Pay More Attention to Your Bet Sizing:
It’s easy to develop a sloppy thought process when you’re multi-tabling more than 1000 hands per hour. Often players spend enough time assessing their opponent’s range correctly but then make a serious error with their bet sizing. This negates much of the advantage of being able to actually read hands. There are many spots where it’s difficult for your opponent to call a large bet when you hold a nutted hand. Betting too large here is a huge mistake if you’re never getting called. Similar when bluffing. If your opponent looks to have given up, don’t try to steal the pot with a huge bet. Bet the absolute minimum that gets the job done.
Stop Hero/GTO Calling in Spots Where Villain Is Never Bluffing:
Ever since the Game Theory Optimal (GTO) buzzword came into fashion players have become obsessed with playing a perfectly balanced range. Often against opponents who do not warrant this kind of strategy. Exploitative poker wins the most money against opponents who make mistakes. River raises in the micro stakes are a prime example. Don’t cry about how you were too close to the top of your range to fold – unless you are playing at mid stakes or higher. Simply check the pot odds and see how many value combos villain has that beat your hand.
Don’t Cold Call Too Wide A Range from the Small Blind:
This has long been one of the easiest leaks to fix, yet many players insist on playing without initiative, out of position, with a weak range. Check your database to see if all of your calling range is doing better than folding. To avoid this one option is to adopt a three-bet or fold strategy from the small blind to avoid the difficulty of managing a calling range with such a positional disadvantage.
Warm Up for Your Sessions and Don’t Play for Too Long:
There are many ways to get into the right frame of mind to play your A-game. Lot of players use rituals such as removing distractions and meditation, but this won’t help to warm up your brain. Spending time reviewing what you have most recently studied will help that material become second nature, and it will also get the logic part of your brain warmed up. Once you learn to feel this difference between states of mind you will also know better when to end your sessions.
Network with Other Players and Critique Each Other:
Apart from spending money on professional coaching, there is no better way to learn than comparing thought processes with other players. Ideally these players will be stronger than you are, but you can also still learn from weaker players. To highlight leaks in your game watch each other play and debate specific situations, even if the group is ultimately unable to come up with the correct solution.
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