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Being Yourself at the Tableby dtools22 | Published Jun 04, 2012 
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I’ve been going through a bit of a rough patch of late. For some reason my mojo is all off at the tables. I feel out of the proverbial zone. Doing some reflecting on my most recent struggles I’ve come to the conclusion that it’s not a problem with my game. I think I have reached a point where I know enough about the game to beat the stakes I’m at on a consistent basis. I feel confident in my abilities to beat both my opponents, and the rake. I feel like my problem has been a bit more macro than that. I feel like it’s a problem with me rather than with my style or strategy.
To help break up the rut I’ve been in I opted to play in one of the dailies over at Foxwoods. I put my hat in the ring for the $120 6PM deep stack event on Saturday. I felt like that would be a good way to take the edge off, and with a prize pool that routinely saw first taking over $5K I felt like this would be a good spot to take a shot. I didn’t even make the money but I had a solid run, busting about 4 hours into what is likely an 8 hour event. As is typical with tournaments, I went on the roller coaster ride for a bit and eventually found my way to the rail having long since run out of steam and shoving my 7BB stack on a coin flip. More importantly for me than the money, was that the event really did loosen me up a bit.
At my first table there were a couple of very casual grinders. These players were just up in the tournament area having a grand old time. None of these players were guys I’d consider to be particularly threatening presences but they did have a very profound effect on me and my game. They calmed me down and got me talking and joking around during the game. More often than not I’m not particularly social at the tables. It’s not that I’m a terribly bitter soul or that I’m curt with anyone, but I’ve just found that there are a lot of know it all types at the tables and more often than not I’m in no mood to engage those players. I find that keeping to myself at the tables is the best way to do things. No one will find an excuse to come in and try to stack you, players aren’t going out of their way to “outplay” you, and I can kind of come and go as I please in pots without gathering a ton of attention.
There is one inherent problem with this though. I’m a bit of an attention whore. I like commanding the conversation, I enjoy engaging other players at the table, I like telling jokes and making people laugh. Poker wise, it has always made more sense to me to try and keep a low profile. It’s better for you at the table if your opponents barely notice you. The problem now is that people on balance have become more observant even at the small stakes games. That notion that you can just totally fly under the radar still works, but not nearly as well as it has for me in the past. In addition to that being quiet at the tables can be HELLACIOUSLY boring. Boredom at the table is the single biggest enemy. You need to be paying attention to the game, the action, who’s doing what, who’s trying to pull moves and win every pot, who’s sitting back and biding their time. These are all questions that need answers and those answers may change from hour to hour.
I’m going to try and be a tad more social at the tables moving forward. I have a bit of a chatty personality, and part of the fun of poker for me is that I get to be the cool kid at the table. I get to be the ring leader for conversation and entertainment. I can be the center of attention, without actually playing a hand. I think this will help me out in the long run keep my composure better at the tables. Ultimately that’s been my biggest problem. I’ve had trouble being attentive at the tables and that’s lead to sloppy play later on in sessions. I think keeping myself engaged with my fellow tablemates may help. If not, I can always go back to just shutting the hell up.
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Comments
moneedude
10 months ago
Well, I am going to add my two pennies of value to the world once again. Your post speaks to a topic I am very aware of and in tune with. I also have had the same challenges in and during my growth as a player and during individual sessions.
Below are two statements I copied from my own little blog and blathering that I think relate to what you are speaking of.
Keep in mind I am a little fish who plays limit 3/6 and 4/8 mostly as we do not have NL where I live and my bankroll is not of the level to allow me to play in the bigger spread limit games regularly. However I do believe that the challenge of image is one that is not level specific. Image as a tool is one that as a player we have to utilize as well as any other to fit the situation and environment as well as ourselves.
Unlike you I am naturally more reserved and found it harder for me to put myself out there and be the "ATTENTION WHORE" and allow people to look at me and see me and then actually learn to "Want" them to look at me and see me "PAY ATTENTION TO ME MORE" and what was actually going on less. But as I practiced and became more comfortable with this I found it to be actually profitable.
I found that when I retreat into myself and become sullen and too tight and too over analytic I do far worse than when I am more relaxed open and a little bit mouthy and slightly over talkative.
I have just always to remember talk the crazy talk do not walk the crazy walk "TOO MUCH"
Adjustment:
I am supposed to adjust my game to fit better into the game around me. Play looser, play tighter, play slower, play faster. Adjust, change gears continuously. This means hand to hand, session to session, even hour to hour always be willing and ready to adjust to the current situation and conditions as they are now and as they are overall.
This statement is especially true for me when I have taken an aggressive stance in a game and have been aggressively pushing and winning for a while. I have to be more aware of when the table or maybe a player or two have in a sense had enough and are going to stubbornly fight back or at least stubbornly stick around to try and shut me down and get even.
I have to watch for signs of this that come as whispers between players, head shaking, and loose stubborn calling out of spite or frustration. Even comments to the effect of you can not win everything or all you do is raise. In a sense take control of the table but be aware when you may also become a frustration to the table and then others are targeting U more than the game because U have become a focal point in there frustration. Remember they want to have their fun and when you shut it out too long or even shut it down this is bad as well. (balance)
Some general strategy changes and what to expect with them.
One decision that I feel that I needed to make is to loosen up. I believe that just as you can play too loose you can also then play too tight. I believe I have been playing too tight overall, to be as successful and as profitable as I can in the current game style.
Not going crazy and being a maniac or an idiot but adjusting in certain situations that I have been too tight in.
Also, if I think I am a better more skilled player I need to give all my skills more opportunity to be used. I can only do that being in the hand and getting in those situations where skills and knowledge can be of a benefit to me.
I have got to change my emotional involvement in the game as well I have to work very hard on maintaining a neutral emotional level even though I need to show a positive and bubbly outgoing personality at the table during the game.
Be involved in the game even when you may not be involved in the hand. Be social, be interactive with others, be kind of a talker.
This seems to work for me better than being a stone silent rock. It does help my concentration and it is better for my overall image.
People have fun gambling with you encourage them to gamble it is better for you in the long run for them to look forward to you in their groups. You do not really want or need to be feared at a low limit table.
I think this is also better for me emotionally and psychologically as I stay involved in the game at multiple levels.
With this new style I also have to get used to regular fluctuation in my stacks all the time during a session both up and down. I have to be more understanding of the fact that fluctuation has nothing to do with the actual quality of play or decision making in the short term of one session or hand. Fluctuation is a standard part of the game and I need to stick to my plan long enough to make a better evaluation of the effectiveness and then make adjustments or not.