Ramblings of an old man

bbMike

I wish I knew how to grip a golf club.  Never had a lesson, still bumble round the course taking 3 to get out of bunkers etc. Opened up my driver swing recently, just decided to 'hit it' - it works!  I used to play pool reasonably well, it's surprising how the simplest shots can be missed when you're thinking about 3 or 4 things on the shot. Shut that out and let the mechanics of the muscle memory just get on with it.

Coaching is interesting.  For me, poker is a very personal journey and I'd not want someone stepping in and telling me that my style is wrong or that I'm missing thin value.  I get more satisfaction from working it out myself, reading up, trying things and reacting.  Of course, if someone is going to sit down and ask you why you did such and such there's value in that, but I doubt you need a coach to ask why you bet there rather than checking behind or whatever.  You can ask those questions yourself.  However, it's a bit of fun for me, and I'm happy enough getting by.  I know a few players have said they've really benefited from using a coach.  What I would say though is that it's +EV being the coach

Just get out there and chat poker.  Something you picked up recently, the best way to deal with this person with this style.  The best poker players don't have a predefined style you can copy, they just have a great sense to pick up on players and their games and find the best ways to combat them.  You could argue that DYMs can be a little formulaic in that respect (a few player notes here and there aside), and perhaps that's what you're not doing when you sit at a table in an MTT. Find the players you want to contest pots with, find out if they're sticky or fishy and off you go. (Ridiculously simplistic but there you go!).

hhyftrftdr

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man:

I think that this is likely to go off on tangents and round the houses a little before I get to my point. If there's anyone who doesn't lose the will to live and actually gets to the end of it all then I'd appreciate any thoughts. When I was about 14 I used to look forward to the summer holidays. After a couple of weeks I always began to get bored. There's only so much of watching Tavare and Curtis opening for England and Why Don't You? that I could tolerate before I started looking for new things to do. My mate Tom found something new to do, Golf. We joined Mickleover Golf Club and every morning at 9.00 we'd set off, meet at Franco's and walk to the club and stay there until dark. Incidentally, Franco's was the 'Go to' place for 15/16 year olds in Mickleover who looked 12 and were in urgent need of 8 cans of Skol That reminds me. The first time I got drunk was about a year later. I played 2nd team cricket for Derby Congs. One of our lads got a century and so to celebrate we got him a jug as was customary. They decided that I could have a drink and we started to play drinking games. Unbeknown to me they were letting me win every time. I loved it! I was getting loads of free drink. I was fine whilst in the pub but when I stepped outside, things started to go wrong. I couldn't see straight and my legs weren't working very well. The lads kindly dropped me off in the village about 10 minutes walk away from home. I remember that there seemed to be hundreds of joggers that night. I was totally convinced that one of them would try and steal by cricket bat.  I held on  tight and staggered home. My Dad and sister were sitting on the wall and I muttered hello. Told my Mum I was fine when I walked through the door and ran up to my bedroom. I threw up and passed out. Woke up about 12 hours later and felt evil. My Mum didn't buy my story I hadn't been drinking that it was all down to the carrot cake that I'd had at tea. Not had a drink since. Anyway, back to the golf. I had a lesson with the assistant pro Nick 'not the actor' Berry along with 4 others. Basically I was taught how to grip the club. That summer I became an addict. We'd play 18 in the morning and 18+ after dinner. Dinner was sausage, beans and chips. Joan, the waitress, was so old it was rumoured that she first took up employment at the Golf Club when it was founded in 1923. Joan liked us and so we always got extra sausages. I got better at the game, I had decent hand eye co-ordination and so got away with a poor swing. A few years later and I was down to 10. I played in one of the clubs majors and went round 2 under par for a 66 net 56. Won it by 9 shots. I remember over hearing someone say that "he'll never do that again". They were right but I did shoot level par in the next competition I played. Suddenly I was down to 5. So I was pretty good but not great. I realised that to get better my swing needed to be technically better. I started having lessons and very quickly my handicap did change... for the worse! I'd always just gripped the club and hit it as hard as I could. Now I was having to think about things. So many things that I was forgetting to actually hit the ball. I've never got back to being as good as I was back then and I'm now off 9. My swing looks a lot prettier but very rarely do I just hit the ball. My inconsistency knows no bounds. On Thursday, I played. On the front 9 I was 8 over and once again ready to quit the game for good. I took a practice swing on the 10th tee and it just felt right. I stopped thinking and just hit the ball. I came back in 2 under gross. Should have been 3 under but I missed a tiny put on the last to bogey it. Ok, Guess I should finally get around to my point. A while ago Melty suggested that I should ditch the Dyms and get some coaching and play a lot of mtts. His comment scared the life out of me. It made perfect sense. I'm better than average at poker and make a few quid, but to get better,  coaching would make a lot of sense. The best players get coaching. MattBates mentioned the other day how the coaching he's received has made him better. The difference though is that Matt is already very good. No doubt for him it was just a bit of fine tuning. I, on the other hand have so many leaks in my game. Similar to my golf swing I would probably need totally rebuilding to improve. The idea of coaching is frightening for me because although it makes sense I'm concerned that i'll suddenly start 2nd guessing myself and thinking about what I should be doing rather than what I want to do. I was quite natural at golf and although my swing didn't look good, I was probably doing a lot of things right. There's a decent chance that I'm doing the same now at poker without really realising it. So, the questions I'd love some opinions on are Should I just carry on as I am? Knowing full well that I'm a million miles behind the top players on the site Should I ignore what happened when I took golf lessons and sort out some coaching? Should I just continue with my present way of doing things and put most of my volume into Dyms and play the odd mtt? I know, as I have a good sample size, that I will win at Dyms over the long term. I'll never win big sums but it can be a nice little no pressure side income. Wow! Well batted if you got all the way down to the questions. Thoughts?
Posted by Jac35

