1k Post: Sharing Part of My Journey

[Matt Vaughan]

I'm sorry, but since you used the term "brutally honest", I will do just that. Far too many players blame "variance" or the "mental games" for bad play. Guys like Tendler make a lot of money and waste a lot of time on the mental game (I've made this mistake too, reading his books and watching his videos). Focus on your game. Pour over your stats. Hire a good poker coach and forget about guys like Tendler. Most importantly, stop whining, accept responsibility for your losses and get to work.

You could start by focusing on your non-showdown losses. You obviously have a major leak in your game that you need to address.

Well, continuing with the brutal honesty:

I took a long hard look at my poker game and knew for a FACT that mental game was holding me back. For me, mental game was intimately connected to bad play, because tilt caused me to play worse. You clearly didn't read my post very carefully, because I didn't blame variance - I realized I had to come to terms with it to move forward.

Also, in agreement with others ITT, you shouldn't assume that whatever worked (or DIDN'T work) for you will necessarily work the same way for others. A large part of figuring out what would work for ME was personal reflection, because it was through thinking about my OWN game that I gained insights that I couldn't possibly get from reading what others had to say.

AND, in relation to this, here is a direct quote from my first post: "And while I plan on going back to Tendler for some help with this, I didn't find the book to be as enlightening as I'd hoped. Sure it has some useful strategies and insights, but the book is too general to be used in the place of a mental/life coach."

So please, read my post thoroughly before criticizing me so completely.

 

[Matt Vaughan]

I'm sorry, but since you used the term "brutally honest", I will do just that. Far too many players blame "variance" or the "mental games" for bad play. Guys like Tendler make a lot of money and waste a lot of time on the mental game (I've made this mistake too, reading his books and watching his videos). Focus on your game. Pour over your stats. Hire a good poker coach and forget about guys like Tendler. Most importantly, stop whining, accept responsibility for your losses and get to work.

You could start by focusing on your non-showdown losses. You obviously have a major leak in your game that you need to address.

Oh yeah, and by the way. Welcome to CC. >.<:

 

[slowhand]

Great 1k post, I read every word and it will help me on my journey.

GL at the tables! and your mental head!

 

[Matt Vaughan]

More accolades http://www.facebook.com/CardsChat

Thanks everyone for reading my novel, and thanks Larky for the props on FB - I'm honored

 

[TeUnit]

congrats on 1k posts and gl at the tables,

t

 

[micromachine]

Only just got around to reading this. Nice 1K post Scourrge

 

[beerobrian]

Isn't online poker 90% odds. You really can't factor mental, just notice betting trends.

 

[Fanch]

Thanks for a thought out, well written post. Congrats on 1000!

 

[Matt Vaughan]

Isn't online poker 90% odds. You really can't factor mental, just notice betting trends.

How do you figure that mental factors are irrelevant??

Also, as was already hinted at multiple times in this thread, mental game issues are more prevalent for some over others.

 

[Matt Vaughan]

Thanks for a thought out, well written post. Congrats on 1000!

Thanks Fanch

 

[BayAreaSteve]

I'm sorry, but since you used the term "brutally honest", I will do just that. Far too many players blame "variance" or the "mental games" for bad play. Guys like Tendler make a lot of money and waste a lot of time on the mental game (I've made this mistake too, reading his books and watching his videos). Focus on your game. Pour over your stats. Hire a good poker coach and forget about guys like Tendler. Most importantly, stop whining, accept responsibility for your losses and get to work.

You could start by focusing on your non-showdown losses. You obviously have a major leak in your game that you need to address.

Best/worst combination thread-hijack/first-post ever?

Nice on the 1000 (are you seriously already 2000+?), even better thread, and better still: giving the guy an honest answer.

Much respect, sir.

(With a bit of envy over post-quantity; I can't figger how to get to 25...)

 

[Matt Vaughan]

grats on 1k post i bet that took a while

Thanks! It did the first time around.

Best/worst combination thread-hijack/first-post ever?

Nice on the 1000 (are you seriously already 2000+?), even better thread, and better still: giving the guy an honest answer.

Much respect, sir.

(With a bit of envy over post-quantity; I can't figger how to get to 25...)

I did find it amusing - especially since it's been a solid few months and he's still only got this one post in my thread (I'm honored yet again ).

