How to react to mistakes

How To React To Mistakes (in full ring sit and go games)

1. Note mistakes during a session for review later
2. Afterwards review and confirm what was/was not a mistake
3. Make positive to do lists before a game to avoid repeating mistakes

 1. I have taken to making quick notes on key hands or decisions on a pad and then looking at these in more detail at a later date. This helps me to quickly forget about mistakes and concentrate on the task in hand. At the higher blind levels you may need to quickly calculate your stack, relative stack size and M-zone etc. You cannot do this with regret or questions on your mind. If I have made a note on the pad then it can be put aside and dealt with later.

2. It is important to actually do your homework on sessions, as many mistakes are quite subtle and some so-called errors turn out to be the correct move even if you get bounced from the tournament or lose a big pot. I am finding that a handful of small errors, particularly on marginal hands is my biggest overall leak. In a sit and I have wasted chips calling instead of folding JJ to a raise for example, because in the heat of the moment you are aware that a reraise is pointless in the early game, but you do not think to fold such a pretty pair. However the same hand in the mid game becomes a shoving hand, a kind of steal with decent equity if you happen to get called by the initial raiser. With so many variables at stake a session review allows you to make for example a ‘pocket jacks’ positive action plan, so you are armed the next time you are dealt that cursed hand!

3. A session ‘to do list’ follows a review of key hands and mistakes. You can compile such a list before a game to mentally prepare for battle. It is far too easy to log on and register for a game, but you should have a poker mindset that you adopt beforehand, otherwise you run the risk of playing in the same style as your current emotional state.  I find that making 3 bullet points of things to do with certain hands or situations, allows me to enter that state and log on ready to make good decisions. My confidence is also boosted going into a game because I am mindful of not making the same mistakes I made last time.

Glossary

M-Zone

Your stack divided by small blind+big blind (+ any antes x number of players) gives you an ‘M-ratio’ number, usually between 5-40. These numbers fall into zones 0-1,2-5,6-10,11-20,21+, which dictate a certain style of play which will be the most profitable for that particulalr zone. Invented by Paul Magriel, a backgammon and poker guru.

Marginal hands/situations

Some hands look great but are difficult to turn a profit from, and some situations look amazing but are borderline losing plays. These hands and situations are fluid concepts related to the M-Zone and type of game you are playing. Top pair with second-best kicker is an example of a very marginal situation early in a tournament but will often be the nuts heads-up.

Equity

I am still a little mystified by the concept of equity but it seems to be your potential share of a pot represented  by a percentage. You see equity percentages on WSOP telecasts above the hands on screen. You will have decent equity in a hand if you shove JJ over a 3 bet in the middle stages of a tournement since an opponent's range for 3 betting will feature less pairs above JJ than below it plus AK,AQ type hands.  A big pot and attractive odds of more than 2:1 will  make calling with high cards or  medium/low pairs tempting to the 3 bettor, who will find him/herself on the wrong end of 43%/57% or 20%/80% equity share.