Well my initial thoughts after reading most of that were that I'm not gonna struggle to sleep tonight. The 12 pints I've consumed over the course of the day might also help

I don't think you need coaching. I'd hazard a guess that you'd be in the top 10% of best players in any given main event. The only thing with tournaments is that they can be brutal, and just batter your confidence. We're not all MattBates unfortunately it's tough because if you played £60's worth of DYM's you'd fully expect a return/healthy profit, but in tournament terms that's 2 Main Events that in all reality won't yield a return. Invest the cash in hammering tournaments over coaching IMO.

Tikay10

I quite liked the opening line from shakin......


When peeps post Q's on here I reckon they pretty much already know what they are gonna do but seek some confirmation it's the correct way to proceed

...which is almost always true but PJ (NTTP) may be an exception.

So, to the question, MTT coaching or stay as you are.

You are a serial winner, a nice little side income, & winning is nice. MTT's, no matter HOW good you are, have brutal variance, & you'd get very down on yourself if things went wrong.

You have young Harry to think about, too, you want to spend as much time with him as you can. With DYM's you can create your own time schedule. With MTT's, you might end up playing way too late some nights.
 
So my view is you are doing well, very well (in long-term ROI, I'd guess you are amongst the top 5% on the site, & remember MOST players are not even winners), don't change it.   

Jac35

Thanks for all the posts

Cpfc - ta for kind offer

Adam - you're right, there are a couple of great guests on the show tonight. I don't normally watch it but will be this evening.

I'll have a couple of questions for you both

Dtm - thanks for nice comments

Spanky - that's a fantastic post. You're right i guess. My present way of doing things suits my lifestyle. I certainly couldn't commit the kind of hours that are properly needed. The question was an genuine though. If everyone said that coaching and mtts was the way to go and  say play 3 nights a week, then I'd be daft not to look at that as an option.

Ryder Cup has been great so far for us. Not quite the same excitement as Medinah but it's always brilliant to watch.

Pat - . My results are decent in mtts from the small sample. Going deep in them is great and a big buzz when you do get a nice win. You're absolutely spot on with me possibly struggling with the variance side. This will sound very arrogant but.. Whenever I play a night of Dyms, I expect to be ahead by the end of the night. That's obviously not realistic solely playing mtts.

Mike - 3 out of a bunker is standard for me. I particulary enjoy the shot that does eventually get me out of there. That's normally the one that I skin right across the other side of the green.

Dragon - love Cavendish. The greens are fantastic. Tbh they were a bit slow when I last played it. I think they need to be quick with all the contours. Might have been sorted now? Is it the 2nd green that Mackenzie used as his inspiration for the 12th at Augusta?

Dohhh - fair point. I am pretty lazy. Heads up? Think there's only Tikay who is worse than me at it. 

Hhyftrftdr - you were nice! Weird!

Tikay - think it was spankys post you were referring to. The "confirmation " bit in his post was true. As you know I'm short of confidence a lot of the time. Deep down I probably knew that I should be continuing as I am but wondered if I was maybe missing a trick.

Tikay10

I am QUITE CERTAIN that you would struggle with MTT variance Paul.

Life is good, you are a serial winner, with a lovely new baby thing, why change anything?

Cavendish Golf Course brings back many memories, wonderful greens as I recall.

