#chipup

It’s bound to happen.  No matter how great a player you are, there will be a time when you’re not on your A game, the cards aren’t connecting, variance isn’t your friend, and you are being outplayed.  Usually, all of these things happen at once and for good reason.  Usually something happens that triggers a series of unfortunate events.  Good players can get lost in that space for a long time.  Even great players can struggle to pull themselves out of it.  And bad players, well, they just live there all the time in one way or another.  As luck would have it, I’ve been marred in one of those downswings lately.  I will say that there was a time in my life that I would beat myself up to the point that I would lose confidence and my game would get sick-tracked.  That no longer is the case.  I’m much quicker to identify gaps in my play vs. poor variance.  I can be very objective when it comes to my play and I am my worst critic.  If I am playing bad, I have no problem admitting it.  However, lately that has not been the case.  I am being punished by the variance gods.  My hands aren’t holding, i’m not getting there and my opponent’s hands are just better than mine.  I know it will turn around, it always does, but boy do I hate it.  I’m lucky enough that these things are few and far between, but to think it cannot impact your game is not realistic.  There was a time that I would avoid the game until my mind was clear, but now I now that I have to get back in the game.  The game is such a game of feel that when you remove yourself from it for long periods of time, while you might reenter with a clear mind, your game will be off and it can take a long time to find that groove again.  So, I’m gonna keep my head up and keep firing. As always, thanks for the love and support!  - Troy Sheets

I think every great poker player has a specialty.  Something that they have mastered, or have gotten very close to mastering, and they leverage that particular skill to perform well in poker.  For some, it’s GTO, for others, it’s the math.  It could be really good fundamentals, so on and so on.  For me, I think that skill is hand reading.  I’ve always had an innate ability to read hands really well.  Many times throughout a session, I will correctly call out other player’s hands.  As with anything, I’m able to utilize this skill at various degrees, depending on what level of my game I am playing.  Over the past few weeks, I have been playing close to my A game and my hand reading has, at times, been off the charts.  A couple of weeks ago, in our 2/5 game, I started the night off by calling the exact hand of my opponent, on the flop.  Made a side wager with another opponent and collected.  Over the next 5 hours, I correctly called out 4 more hands, while missing on 2 others.  Now, I am obviously not calling out every hand as there are hands that I don’t have that feeling, but I do pay attention and ‘guess’ in my head a lot.  The skill can be a gift and a curse.  It’s a gift for the obvious reasons.  I know where my opponents are a lot and can play accordingly.  Also, after witnessing me do this a few times, my opponents begin to take a different line against me and I miss out on future earnings.  My personal challenge is that I enjoy it.  It’s like a, game within a game, to me.  Sometimes I call on the river just to prove myself right or wrong(Negreanu-like), but I know that is such a terrible play.  If I know I am right, then I should fold in those spots, but my ego wants to know.  It has to know...  This morning I am contemplating going over to CB for the RunGood Series.  I’ll keep everyone updated on Twitter if I do...  As always, thank you for the love and support!  Chip Up!  -  Troy Sheets