I am indeed over 2k posts (they seem to come quicker all the time), and have been struggling with deciding whether to create a post commemorating it. I promised a sci fi short story that I was working on a while back and am considering posting a google doc or something for it, but I'm a little embarrassed about it so we'll see!!

So far as post-count, just continue exploring threads and find the ones you care about to post in, and start your own! CC is an amazing place, and you will find no shortage of knowledge, generosity, and community here.

Thanks for posting.

 

[vinylspiros]

Wow scourge, i just saw this and really enjoyed it man. I really connected with everything you said man. its good to see that we are all on the same boat.

very well written and amazing thread man.
I wanted to say something about variance. i dont know if its the right place but ill just type it here in reply to you as to what my opinion is about variance.

I believe that variance is not based on luck but is based on tilt. Alot of people tell you that its common and normal to lose 10 BI's in a row even by playing your A-game. well i respectfully disagree with this.

Well,i believe that variance is not related to luck,its related to tilt. When we take a lot of bad beats in a row,we always say that bad luck comes in waves. Well, it doesnt! its our tilt that comes and goes in waves. When we win a hand we feel good and we play the next hand perfectly to make sure we dont lose what we won,so we dont make mistakes.

On the other hand, when we lose a hand ,we get mad and then try to make that lost money back as soon as possible and all of the sudden we are losing 2,3,4,5 buy ins in a row and call it variance.

Of course this can happen by playing perfectly but what im trying to point out here is that it is good to try to IDENTIFY when we are playing bad and when we are not running good and remember that usually one triggers the other.

meaning that running bad will definitely lead to not playing good.

the end.....:creep: :creep: :creep: :creep: :creep: :creep: see ya man. look forward to hearing from you on any progress or generally how things are going for you..

 

[BayAreaSteve]

"still only got this one post"

I honestly intended to look. That's frickin' awesome if it's still the one. Makes my "best/worst combination thread-hijack/first-post ever" stand up...

"struggling with deciding whether to create a post commemorating it"

I vote to shoot one off. In my well-established, (good grief, is this 25 yet?), ever-present opinion, your 1000 commemorative was well past strong enough to warrant a second. So, you're now obligated. Make it so.

"I promised a sci fi short story"

Well, if you promised, and you don't, well then Jed, I don't even want to know you. ('West Wing' reference that nobody'll get, so I have to mention, even though nobody'll still get.)

"a little embarrassed about it"

F' that. Haters are gonna hate, this place is, by your own validation, a fair one, and any feedback is knowledge. As a sci-fi fan, linkage, please.

 

[JOEBOB69]

Well i wouldn't see this thread if it wasn't for these strange bumps.
Edit: With that said TLDR

 

[Matt Vaughan]

@vinyl While I agree that it's easy to to fall into a pattern of calling play bad run bad, variance is not fictional. Proven, winning players can go on sizable downswings without ever making a -EV move. But a lot of players will hit a patch of variance, play worse because of it, and lengthen and deepen the downswing because of it.

@Bay Well I think I'll get around to it eventually haha, just feel a bit silly about it!

@JB Yeah it's a huge blast to the past for me haha. Thanks for not reading I guess

 

[vinylspiros]

i just realised how old this thread is. how are things going for you scourge? you doing alright? im just curious after reading the thread how things are looking for you six months later.

 

[Matt Vaughan]

Well frankly, I haven't been playing online much at all because of school (most weeknights after school work I don't feel much like grinding, plus the state of online poker in the US is so meh). I have been playing live, and have been struggling with a downswing pretty much just as I began, but my mental game in the live arena is miles ahead compared to online, perhaps mostly due to the public vs. private differences.

I've just got a bit of cash on Bovada as of a couple days ago, so I'm hoping to grind online a bit for the summer but I've got an internship. I'd say that conceptually I'm pretty far progressed from where I was, but whenever I take a decent-sized hiatus from poker and come back, I find myself confronting familiar issues.

I'm optimistic though. I've really just got to start putting in the hours again like I used to last summer. It'll be tough since I have an internship this summer, but with some balancing I think I can get in at least 10 hours a week of poker-related stuff.

 

[Matt Vaughan]

https://www.cardschat.com/forum/general-poker-13/2k-post-sharing-my-story-225008/#post2111645