EthanCainePoker.com

There is an old Zen quote that says,
“When two tigers fight, one will be killed and the other will be seriously wounded.”

This quote pretty much sums up why I lose buyin’s on a regular basis.  I push and push with great hands in situations where others have great hands and one of us gets taken out or seriously injured.  One of the secrets to being a top poker player is FOLDING great hands.

Only seriously enter into confrontations where YOU have the strength and your opponent is weaker.

“Winning is not the basic goal behind martial arts training.  The truth-although many people seem to forget it-is that most of the arts are designed to skillfully avoid win-lose-situations, to avoid conflict altogether.”
-Chuck Norris, The Secret Power Within

This of course, is easier said than done because one needs to develop a feel for the game that only comes with experience.  I’m getting there and will be focusing alot more on reading the strength of my opponents and taking every opportunity to fold good hands that could get me into trouble.

-Ethan Caine
Follow Me On Twitter @RealEthanCaine

I was playing a cash game today and got dealt QQ. I raised PF to drive calling stations out and I get a couple callers. The flop is rag and one of the guys raises a good 3x the pot. Of course me being a good poker player I have a bunch of notes on this guy I have been gathering for the last hour.

The other guy who called folds and its just me and Mr. Raiser. Now Mr. Raiser is a very tight player who doesn’t protect his blinds and folds to CBETs constantly. I re-raises his bet and he pushes all in.

Of course the guy has AA but like a retard I push all in with my QQ. This experience wasn’t a total waste as I know I’m getting better at reading people but of course doing the right thing with that knowledge is something else.

I’m reminded of something I read in Zen and the Art of Poker:
“Only by avoiding the beginning of things can we escape their ending”

Need to work on that.

-Ethan Caine
Follow me on Twitter @RealEthanCaine

For the last couple weeks I have been losing a lot of buy ins on marginal hands I just can’t seem to let go. I KNOW I should let them go but I just don’t. I will have QQ and the flop has an Ace and I KNOW the guy has ace yet I throw all my chips in the middle like a retard.

I sat down and tried to figure out why I do what I do in these situations.

First I identified whats going on just before i make the call.
-got that mild kind of scared feeling in my chest
-my amigduala or the lizard part of my brain goes into a mild flight or fight mode
Then BAM all my chips are in the middle

I’ve been reading a lot about ego in poker and how there is no place for it. I’m positive its not my ego as I have never had a problem taking the humble path when it came to arguments and the like.

I’m pretty sure this behavior is caused by the more basic instinct part of our brain. This is the mechanism that kept us alive thousands of years ago when a dangerous animal was near by hunting. Our brain senses the danger and puts us on alert to either run or fight.

Of course in todays day and age this mechanism is more annoying than useful but like it or not its part of who we are.

Zen and the Art of Poker suggests that you perceive the game as if you were simply a spectator. Essentially they are talking about emotional detachment.

To achieve this Zen state in Poker or anything for that matter you must practice practice practice knowing the game inside and out. Once you have achieved this your many hours of skillful play will put you in a state where you simply act automatically.

I feel I am closer than ever to this state but still have a ways to go. Will keep studying and practicing and see where it takes me.

-Ethan Caine
Follow me on Twitter @RealEthanCaine

Zen and the Art of Poker talks about making peace with breaking even. It discusses that you should have a neutral expectation when you sit down. If you keep getting rag hands you keep folding, simple as that. If you think just because you have been getting rag hands for 2 hours and you have paid your dues to the folding gods or something think again. Thats not a good enough reason to start playing marginal hands, keep folding.

You need to look at the game of poker as one long statistical run that never ends. Correct mathematical play will win out in the long run.

I of course need to practice what I preach. I’ve been thinking session by session and playing marginal hands lately. Going to tighten up and master TAG play before I even think about doing small ball.

I was playing a cash game online for a couple hours tonight. I was playing very well for the first hour. Waiting patiently for a good hand, stealing when The opportunity presented itself. However on hour two I was starting to get tired and of course I went all in on a mid pair and got raped by his 2 pair.

Tonight was a good reminder that mental fatigue creeps up on you and you don’t really notice it until its to late.

Still, I’m glad I was able to play exceptionally well for that first hour and know when to quit and when to continue. This is probably one of the main things I will be working on in the near future to improve my game.

-Ethan Caine
Follow me on Twitter @RealEthanCaine

Been playing a lot of $1 tournaments for the last 3 weeks. Losing a lot of them but that’s because I’ve been so unfocused when playing. I decided to give them a rest and go back to cash games. Basically made back all the money I lost in the last 3 weeks in only 2 hours.

Gonna keep playing both but i will try and focus more on cash games.

The main reason i think I started doing better is because I switched to a standing workstation and I’m taking notes in players again.

I will do a separate post on the standing workstation but basically its just as it sounds, i stand up instead of sit on the computer. This has helped my focus and concentration. I’m quite pleased with the results.

As for the notes I have been making better calls and getting a better feel for how people play.

Anyway thats it for today I’m going to do some poker reading and go to bed.

-Ethan Caine

I was playing tired tonight and as a result I slipped up a number of times.  Did this a couple times and it cost me 2/3′s of my buy in.  Was VERY VERY close to a strait and didn’t want to let go so I kept calling the guys bets.

Don't Wait For Miracle Cards

Long story short I gave up before the river because it just wasn’t worth the risk.  At least I stopped from losing my ENTIRE buyin tonight.

-Ethan Caine

Just a quick update.  I played for 30 mins after reading a couple chapters of Zen & the Art of Poker.  I read the chapters on hesitation which were very interesting.

Basically the point of it is to take the same amount of time looking at your cards and generally acting in the same time frame each time.  The only reason you should deviate from this is too indicate misinformation.

Did quite well financially as I almost tripled my buy in.  The point of course is not to focus on the money but rather to focus on playing well.  Which is what I have been doing.

Feeling good about playing poker again and I will continue to play at least 30mins a day.

-Ethan Caine
Follow Me On Twitter @RealEthanCaine

I just finished the calmness & rhythm section in Zen & the Art of Poker.  Excellent section that talks alot about not trying to bully the table or alternatively be a rock.  Its about taking the middle road because thats what works.  Sure bullying SOMETIMES works and being a rock SOMETIMES works but the middle way works most if not all the time.

“Advance with bayonet; if you encounter mush, proceed; if you encounter steel, fall back.”

-Zen & Art Of Poker

Tonight I was playing and I encountered “steel” so too speak and I did not back down. As a result I lost the entire pot:

Should Have Withdrawn

The guy was betting small through out the hand and I of course overvalued Top Pair. That last bet I should have folded.

Hopefully I will know for next time.

-Ethan Caine
Follow Me On Twitter @RealEthanCaine

Played 30mins or so of Rush Poker 2cent/5cent.  Also read about 30 mins of Zen & the Art Of Poker.  The chapter on SAMSARA or the cycle of self frustrating effort.  Basically the point of the chapter was to simply take the ordinary natural way with complete emotional detachment.  I had an opportunity to practice this for the following hand:

Flopped a SET of 8s.  Rainbow flop.  The guy with pocket As bet heavy.  I was short stacked so I went all in.  Long story short he got runner runner clubs to give him an A high flush.  Clearly a hand I statistically should have won.

I was annoyed because I lost my buy in but then emotionally detached myself and kept playing properly.  Soon after I won almost all of the money I had lost back.

All of the inner game poker books stress its not what cards you have or what your opponents are doing that causes you to win or lose.  It is your attitude and state of mind.

So far this is proving true.

-Ethan Caine
Follow Me On Twitter @RealEthanCaine