The Poker Mindset Review

Hello guys!

I’ve been reading The Poker Mindset by Ian Taylor and Matthew Hilger and I can tell you that this book is mandatory for any poker player.

You were wondering why I’m saying that but it’s because the book explores not just poker as a game, but also the way that poker affects you, how you feel playing it, and other points.

When you’re playing poker sometimes it’s just for fun or maybe you’re a grinder. In any case, the book makes you think about your position as a player. After that it raises the question how do you manage your style? If you’re a grinder, what do you think about your bankroll as you play? Do you enjoy spending 8 hours or 10 hours grinding a game and end up getting so many suck outs that you can lose 20 or 50 buy-ins in just a day?

Sure, you can win that amount too, but how do you work with such a variance? Yes, because the game of poker includes variance and good players have to know how to deal with that.

The book is pretty clear about these ups and downs and it says that players that don’t know how to handle variance with these fluctuations will not be successful in poker, while those who understand the win-lose concept are more likely to make good money in the long run.

On some days it’s hard to sit at a table and lose so many games in a row but if you’re studying, controlling your tilt, and reviewing your games, you’ll probably manage to get through those difficult days.

It’s almost impossible to make some money without losing some too. The books stresses that in any kind of investment, you’ll have an element of risk. That’s why in poker you’ll need a good bankroll not only to help you survive the hard days but also to give you stability to handle your games.

I really recommend that you take a look at this book. I believe you will get good information that will help you improve your game.

Have a great week everybody!

Original published on "Titan Poker"

Kill Everyone by Lee Nelson

Hi every1!

I´ve been reading this week the awesome book from Lee Nelson called Kill Everyone in a way to play mtt´s in the right direction.

These book is totally amazing I´ve been learning a lot about how I should behave in a table, how I should improve my hand, the best way to get mtt´s and became a winner....wow! That´s brilliant information.

I´m in a half way to get this thought but I can say that it´s clear for me now the big difference between mtt´s and sng´s.

As a sng player for long time I know that being a tight player made me be a good player with a good ROI and for sng´s its the right behave on the tables, since it´s a passive game and you can control much better what your opponents do and what you´re doing to beat them.

Following that book for a mtt winner player you must to forget what you have been done in sng´s and try to be much more loose and aggressive. A style that I´m not use to be since I´ve always playing sng´s and using the tight aggressive style all the day.

Reading that book is making me thinking that I might like mtt´s a lot since its so different in style, EV, counting, observations on the players, pushes, squeezes, 3bets....it´s really amazing! Of course you must to keep your good game and won´t became a crazy one, but you can loose up a bit and try something new.

I´m very excited for reading that book and looking forward to improve my game very soon on the tables.

Good luck every1!

Cheers,
Dree

Original published on Titan Poker Blog

MTT´s let´s do it! :)

Hello!

It´s been a long time since I didn´t write but my life was a little crazy lately but now it´s all ok again.

In two weeks ago I was thinking that I should take my poker life more seriously and not just play sometimes but play poker more time and since I´ve always been a SNG player I kind get enough of it and have decided to give a shot in mtt´s.

Sure looks like great to me and for you reader but you can´t just play if you won´t study because you probably is going to fail since poker demands heavy study.

I´ve been watching many poker videos from professionals, reading poker blogs from pro too and also books and I believe its the way to get it deeply. I won´t waste my time just dreaming in being successful in poker I´m preparing myself as I believe its right to make it work. I know its never easy but listen there´s any thing is life that comes easily? I don´t think so! You´re always needing to work hard to get things done and in poker it won´t be differently.

My husband plays poker too and he´s able to follow that way with me so it´s nice to talk with him because we both can analyse hands, talk about the videos, books and helps a lot to make it better.

Well, I hope soon to have more news about my evolution on mtt´s and good luck on the tables!

Cheers,
Dree

The Advantage of Knockout Poker Tournaments

The Advantage of Knockout Poker Tournaments

Well, as you all have noticed, I enjoy talking about low stacks because most of the players are so used to hearing about play at the high stacks and may forget that players have to start from somewhere. I believe that many of the high stakes players start at the low buy-ins.

I have been a SNG player ever since I started to play poker and even if I love MTTs (multi-table tournaments) as well, I believe that SNGs allow you to grow your bankroll (for example) and can provide you with less variance. As I said I like both of the games but today I´m going to speak about a specific kind of sit ‘n’ go tournament = the knockout type.

In any sit ‘n’ go tournament with 9 or 10 players you’re going to have a payout structure with about 50% for first place, 30% for second place, and 20% for third. When you play a knockout type of game you can profit even if you don’t finish in the top 3 places. This is because in this tourney, when you knock out a player you receive a percentage of the money automatically. There are two types of knockouts: normal and turbo. I prefer the turbos.

In a regular SNG, after the bubble the three remaining players are ITM (in the money). In KOs, on the other hand, you can get that payout as well but when you defeat a player and eliminate him from the action, you get a piece of the prize pool as well.

Getting paid for eliminating a player helps increase your profit. I can tell you that in my experience playing turbo KOs, I’ve gotten some 3% more ROI (return on investment) than playing the regular SNGS (not KOs). At the moment, my ROI in turbo $3.50 SNGs (for example) is 11% including that 3% that I said before in the regular level games. For a pretty good turbo-player in low buy-ins the expected ROI is about 11% to 15%.

