Took a short break from poker over the weekend. Reasons being, a night out clubbing resulting in a significant hangover the next day, and… some losses the day before due to inconsistent and just overall bad play. Gave me time to do stuff I’ve not been doing for a while, and of course, some time to reflect on my play.
I’ve always played a loose aggressive style of poker. So much so that almost everyone who’ve played with me has tagged me accordingly, and generally employ passive tactics against me in the hopes that I will bluff the pot (which I generally do!), and pay them off. Of course, when I run good and make my hands, people pay me off handsomely, but more often than not, it’s the other way around. Why? Simply because I’m a poor player, and generally make poor calls and bad decisions, some of them so obvious that when I look back, I wonder why I make them.
The LAG (Loose AGressive) play-style is a viable one in poker, but it takes a lot more skill to play successfully. In fact, it’s not just skill that matters but discipline, and proper bankroll management. I lack all three. Poker is not about gambling. I’ve said it many times, and I’ll say it again. Problem is, most poker players gamble, and that’s the bottom-line. The profitable ones don’t. I’ve recently read an article that said, playing poker is like being a fund manager. You “invest” in profitable situations, and avoid the high risk decisions that may involve significant losses. You avoid risking your capital (bankroll).
To play poker successfully, one should know one’s capabilities. Like a fund manager, a skilled one with foresight would make investments that would seem risky to his peers less adept than himself, while the less skilled would typically invest in rock solid, profitable ventures. Similarly in poker, skilled players may opt to play the LAG style, simply because they can manage the risks better, while their less adept counterparts just play TAG (Tight AGressive). I belong to the latter group.
What this means, is that upon reflection, I’ve not the skill required to play the style that I play now. That said, I will attempt to stick to the TAG style of play from now on, at least for a couple of months, to see if it makes a difference. Let’s see how long I stick to this resolution!
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