Part one appeared in my last column. Now for part two, the conclusion.
Talk to me, baby; whisper in my ear. Forums have existed on the internet since its beginnings. It is wonderful to have others who can comment on your play from a knowledgeable perspective, and gather input from your advice too. You can get together with other poker players to share ideas in discussion groups such as the one that's been meeting weekly in Las Vegas for years, or you can do it online, at one of a number of poker forums where ideas are passed around and hand histories discussed and reviewed.
Even if you choose not to participate, you can still read and learn. It's free. You can pursue forums at your own speed and pace and whenever it's convenient for you. Just go online, enter "poker forums" in your search engine, and you'll have enough to keep you busy for days. Just entering the term "poker forums" into Google produced more than 5 million hits, while "Poker discussion group" produced a more manageable 1.2 million. If you want more, try "poker news." That term returned 26 million hits. There's a lot out there. Really.
Keeping records, keeping track. When I first began to play poker I kept records in a notebook. Then I began using an excel spreadsheet to make the number crunching easier and more accurate. But now, with a variety of available software, there's no excuse not to do this. While most online sites have hand histories available for any player's use, employing software makes it easy to gather, manipulate, and present data in a graphical format. In essence, these programs take reams of data and allow you to convert it into usable information without any real effort on your part.
This kind of software will help you analyze your own game while tracking your opponents to see where your winnings come from, and where your losses go.
Make Changes. If you are able to gather and interpret information about your game, you have clear evidence of where and how you might need to make some changes in your game. If you ignore the information you are building on your own game and refuse to make changes, you're in some sort of poker denial, and all the hours spent at the table are very likely to yield the same results. And regardless of how good your results might be they'll probably be better if you make some changes.
You can make changes in how you play your favorite game, and you can make changes by trying other games that are not as popular, such as razz, HORSE, various split-pot games, and all the varieties of lowball. You can also get up and get away from your computer and head to a brick-and-mortar casino where the pace is a little bit slower and more energy needs to be focused on your image and that of your opponents, as well as on picking up tells and using them in conjunction with betting patterns to accurately determine the range of hands your opponent might be playing and then acting accordingly.
Take a break. An occasional break from poker is a good thing. You can become so overloaded with information that you cease to be able to put it into perspective and find yourself unable to see the forest for the trees. When that happens, a break from poker-it doesn't have to be long, even three or four days will work-is a good thing. Catch up on some movies. Walk around. Go out with friends. While you're involved in these activities, your poker will sort itself out in background. You're actually multitasking without realizing it. When you come back to the poker table, you should find your self reinvigorated and your skills sharper for the effort.
Visit Lou Krieger online and check out all his books at www.loukrieger.com. You can read his blog at http://loukrieger.blogspot.com and write directly to him at loukrieger@aol.com.
