Ranting and Raving

*sigh*

There's an older gentlemen that makes his way into the Bellagio every morning @ around 6am - 9am. His names Tom and he's always fresh and ready to play.  His overall attitude is chipper; though I've yet to play through his entire schedule and see him while losing. Human beings have many different emotions; and those emotions can really fire up when one is winning or losing a significant amount of money. Toms game is extremely ABC; (ABC needing to be re-defined these days) his game being  BC... I guess; if the A represented aggression -- and just how truly important that A is. If ABC is winning poker -- can one win with only one or two of the letters? Or does one have to use them in combination?

Obv. aggression is often talked about in poker.  It's something so very difficult to teach and then for one to apply it is... perhaps un-teachable?  Then if you put said player into a lvl where the money is significant to them.... how can one start pressing 2% - 10% edges w/o being affected by the swings? How can one properly apply aggression against the obv. more passive opponents?


Today while playing w/ Tom, he sat down and immediately won a nice sized pot where he was gifted a good 800bbs by a fish whom was the last victim of my graveyard shift.  I had lined up my table during the last 7 hours of play; and had made the mental note that as soon as this specific player either left or was bust -- I was leaving.

After Tom scoops this pot I chirp in with,

"Is that allowed?"
Tom, "What's that?"
"You're allowed to sit down and just start winning?"

Tom didn't find my heckling very amusing and didn't even attempt a grin.  He just responded w/ a very personal, and blunt answer... almost a rant of sort.

"Well that pot doesn't make up for the last year and a half...."

He gave a mini speech about how the last year and a half have been difficult, he's moved down to this limit so things are less stressful as the 10-20k swings of the high limit section of Bellagio can truly take it's tolls. I hear a lot of bullshit ego talk about playing @ higher limits, having big time money, the swings of the game... a lot of air and blabber.  Not this guy.  He's lived it.  I connected w/ his rant. Though when I analyze his game after this past weeks sessions -- Tom hasn't evolved.  He's falling behind todays poker curve; and... the WORST part about all this is that he doesn't even know it.  Perhaps even worse than that -- that he'll NEVER... EVER... EVER CHANGE!  He's so set in his way that I don't think he could ever change now.  He's an old dog.


Human beings and especially poker players in general are so self-absorbed into their own poker journey, life grind, building of ego/bankroll, sex, drugs, lies, gamble, lifestyle,  and the assortment of other distractions that many of them never take the time to even sit down and analyze their game.... or God-forbid start a blog / post on 2+2 / be 100% truthful w/ a poker friend to improve ones game.
They go for years either breaking even; making dues outside of poker somehow ... tricking themselves into believing their a winning player rather than take the time to analyze their game and see where there's holes.
I connected with the statement that I've heard 93432523432x 23432141234 + 2343124 times in my poker journey, "Making it in the poker community and being a professional is VERY DIFFICULT"
or how about this one?
"If you can make it as a professional card player you can make it in practically any other profession"
"Only 10% of players are winners -- 5% actually making a decent living"

How accurate are these numbers?  How have they fluctuated?  How were those numbers installed in the first place?  When I look around many of my games -- all around the country... ones where I spend weeks / months / years @ a time... there's a lot of either semi pros or 'pros'.  How many of them are lying to themselves? How many have a poker journal and use it religiously?

There is a slew of gold mines around the world -- though if you have the wrong shovels -- you may not get the gold.  Shovels being defined as what sort of approach to different type of game flows/games/player base in general. Am I using the wrong shovels during grayveshift/$2$5/ daytime $5/$10?  South FL to LV? Wynn to Bellagio? Isle to Hardrock?   For a better example say, the daytime(especially weekday) Bellagio/Wynn --> and then Aria day regs. in comparison to say South FL Hardrock / Isle line up. How much adjustments should be made?  Understanding that each scenario is completely unique; though there is an overall change in game flow / avg. vpip/pfr%/pot size and competence of opponent where a graveyard grinder style is weak against.

Defining grayveyard grinder style
(as daytime grinder style will differ):

Picking cherries.
i.e. waiting for the nuts.  Sitting deep enough to set mine / take flops w/ implied **Playing mathematical ABC** to get into situations w/ mega touristy/drunk/don't give a shit players whom; with the combination of their absolutely horrid pre-flop mistakes in combination w/ their sitting with to deep of stack ++ stacking off to light -- make picking cherries extremely profitable.

In contrast to Daytime grinder where one must pick up dead money over just defined player -- plus change gears and apply proper aggression to execute.  Switching into a much more of an attack the regs online player as opposition is so ABC robotic focused you pick up so much $$$ always knowing exactly where they stand in hands.  There hands are literally face up.  You never have a decision and there always on the defensive.  These players shut down as there profits aren't poring in w/ battling against other pros; but rather the poor players where picking cherries is all thats needed.



Now breaking down those line ups -- day LV games obv. much more difficult -- not due to the lvl of passiveness; it's the aggressive behind that passiveness..... wait wait wait, pounce.

There's not as many true pouncers in South FL.  The young pros are so much more scared.  At times; if I'm not willing to push the chips in; almost in enjoyment -- then they shouldn't be on the table in play as in my mind -- they're not in, 'In Play" they're in Marks table vault where he's not truly pressing his FE% to it's max and they're only going in w/ the nuts / OESD draws of the sort. Very rarely am I reading my opponent for a semi holding / over pair on a wet board, with the combination of being @ a specific area of poker evolution where I know they're capable of folding -- and then putting them to huge tests w/ all our past history and how they view my image investment.

To truly be a master -- one must do this.  Could you imagine pushing live poker variance to it's limits -- and "Playing Poker" every day rather than grinding?  Breaking out my street poker against regs day in and day out?  They'd go insane.

**Rambling here**

I want to go over these different topics:

* What was my hourly last month @ Aria $2/$5 / $5/$10? More importantly -- were certain hours of the day more profitable than others?

* S. Florida day games in comparison to LV day games. and 2013s cash day grind in comparison to Las Vegas 2014s, "Whenever I feel like it" schedule/grind.

* Defining what, "ABC" is in comparison to todays definition. Has poker ABC changed? Or do we just need to add a D? When to play, "Old school" and "New school" (or apply the D) poker and how to decipher where your opponents sit in the evolution of the game and then there personal poker evolution. As the game has evolved;  so have players -- more so than others.  How many different animals are there in this evolution?  How can I categorize them better and also bring myself outside myself to help me grow in to whatever I'm not seeing this game has to offer.

Finally defining the difference between, "Playing Poker" and "Grinding".  I say it often in conversation -- though what are the ins and outs of this? What is the difference?

* Running it twice with AK / AKs... do the odds change? Flatting w/ AA behind OR's.  When? Certain position w/ opponents, obv. though also overall 3b%/ isoers/ foldy fingers.

* 4betting out of the blind against obv. squeezers/isoers.  When?

* Auto opening button in timed games against never protecting BB/regs.  Perhaps I'm not seizing specific opportunies in live cash, chiseling away @ the big picture in very small spots -- where I could be increasing my hourly by a few bucks by just tweaking something so very minor -- and fun to apply.  Brightening up my game -- making it more fun; all the while swinging my, "Image Investment"  back in the other direction.

* Defining, "Image Investment" and taking a none tangible subject/category and making it more understandable rather than just a theory.


(touch up on this later)