I played 2 no-money full tilt poker tournaments in the last 2 days. I got 6th place out of 90 players last night and 11th tonight. 11th sucks, but the 6th was OK. In both of these tournaments, I was completely bored and uninterested. I have no idea how I made it to the final table last night and I don't know why I lasted to #11 tonight. If someone would have just played their B game early on, I probably would been gone.
I play these free tournaments during the week just so I can get some practice and see a bunch of poker hands. In doing this, I've made 18 final tables in the last 6 or so months. I know, I know - there's no money at stake in these games. I understand the implications of playing for cash. I do that weekly too. These are just for practice.
Anyways, in the last 2 nights, I played bored and uninterested for an average finish of 8.5 out of 90 (basically the top 10%). Reading players in these free, on-line poker tournaments is pretty interesting. If you're paying just a little attention, you can figure a lot out about your opponents. Chasers are the easiest to find. 2 clubs on the board, turn card is a heart - shut down. Top pair, huge bet. Check the flop, check the turn, hit your card on the river - bet. Hit your flush on the flop (while holding 9-3 of hearts) and then check to the river. Really man? Listen, I'm not one of those jerks that's going to talk trash to you for playing your game. Believe me, plenty of others will though. You just won't be too hard to beat. That's all.
The psychology of poker is my favorite part of the game and online poker can be great for picking up a players betting habits. Play several hundred or several thousand hands just to pick up on these habits and then use that understanding when you're playing in your home game. How about that - poker boredom can be educational too.
No comments:
Post a Comment