#1. Tighten up my starting hand range towards 12/12 UTG and a little looser in the hijack. I don't need suited cards in my range UTG (I don't need balance) and few things besides big aces and pairs. I want it to be moronically simple to play OOP for now.
- Make a starting hand chart (or print Brystmar's) and abide by it.
- Review my hand frequency after every session and track it.
- Make a results chart of "before", "before w/ good hands", and after.
#2. Work to Control my "nano-tilt". Meditation has clearly improved my ability to recognize and stem my emotional responses, but I occasionally slip back into a loose-taggro, -EV style. Unfortunately, the pot sizes are not sobering enough to bring me back into focus (they were at higher stakes). I will also implement additional approaches.
- Re-watch Jared Tendler's videos, once to browse, and once to make "crib notes".
- Continue to practice zazen.
- Write weekly goals and read them before every session.
- Plan sessions more thoroughly. 1) Have an ETD and a duration in mind. 2) At least two unchanging qualitative goals and no more than 1 quantitative goal.
- Write and think more consciously about the process of tilting (or not tilting).
#3. Play better in pots that get big on the turn and the river. I feel quite comfortable playing in three bet pots, at least compared to my opponents. However, I feel a little out to sea in many large pots. This by no means surprising; they are hard streets to play against weak players without many stats and the variance can bet stressful. Also, much of the advice is too conservative compared to the style advocated by microlimit gurus. In game theory terms, the style is minimax, rather than maximally profitable. Since I play with larger bankrolls than most- I rarely start at a new limit with < 30 buy-ins- and I bet the turn more frequently than most players, I need to improve my bet-sizing and decision making there.
- Post every tough river decision and more tricky turns.
- Watch 2 videos per week on turn and river play.
- Design an in-game checklist for big pots. Test it, perfect it, memorize it.
- Design an in-game checklist for AFTER big pots. Test it, perfect it, memorize it.
Implementation strategy.- Continue to lightly play .5/1 and 1/2 limit to pass the time.
- Continue to play turbo SNGs as a break and to stay in practice.
- Sleepy Bastard Challenge continues. Videos + MTT 6am, most days per week.
- Scheduled afternoon sessions. Log hours using Databases, etc.
I think these will keep me busy for now. More updates to come.
