Biggest Improvement in your game

Iago

I was wondering what you would rate as the biggest improvement in your game over the last 6 months.

For me it's the fact that I'm now able to lay down big hands when required, without playing it over in my mind for the following 20 minutes wondering whether I did the right thing or not. In line with that I think that I've greatly improved the hand selection and trapping elements of the game, thanks so some feedback and advice from players that I rate very highly.

Biggest area still in need of improvement, short handed/shortstacked play. I don't think I'm playing these situations very well as emphasised by the fact that I've finished 4th or 5th in 30% of the STT's I've played this year, I should really be turning at least 50% of those into money finishes.

So how about you, biggest improvement and areas to be improved?

Dave

Being able to take bad beats without going on tilt.

I think in the last few weeks I've been able to realise that if I'm 96% favourite after a flop and the other guy runner runners a straight, it's not down to bad play it just poker. If that happened a month ago I'd go on tilt and push with any rags, which is just stupid.

Imposter

I think for me the biggest improvement is being able to read people better. I make calls/raises now and i'm usually right in places where I would have folded a few months back. My laying down of big hands is also improving but still needs a bit of work.

I'm the opposite of Iago. I play shorthand games normally and my heads-up game is quite good. I struggle in MTTs and in full table cash games (don't play these often though). In STT I play very few hands until a few are gone and then I seem to be able to play the table well. My results are about 70% 1st, 3rd or 4th of late (about 50% itm but i really should move up to the next level). There are more 1st than 3rd's or 4th's too which I reckon is because of my heads-up play.

NickyOD

Learning how to play shorthanded cash games properly has completely changed things for me. I was a very static player grinding out close to nothing for a long time before I tried to learn shorthanded Limit and No Limit and that's where I play 80% of the time now, using a % of the profits from those tables to play tournaments.

Learning the control to be able to fold big hands is also a big step. I think with internet poker this is really something you have to learn from experience alone. I think a lot of fairly good internet players play too mathematically and don't take into account the timing and the action in front of them. As was said to me a couple of weeks ago. "You are not a real poker player until you've laid down Kings against Aces preflop."

Also one thing that is really imprtant if you are serious about improving your game on the internet is using poker analyst software to keep track of everything, and also pokertracker to fix holes in your game. Its also very dificult to improve if you don't read.

Iago

NickyOD wrote:

Also one thing that is really imprtant if you are serious about improving your game on the internet is using poker analyst software to keep track of everything, and also pokertracker to fix holes in your game. Its also very dificult to improve if you don't read.

Poker tracker doesn't seem to support VC or the tribeca network, is there any analytical tool available that does?

Imposter

Iago wrote:

Poker tracker doesn't seem to support VC or the tribeca network, is there any analytical tool available that does?

It's on the todo list at pokertracker but don't hold your breath for it anytime soon.

Just look through the hand histories (providing they work ), and see what you might have done differently. PT makes it easier to do this but it can be done manually if you have the patience.

Tackle

I'd say my biggest improvement is my bubble play. I get fairly aggressive if I'm short/medium stacked and will push just about any two into the BB when I'm SB, if I know he's not a big stacked loose aggressive or an idiot. There's nothing worse than a lag behind you on the bubble.
I'll also go all-in with any two if I'm BB and there's one caller and a completed SB. This has the added bonus of tightening up the SB big time.
I used to be way too tight on the bubble and this led to me often just blinding out/scraping into the money and then finishing third.

I've also improved my reading and am willing to go all-in with a bluff if an opponent shows weakness.

The Snapper

Most of my online education was gained at STT's. These are a reasonably inexpensive way to gain some table time and experience all aspects of play as previously suggested. It just sounds to me a very familiar scenario

Biggest area still in need of improvement, short handed/shortstacked play. I don't think I'm playing these situations very well as emphasised by the fact that I've finished 4th or 5th in 30% of the STT's I've played this year, I should really be turning at least 50% of those into money finishes.

I had similar tendancies which were as a result of playing too tight. Now, I don't suggest you abandon your starting hand requirements, but , If you were to try and play the odd speculative holding (mid size connectors even non suited ) from late position or when Limping in is possible ( passive table ). You might then get to last 4 / 5 and have a decent enough stack to play with and thus see more flops .