Deconstructing .... bohsman

Ste05

bohsman is up next for this following on from this thread.

Same Rules:

There can be NO flaming, this isn't a chance for people to have a shot at who ever goes in. Entrants to the Deconstructing series will have their thick skins on but forum rule breaches will be dealt swiftly and harshly (1 week ban), so you have all been warned.

Just to spell it out: NO PERSONAL ATTACKS, criticise and critique his game and NOTHING else!

Keep it constructive and good luck bohsman.

Goodluck2me

only one criticism. You don`t play ANY hands. Your knowledge fo the game is very good and you know all of the spots to play you just dont ever seem to do it. I think Drogehda is a good example of it. you played two hands at the final table with QQ and TT and then shoved into Bomber with a marginal hand.

I think you are proned to tilt a bit too much and that you take the game too seriously, i.e. your reaction to being knocked out last night, and its not the first time.

Take the game less seriously and if you notice you cant then play much less.

ocallagh

Tournaments:

I've played with you a lot, first in the fitz 270 literally years and years ago and since then in gazillions of tournaments ranging from freebies to WSOPs.

When you want to win, and when you believe you can win, you play your best. At other times I think you get either lazy or freeze up and don't grab every opportunity available to you. Instead of waiting for a hand, try to find a spot. I know you do this with drawing hands a lot, but try to find more spots preflop when down to 20 or 30BBs. Just force yourself to stay alert at the table and when an opportunity presents itself just go for it. And stop limping!!

When you have that desire and confidence you play well and I don't really have any comments. Maybe tighten up your 3-bet calling range against tight players (You sometimes call with drawing hands when you don't have the odds). You play the flop well in most spots, except in some instances (generally after preflop action) you need to make a decision on the flop whether to continue with the hand. I've seen you call the flop and fold the turn a few times, probably with top pair or something. Be more decisive on the flop.

In larger buyin tournaments you obviously have a desire to win, but you definitely lack confidence, and the money affects you too. To fix this, I think you need to stop playing large buyin tournaments until you have the bankroll. You definitely have the ability but the money is just too important and definitely ****s with your game. Most players on boards are guilty of this including me. I made the decision to stop taking shots and play within my bankroll after vegas this year. Waterford will be the largest buyin in 3 months for me! The 1k or 2k you spend in a tournament would be a boost to your bankroll for 1/2 live and you can crush that if you put your mind to it.

In summary, I think you need to pay proper attention to tournament bankroll, and when you do play you need to force yourself to play your best game!

Goodluck2me

good advice Niall.

Marq

as has already mentioned you are far too tight. I often think that you allow yourself to get too shortstacked in tournaments waiting for hands as opposed to just good opportunites. as a consequence you rarely build big stacks through bullying/winning big pots with marginal hands when you can afford to.

In general your postflop play is excellent. your bet sizing is good, particularly in cash games, and you have the ability to lay down hands in tough spots. my only criticism would be (like niall said) that you sometimes play the flop a little passively, leaving yourself in bad spots on the turn.

I don't know what your bankroll management is like these days but in the past it was horrendous. You need to stick to a plan for an extended period of time.

Basically I think (and I've always thought) that you're a really good player who has only been let down by your approach to the game. By now you should be playing huge games and beating them consistently, but because of your approach to your bankroll external circumstances have denied you from doing that.

cardshark202

Yeah Niall and Marq have it spot on. One other thing is for someone who spends a lot of time around the game, either playing or otherwise, you should definitely try and put more effort into improving your game as you don't seem very interested in strategy or theory these days and you surely wouldn't be playing at the level you are now without taking an interest in it at one stage.

carfax

You're an excellent player but I would say you need to admit to yourself when you have played badly. You often say when you are running bad and that there was nothing you could do but be a bit harder on yourself in a constructive way.

In terms of strategy you have a black and white approach to your game. One way is right and the other is wrong. Very few situations in poker are black and white so you need to be more willing to learn from 'the grey areas', if ya know what I mean.

