Well...

Before I went into complete hibernation for awhile, I admit it: I played poker last night.

Shortest retirement ever.

But, honestly, I wanted to play one last time for two reasons. 1) Pending the outcome of my court case, I probably won't have a car for awhile. 2) I wanted to experiment a little bit with my new style to give my play a comparison for when I do return.

First off, I have to say, "Wow." What a thought provoking four hours of poker! I've NEVER in any one game played or saw so many flops. The results weren't great (down $30), but it gave me a starting point.

I might as well let the cat out of the bag and admit that I've been researching "small ball", the style of play that Daniel Negreanu uses so effectively. Earlier, when I first started watching him and analyzing him, I basically thought that his play was creative with a "go big or go home" attitude. I tried that, and lemme tell you... in the long run you'll get crushed.

After a little bit more research, I learned that I was foolishly mistaken. "Small ball" is a style predicated on the image of a faux maniac. I think out of everyone I've played with over the years, Matt L. (cool comment, I actually might chess it up) is one the only person I've seen attain consistent success with it (all six times we played, lol). And, feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, Matt, but in a nutshell this is small ball:

Small ball is being aggressive without your pots getting out of control. Instead of raising a million times the big blind, I've started raising 3 X the big blind EVERY time I have something. I already consistently do this online, but part two of small ball is what I've basically failed to do correctly my entire poker career.

I like continuation betting, as does Negreneau, but instead of betting the pot right out and taking multiple shots at it, betting a fraction of the pot does pretty much the same trick. If I get called and have nothing, or if I get check-raised (which I anticipate will surely happen) I would just acknowledge that my opponent has something and quit. No more firing multiple blanks into a pot just to fulfill a pre-flop raise.

What I like about small ball is that it maximizes the importance of post flop play and being able gain a better understanding of the motivations behind your fellow players' actions. And, more than likely since people will try to make plays on me more often, it involves more effective thinking on my part. That, and, instead of check-raising to trap, my bets will look like traps. "Does he have it?" "DID YOU MISS!?"

There are a couple more quirks to small ball, but c'mon: I can't give up everything. I'd have to start charging you.

Break

If you haven't read my AIM profile by now, it's official: I'm taking a break from poker.

There are several reasons why I'm doing this. Financially, even though I'm playing okay (not great but OK), I can't afford it. I'm in pretty good debt with my credit card (non-poker related I swear); a lawyer that I'm trying to pay off; a semester of college that I need to somehow generate the money for this summer; a debt to Ryan F. (wired through e-passporte, lol), and I haven't even gotten to Cadence yet. So poker, as of right now, is not good look for me financially, especially with how I like to fully immerse myself into the game.

However...

This is by no means a retirement. I'm using the time off to my advantage from a poker standpoint, too. Think of it as a reflection period. My play is good enough to succeed against lesser players that I won't mention, but when I get to better games, I'm finding that my inability to adapt has been hurting me.

Here's the thing: it's been my belief since I started taking poker seriously that the most consistent players are the ones who are tight-aggressive. I can be tight-aggressive, but it seems like at the table I'm struggling for an identity. Ryan said something the other day that really raised my eyebrows. He said that I remind him of Mike Matusow: I can play solid for hours and then I go on a five minute donk fest, leaving me with nothing.

In short, I'm switching things up a little bit.

I'll catch you when I get back.