The thing to consider is that players will play pretty badly since they want to kick you out and get your bounty. The important thing is that you need to improve your poker skills. I normally use HUD aka Holdem Manager on the tables and to study my game I´m using Sit and Go Wizard as well.

Of course everything depends on how many hours and tables you’re going to play at the same time, because with more tables your ROI could be a little less than the expected. But if you’re playing well and get first or second places often, it won’t affect the ROI very much in the final profit.

If you want to try a different type of SNG, I can assure you that turbo KOs are really fun and improve your skills. You can make money at them and have lots of fun.

Keep studying and good luck @ the tables! 

Dree

"Originally published on the Titan Poker Blog"

Exploring Low Buy-in MTT´s

Exploring Low Buy-in MTT´s

Hi there!

Sorry that it’s been a long time without posting but I was thinking about what I should write that would be helpful to other players. Continuing to speak about low stakes could be nice. J

There’s a good game that we can explore: low stake MTTs (multi-table tournaments). In my opinion, these tourneys make for an easy field but you probably will be dealing with many suck-outs because the other players could be bluffing a lot. They could call you with bottom pair and end up getting two pairs on the river. LOL. In the long run, playing these tourneys is profitable if you keep in mind that you need to study the game, the players, and of course review your hands.

Don’t forget that you need to study MTT games and there’s good stuff online that can help you, such as videos and e-books. Keep in mind that you’re going to need at least 100 buy-ins in your bankroll (as I said in the other article) so that you can’t go broke easily. Try to work out your tilt since you will be totally exposed to a field that will call you lightly. Don’t forget that you can improve if you remember that in the long run, all your study will pay off and those players that are annoying you in the tournaments will pay your bills. 

In low stakes MTTs the best way to play is staying tight while also playing aggressively. Wait for good hands, try to analyze who is loose, who is tight, how the players at your table are acting and try to keep your game solid, involving yourself in hands that could be worthwhile. Try to steal the blinds when you think you can steal the blinds. Observe everything around you while trying to do your best.

It’s not difficult to double up since many players will pay you easily since they frequently go all-in with nothing. You just need to wait for the right moment to make this profitable.

These are just a few tips to help you improve your game. They help me a lot, and I hope they will help you as well.

Good luck at the tables and keep studying!!!

Dree

"Originally published on the Titan Poker Blog"

Let´s talk about Low Buy-in

Let´s talk about Low Buy-in

When I started playing poker, I used to play freerolls and not real money tournaments because my goal was to feel good about my game and improve it step by step.

I kept playing freerolls for almost a year. I know that seems like playing it way too safe, but it was all new to me. I really needed to be sure about what I was doing and how I was playing.

When I put real money into the game for the first time, it was funny because I got an entry to a high stakes tourney. I wasn’t ready for that but it was a great experience, even with my fear and being insecure.

In total, I’ve deposited about $200 and I’ve decided to play low stakes at $2 tourneys. I want to start by building a bankroll. Like I said, I want to play safe so I use the method of multiplying BB (big blinds) x the buy-in. Playing $2 tourneys is almost too safe, but that’s my beginning and that’s why I chose those sit ‘n gos, and it was cool.

When I got more confidence in my game, I moved up to $3 and $5 tourneys. I choose to play sit ‘n gos with 40 buy-ins. I can tell you, it works. Especially now when I have more experience, it really works.

If you want to play sit ‘n gos, play with at least 40 buy-ins so you that can’t go broke easily. If you prefer MTTs (multi-table tournaments), you need to have at least 100 buy-ins to keep your bankroll safe. Only with that starting stack you won’t go nuts if you lose too many games in a roll…..coz yeah! It can happen to anyone…

Good luck at the tables and keep studying poker!!!

Dree

"Originally published on the Titan Poker Blog"

Which Poker book will help you learn Poker?

Which Poker book will help you learn Poker?

I’ve started writing on this blog about how I began to play poker, and I also listed the types of games I like to play. I play mostly No Limit Hold’em, Omaha Hi/Low, and Pot Limit Hold’em. Here is my question to you: What type of poker do you like to play?

Many players improve their poker by reading some of the very instructive books that have come out over the years. If you want to learn basic poker strategy, you need to read these books! I believe you need to start with the following three books by professional poker player Dan Harrington.

- Harrington on Hold ‘em Expert Strategy for No Limit Tournaments, Vol. 2: Endgame by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2005)

- Harrington on Hold ‘em: Expert Strategies for No Limit Tournaments, Vol. III–The Workbook by Dan Harrington and Bill Robertie (2006)

Reading these books helped me to understand poker – the context, the idea, the principles, the math, the bluff….almost everything!

Harrington’s language in the books is every easy to understand, and he has so many examples that make you think about the game, before you play and as you play.

These books opened my mind and made me aware of all the strategies involved in the game. Anyone who likes sit ‘n’ go and multi-table tournaments will benefit from reading them.

To improve my knowledge of Omaha Poker, I had the pleasure to read some books written by Jeff Hwang. I think it’s brilliant if you want to invest your time to master the game of Omaha, mostly because the players are weak and they don’t know too much about the game. If you study up on Omaha and play it regularly, it’s an easy way to make money.

I hope this article helps point you in the direction of some great poker books. You should try out all the different kinds of poker to see which one fits you the best.

Cheers,

Dree

"Originally published on the Titan Poker Blog"