New/Old Realizations

Now that I've been playing poker almost 5 years now, there are a few things that I've realized over the last year. A lot of these are things I may have read about a long time ago, but experience is solidifying them.

1. Narrow the range, but not to a single hand - While it's fun to put someone on a specific hand, it's important not to dismiss the other holdings he could have. I've realized that I sometimes pick a specific hand my opponent might have and proceed accordingly, only to find out that I didn't account for the other holdings (some of which beat me). The lesson is that I need to work on assigning a % to the different holdings in a hand range and then make my decisions based on my gut from there.

2. Get into the flow of the game - When you go into a game trying to make pre-planned specific moves they can often blow up in your face. You have to get into the flow of the game and then make decisions accordingly. You can have a certain mindset (i.e. be aggressive), but you have to pick your spots according to your reads.

3. You can't force results - It just doesn't happen that way. If you go in with a results oriented mindset, you lose sight of your reads and you make decisions that can cost several chips. Examples are 2 or 3 barreling on a scary board out of not wanting to lose the pot vs. based on a specific read. You may trick yourself into thinking you are making a good aggressive play, but the reality is you are failing to put the person on a hand range.

4. It's okay to fold sometimes - The goal is to minimize losses and maximize winnings. While sometimes it is appropriate to make a hero call based on your reads, no one knows what cards you hold. It can be sometimes be correct to make a laydown and be bluffed out of a pot. You don't have to win every battle, you just have to win all the chips at the end of the tournament.