I played Mickleover dozens of times, too. Some golf holes, viewed from the tee, are just spectacular. Mickleover have one hole where you tee off from the top of a hill, right down into a sweeping valley below, such a tempting drive. There are trees on the right though. Trust me, there are.....  

Tikay10

And yes, I meant "spanky" not "shakin". Apols.

GELDY

If you look back at your previous posts when you tried your hand at mtts there are two clear messages. 

GELDY

1. You have the potentiel to crush them.  ie you already run deep even without a lot of mtt grind practice. 

GELDY

2. You hate it when you have a losing run. and that means just a few tournaments after binking a final table. 

GELDY

my advice

forget the coach

challenge yourself to play 100mtts

evaluate the results. 

and brm suggests you stay at £5 or smaller.

Tikay10

Geldy reads your soul.

Jac35

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man:

my advice forget the coach challenge yourself to play 100mtts evaluate the results.  and brm suggests you stay at £5 or smaller.
Posted by GELDY

Thanks Geldy. Not sure I'll ever do any crushings at them but the odd binks good

I'm afraid that I'll have to ignore your advice though on BRM. I don't do good BRM. I get bored playing smaller buyins, which is a leak in itself, and just try and run up a stack quickly.

I feel I do better when playing for the bigger prizes.

I don't think playing 100 mtts would really tell me anything.

Jac35

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man:

I am QUITE CERTAIN that you would struggle with MTT variance Paul. Life is good, you are a serial winner, with a lovely new baby thing, why change anything? Cavendish Golf Course brings back many memories, wonderful greens as I recall. I played Mickleover dozens of times, too. Some golf holes, viewed from the tee, are just spectacular. Mickleover have one hole where you tee off from the top of a hill, right down into a sweeping valley below, such a tempting drive. There are trees on the right though. Trust me, there are.....  
Posted by Tikay10

Yeah, considering that it's in the middle of town right next to the A516 it's pretty.

That's the 7th you mention which us the signature hole. Must be a while since you've played there. There's a ditch which runs right across the hole about 190 yards off the tee now. Trees on right? Never noticed! With my draw...ahem, hook, I don't tend to see the right side of holes very often.

It was a big decision for me leaving Mickleover a few years ago. I live literally 5 mins walk from it. My closest friends who I played with had all left. Standard stuff. Everyone around 30 and with families and busy jobs. I still had lots of friends there but not many who I would ring for a game.

A really good friend suggested that I join Horsley and play with him every week there. It's only 20 minutes away and is in my opinion the best course in Derbyshire nowadays. I decided to move and haven't regretted it. 

GELDY

i don't do good brm either

but i can't see you coping with a £1000 mtt downswing which is what you will get playing higher stakes only

and what trying to play 100 mtts will tell you is whether you've got the bottle to do it. At the moment i fear the answer is no, Paul cannot play a sequence of 100 mtts and cope with the downswings. 

So an alternative idea. 

dym into the bigger events. Only play the mtt if you have earned enough at dyms the night before. that protects your brm, leverages what you are good at and gives you the opportunity to play your preferred mtts.

Might also spice up your dym playing as well as it won't be just your usual grind for cash but to buy your mtt tickets for the following night. 

devonfish5

This will sound very arrogant but.. Whenever I play a night of Dyms, I expect to be ahead by the end of the night.

Not arroant at all mate... I feel exactly the same... think it's called having confidence in your game & ability to win at your level.

Good luck with the mtt's Jac.

dev

Tikay10

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man:

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man : Yeah, considering that it's in the middle of town right next to the A516 it's pretty. That's the 7th you mention which us the signature hole. Must be a while since you've played there. There's a ditch which runs right across the hole about 190 yards off the tee now. Trees on right? Never noticed! With my draw...ahem, hook, I don't tend to see the right side of holes very often. It was a big decision for me leaving Mickleover a few years ago. I live literally 5 mins walk from it. My closest friends who I played with had all left. Standard stuff. Everyone around 30 and with families and busy jobs. I still had lots of friends there but not many who I would ring for a game. A really good friend suggested that I join Horsley and play with him every week there. It's only 20 minutes away and is in my opinion the best course in Derbyshire nowadays. I decided to move and haven't regretted it. 
Posted by Jac35

I played Horsley when it first opened, at the time it needed to "bed in", it was a bit sparse & overly "new". Lovely course, though, I agree. 

I used to drive to work in Heage via the back roads, & drove past Horsley every single day for many a year. In the summer, I'd pop in on the way home for a quick 18 holes, best time of day to play golf, after a stressy day in the office. 

