on most of my play was at Poker Stars. A lot of times you CAN limp there with a variety of hands. Since I never really bluffed, I always had strong hands at the showdowns and therefore had excellent results, folding my way out of a lot of bad hands. By the time I played my first live tournament I was pretty tight. Once more...when you have good hands at the showdown, you tend to pick up a lot of pots. I finished 4th out of 27...not bad according to most people's standards, but of course disappointing by mine. I'ma Wario...Ima gonna win. Later I got into a limp & outplay 'em after the flop, planning to limp into every hand until I lost about 1/3rd of my chips, then go into tight mode. This actually worked really, really well for a while, but then I started staying in hands too long when I would hit something like middle pair, weak kicker, and someone would donk around to the river and beat me there. Of course, since I was essentially donking by playing that hand in the first place...maybe the pot calling the kettle black?



Anyway, one common thread emerged. When I was playing well, I was patient. I did not force the action with sub-par holdings. No matter which way I played, I got into the big hands A) seldom and B) with the best hand or else a great draw with the right price. It is on nights where I get into the big pots with bad hands and bad draws that I do poorly. It is fine to play a 5d/8h as long as you get out when the flop comes 3/8/K rainbow and someone bets. You need something like a 4/6/7 rainbow or an 8/8/A to stay in with that. When I am playing patiently I fold the first and play the second. Then I make bank because who expects a 5/8 hand? Of course, every so often I run into an A/8 hand and then I get cracked pretty hard, though I have been known to lay down trips when I thought I was beat. Again...when I play patient, I wait until I am pretty sure I have the best of it.



And coming down to the end, regardless of stack size, I need to be patient. I am not a good chip bully. Just because I have the big stack does not mean I have the personality to raise with any two cards. I need to lay back, get super tight, let the others take each other out, and play better than average hands. As I often say, Hold 'Em is an easy game when you have good cards". So wait for them, stop getting mixed up with small stacks "just because they are small and I can afford it" or with big stacks that can hurt me badly.



Patience. I should tattoo it across my knuckles. Play fewer hands, then play them strongly. Wait for a good hand. Too many times when I get low I take the first A/rag I see and push with it. That is a poor move. Anyone who calls is likely to have a better Ace or a pair. Either way, I am likely drawing to 3 outs. It is perhaps egotistical, but I am going to say I know enough to be a good enough player to not be getting my chips in when I am a 4-1 dog or worse. I don't believe anyone is 4 times as good as me...better, yes, but not that much better. If I am patient I can usually find a better hand to go in on...either a pair or even a couple paint cards...or even 2 middle cards on the theory it will give me 2 live cards as long as they have no pair...then I will at least not be dominated. But I sometimes go in too early even though I have fold equity. Pick a spot from middle or late position since I am more likely to get 2 or 3 people fold and pick up the blinds than I am 6 or 7 people.

So there are a couple huge holes in my game; be more patient, pick my spots better when the cards have not fallen my way.