Poker Timing

http://dailyvariance.com/slowhabit-blog/66-poker-timing.html

Despite its importance, timing is a concept that is rarely discussed in forums. It is probably because players don't know about it or underestimate its importance.

When you see a great player check-raise all-in on a flop of 3s 5d Jc holding As4s and win, the first thing that comes into your head is, “wow, he is a great player and he is currently playing great so that play must have some +EV attached to it.” Naturally, you try to implement it in your game, only when you do it, your stacks move themselves over to your opponent's side. The reason is your timing is off. You don't know when to make the play. In other words, you are right at the wrong time.

This is what a great player so great. He KNOWS when he should do it. A simple analysis such as, “he has been running me over. Therefore, I have to fight back somehow and this is a decent hand to do it with.” Using such logic is *kind of* correct. The problem is if your opponent is any good, he is anticipating such a play from you as well.

So what should one do to improve one's timing? The answer is experience. There is no guideline nor formula to improve one's timing. It is based on your instinct and your instinct is developed over the years by trusting your reads.

The point of this writing is to help you realize such a concept exists so you won't check-shoving with As4s on a 3s 5d Jc in any re-raise pots and wonder why certain players run so good.

By Tri "Slowhabit" Nguyen

I Play Solid

http://dailyvariance.com/slowhabit-blog/32-i-play-solid.html

... But I Can't Seem To Win.

I hear a lot of players say this and it gets funnier every time I hear it. The reason is, they don't play solid. What they meant is they play in a robotic manner and hope to cooler someone. So when they win these big cooler pots, they play well and run well. If they lose, they run bad. There is some truth to this because you obviously run bad if you don't win the cooler pots.

But poker is much more than those big cooler pots. Poker is a game that is defined by better players accumulating small edges here and there. When you sit and play a solid game, better players are taking a more active role in maximizing their EV. One example, they play with a little more aggression. They fight extra hard for pots. They think of opponents' ranges before betting. They dictate the flow of the game and is always aware of their images.

People usually say they play a good game and they are just running bad. But whenever we have sweating sessions, there are so many small things they miss out. Three notable examples are cbetting too much, neglecting the small pots, and passive pre-flop play. It's hard to detect these problems because if you knew it, you would have fixed it already. When we look over our sessions, we usually focus on the big pots that we win/lose but neglect to think about our overall game and what we can do to improve it. A player who is active pre-flop will take a lot of uncontested pots and thus, don't have to win those big cooler pots to have a winning session. It's amazing how Doyle was sooo ahead of his time.

Next time when you're at the table, remember to think throughly about a situation before clicking a button. Don't be lazy. Talk aloud. Practice. Perhaps you'll realize that maybe, just maybe, you weren't as solid as you assumed.

By Tri "Slowhabit" Nguyen