I played almost all the Derby & Notts courses, Mickleover, Horsley, Royal Ormonde of course, where I was Captain, snooty Kedleston (brush the goose poo of the greens before putting) , Breadsall, Cavendish, Chilwell, Beeston, Hollinwell  & Coxmoor (both oh so tough), the Ilkeston muni (ugh), & Morley Hayes. Strewth, I could tell you some racy stories of golf with my then young lady @ Morley Hayes, that copse of trees on the back nine could tell some stories if they could but speak. Think the last round I ever played was at Woillaton, which is a grand track with loads of deer, pheasant & the like.

Once Sky Poker are done with me, I might just return to golf.        

Tikay10

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man:

This will sound very arrogant but.. Whenever I play a night of Dyms, I expect to be ahead by the end of the night. Not arroant at all mate... I feel exactly the same... think it's called having confidence in your game & ability to win at your level. Good luck with the mtt's Jac. dev
Posted by devonfish5

Same here. Does not always happen, lol, but when it does not, I feel I have failed.

I genuinely believe that if I could play 100 per day, I'd NEVER have a losing session.
 

Jac35

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man:

i don't do good brm either but i can't see you coping with a £1000 mtt downswing which is what you will get playing higher stakes only and what trying to play 100 mtts will tell you is whether you've got the bottle to do it. At the moment i fear the answer is no, Paul cannot play a sequence of 100 mtts and cope with the downswings.  So an alternative idea.  dym into the bigger events. Only play the mtt if you have earned enough at dyms the night before. that protects your brm, leverages what you are good at and gives you the opportunity to play your preferred mtts. Might also spice up your dym playing as well as it won't be just your usual grind for cash but to buy your mtt tickets for the following night. 
Posted by GELDY

I think it's a bit much to suggest that I can't cope at all with downswings. I don't like them, who does, but one thing that we know we gave to get used to in poker is losing.

Dym my way into tourneys? I like that one. I kind of do that now. When I'm going to play the rebuys on a weds It's going to cost around £50 so I often play a few Dyms first or alongside to pay for it.

Doing it the night before makes more sense. That's a good idea. Mixing the 2 formats is not easy.

Jac35

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man:

This will sound very arrogant but.. Whenever I play a night of Dyms, I expect to be ahead by the end of the night. Not arroant at all mate... I feel exactly the same... think it's called having confidence in your game & ability to win at your level. Good luck with the mtt's Jac. dev
Posted by devonfish5

Cheers Dev

Jac35

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man:

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man : I played Horsley when it first opened, at the time it needed to "bed in", it was a bit sparse & overly "new". Lovely course, though, I agree.  I used to drive to work in Heage via the back roads, & drove past Horsley every single day for many a year. In the summer, I'd pop in on the way home for a quick 18 holes, best time of day to play golf, after a stressy day in the office.  I played almost all the Derby & Notts courses, Mickleover, Horsley, Royal Ormonde of course, where I was Captain, snooty Kedleston (brush the goose poo of the greens before putting) , Breadsall, Cavendish, Chilwell, Beeston, Hollinwell  & Coxmoor (both oh so tough), the Ilkeston muni (ugh), & Morley Hayes. Strewth, I could tell you some racy stories of golf with my then young lady @ Morley Hayes, that copse of trees on the back nine could tell some stories if they could but speak. Think the last round I ever played was at Woillaton, which is a grand track with loads of deer, pheasant & the like. Once Sky Poker are done with me, I might just return to golf.        
Posted by Tikay10

Yeah, it was dreadful at first. I wouldn't have ever believed someone if they said that I'd one day join.

Matured a lot now and the new greens they put in made all the difference. Improve it every year as well. Always a project every winter.

I enjoy most of your stories but I can cope without hearing the one from Morley Hayes

Tikay10

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man:

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man : Yeah, it was dreadful at first. I wouldn't have ever believed someone if they said that I'd one day join. Matured a lot now and the new greens they put in made all the difference. Improve it every year as well. Always a project every winter. I enjoy most of your stories but I can cope without hearing the one from Morley Hayes
Posted by Jac35

Yes, it was truly awful when it first opened, but the greens were always very good indeed.

Don't worry, you wont be hearing the Morley Hayes copse story, or even the Royal Ormonde bunker on the 15th story. Especially the latter. That would have made the Derbyshire Evening Telegraph, for sure.