I am not the person to give advice on bankroll management but I know that when you are focussed there are few that manage and build their rolls better than you. Just stay focussed.

bohsman

Cheers for that, know most of it already but still good to see it in writing to help me focus on it.

semibluff

dont know you half as much as the previous posters, but you were playing the WSOP when i was playing 10euro freezeouts with the lads and trying to learn poker. judging by this id have guessed you'd be playing - like the others say- at levels you know you could destroy with concentration/motivation. As regards tournies id just echo whats been said - start changing gears a little more. with your image you could get people who know you laying down very big hands, use this to your advantage!

Grimebox

I never like to see you at the same table. Your not value at all, although you play fairly solid and perhaps almost transperently, but thats only how you appear to me. The donks will never know. I can only think of one hand where made an obvious pot sized bluff on the river and you sweated me for a whille considering calling with middle pair something like that and you were dead right to go with your gut. so eh.. go with your gut more often i guess, not very good advice!

DeVore

What Marq and Niall have said would be verbatim what I would say. I've seen you play and played against you a lot too. On a good day you are one of the best tournie players around to be honest. But like all of us you have days when you don't seem focused or interested and that seems to affect your game a lot.

I'd also echo the "mix it up a bit" line as I think you aren't given to asking your opponent the hard questions, it risks you not getting paid when you have the goods and you miss some spots you can rob pots in.

You take it too hard when you lose I think, it really seems to hurt you when you get sucked out on and saps your energy for days. But who likes to get sucked out on eh?

In general though, a very good, solid player, one I would back and one I'm glad to see out of any tournie I'm in. (you value-free git )

DeV.

carfax

DeVore wrote: »

What Marq and Niall have said would be verbatim what I would say. I've seen you play and played against you a lot too. On a good day you are one of the best tournie players around to be honest. But like all of us you have days when you don't seem focused or interested and that seems to affect your game a lot.

I'd also echo the "mix it up a bit" line as I think you aren't given to asking your opponent the hard questions, it risks you not getting paid when you have the goods and you miss some spots you can rob pots in.

You take it too hard when you lose I think, it really seems to hurt you when you get sucked out on and saps your energy for days. But who likes to get sucked out on eh?

In general though, a very good, solid player, one I would back and one I'm glad to see out of any tournie I'm in. (you value-free git )

DeV.

lol

LuckyLloyd

This post has been deleted.

bohsman

goodluck2me wrote: »

I think you are proned to tilt a bit too much and that you take the game too seriously, i.e. your reaction to being knocked out last night, and its not the first time.

Take the game less seriously and if you notice you cant then play much less.

DeVore wrote: »

You take it too hard when you lose I think, it really seems to hurt you when you get sucked out on and saps your energy for days. But who likes to get sucked out on eh?

DeV.

I focus most on poker when Im avoiding other things going on in my life, when I get knocked out of a tournament Im putting all that pressure on the exit hand instead of the things Im avoiding. I focus on that for a while and then Im fine. I think the vast majority of players will have their energy sapped for days after focusing 110% for 2-3 days in a live tourney.

LuckyLloyd wrote: »

You're much better at poker than me so I won't comment on your game too much. I think your game for deepstack, long clock tournaments is perfectly honed for a structure without antes. However, maybe ask yourself why your record in single prize winner take all tournaments is so impressive? What are you doing there that you are possibly not doing elsewhere?


I also reckon that you should probably skip the trip to Vegas next year and give yourself an extended chance to build. Maybe you aren't the only Irish player to whom such advice applies of course; but boom and bust every year is not really sustainable in the long - term; and you surely have the talent to kill the game at higher levels if you allow yourself a proper opportunity to do so.

The obvious answer to the winner takes all scenario is that I dont have a tank, the money means something to me whereas in a winner takes all its easy to play my best game. I have similar results in smaller buyin MTTs online. As far as antes go I should be changing gears to get my game to suit antes not avoiding games with antes. Again its easier to play abc poker and grind my way to a top 5 finish deepstack with no antes than a game that puts the pressure on.

Ive been awake and working playing for the last 25 hours so this random waffle probably makes no sense.