I did some daft things back in the day, but looking back, I don't regret them. We gotta live our lives with some added spice now & then, we only get one go.   

unknown_username

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man:

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man : Yes, it was truly awful when it first opened, but the greens were always very good indeed. Don't worry, you wont be hearing the Morley Hayes copse story, or even the Royal Ormonde bunker on the 15th story. Especially the latter. That would have made the Derbyshire Evening Telegraph, for sure. I did some daft things back in the day, but looking back, I don't regret them. We gotta live our lives with some added spice now & then, we only get one go.    
Posted by Tikay10

you old dog

great read paul and stick to what you,re doing you seem very happy which is what matters

jdsallstar

More mtts is an absolute no brainer I think.

 Around june i decided to reduce my dyms and increase my mtt volume.  Its worked for me and you're a much better player than me.

I know it's frowned upon but i play lower buy in dyms alongside the mtts. If im playing/running well and a final tables in sight I'll start closing down the dyms. Conversely if i'm running/playing poorly and im getting knocked out of mtts ill open more dyms. The play is so automatic in lower stake dyms i dont feel it affects me. In fact in some ways actually helps,  getting little wins often boosts my confidence. Everyone's different. 

Only downside, as mentioned, is the time commitment/flexibility required for the mtts but they're a lot more fun. As for getting used to the variance, again you're way better at dealing with this than I am. 

The edge at the higher buyin dyms must be so minimal but in an mtt your edge over 80% of the field must be a lot bigger. 

As for coaching, I'd love to get some coaching but think the price would put me off. For the stakes i play I think it would take a long time to get a return on it. Think i would really benefit from coaching on the final stages to the end -  i think this is the stage that really separates the bates and tommyd's of this world from the rest. 

Ps just noticed something i found interesting. In my bit above (about adding/reducing dyms depending in how mtts are going) when describing when i was doing well i used the word "playing" first but when describing when things werent going well i used the word "running"  first lol that might only make sense to me. 

Gl mate

hhyftrftdr

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man:

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man : I think it's a bit much to suggest that I can't cope at all with downswings. I don't like them, who does, but one thing that we know we gave to get used to in poker is losing. Dym my way into tourneys? I like that one. I kind of do that now. When I'm going to play the rebuys on a weds It's going to cost around £500 so I often play a few Dyms first or alongside to pay for it. Doing it the night before makes more sense. That's a good idea. Mixing the 2 formats is not easy.
Posted by Jac35

FYP

Jac35

"Ps just noticed something i found interesting. In my bit above (about adding/reducing dyms depending in how mtts are going) when describing when i was doing well i used the word "playing" first but when describing when things werent going well i used the word "running"  first lol that might only make sense to me. "

Lol JD 

Nope, you're not the only one who does that.

I think everyone does it. It's the poker player ego

When we win the major reason for it is that we've played well

When we lose the major reason behind it is that we've run bad 

Jac35

Good news only day apparently. Makes it all a bit awkward for a serial ranter like me. 

I won't grumble that I maintained my 100% record of never satting into the roller.  Instead,  I'll take the positives from it. It allowed me to say "yes" to pub. Spent all night talking about the Ryder Cup.

Montgomery is annoying though. Don't ever read his book. You'll want to punch him.

Tikay10

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man:

Good news only day apparently. Makes it all a bit awkward for a serial ranter like me.  I won't grumble that I maintained my 100% record of never satting into the roller.  Instead,  I'll take the positives from it. It allowed me to say "yes" to pub. Spent all night talking about the Ryder Cup. Montgomery is annoying though. Don't ever read his book. You'll want to punch him.
Posted by Jac35

Ha!

As to Monty, I must say, I do find him a bit surly & chuntery for my liking. He does not seem to be over popular with viewers generally, either, but I guess Sky Sports know what they are doing.
 
Me, when he comes on, I go make a cuppa or something, he does not exactly exude the joys of spring.
 
Great golfer in his day, mind, & a very wealthy man indeed. Bit of a serial philanderer I gather, too. What a life..... 

Jac35

Oops!

Just realised.  I moaned at the end of that. Can't help myself

Jac35

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man:

In Response to Re: Ramblings of an old man : Ha! As to Monty, I must say, I do find him a bit surly & chuntery for my liking. He does not seem to be over popular with viewers generally, either, but I guess Sky Sports know what they are doing.   Me, when he comes on, I go make a cuppa or something, he does not exactly exude the joys of spring.   Great golfer in his day, mind, & a very wealthy man indeed. Bit of a serial philanderer I gather, too. What a life.....  
Posted by Tikay10

Good golfer but nowhere near as good as he thought he was. 

Also a bit of a thicko. 

Who in their right mind would cheat on Eimear?

Jac35

Huge congratulations to Geldy for winning the main last night. 

Really pleased for you. 

It's always nice when someone like you wins it. 

You sort of think to yourself "blimey!  If Geldy can win a main on here, then anyone can"