Poker Drivel: Eschew Egregious Obfuscation Addendum

So... I wrote and rewrote the "Eschew Egregious Obfuscation" post several times, having a hard time expressing my thoughts on keeping one's poker game simple. I knew there was a core truth in there, but I was having a hard time explaining it succinctly.

Then, yesterday, I signed up for a premium membership at DeucesCracked.com and got busy watching some really good players go at it... When out it comes...

He says he very rarely bluffs or makes a move, beyond the basic C-bet when the flop likely favored him more than his opponent (like when he raises with AKs, opponent calls from middle pos and the flop comes 729)... He feels there's no reason to get particularly fancy or overcomplicate your game at this level. Sure, making moves and outplaying your opponent is both fun and can amount to some brilliant poker when you get good at it, but why open yourself up to making potentially costly mistakes and maybe even get into a habit of playing above your skill level (if only slightly) when making money at a given level doesn't require it?

He bets when he really feels he has the best hand and he's fairly quick to lay it down to a raise. He admits this play style would get him killed at anything past 100NL, but it works well at the micros and allows him to build a bankroll at the early stages, hone the basics, and cuts down on variance.

Exactly, I say, thank you...

Eschew Egregious Obfuscation (Addendum)

Poker Drivel: Eschew Egregious Obfuscation

What the heck is "Eschew Egregious Obfuscation", anyway?

That's my favorite geek-humor, tongue-in-cheek way of saying "don't make things more complicated than they need to be", more literally translated (from Middle Dorkish) as "avoid needless complications ".

You see, we as ambitious human beings have this habit, especially when we start to get good at something... We're naturally curious and we want to explore the concepts and practices to their very fringes, honing the finer points and developing a skill in the subject of which we can be truly proud. While there's nothing ultimately wrong with that, we can get our heads so firmly planted in the details that we forget the basics.

I've spent a lot of time honing the finer points of a bluff and learning how to put an opponent solidly on a hand... I've played around with the right size of bet to feed into chasers to maximize my profit when they don't catch and minimize my losses when they do. I've explored the art of Texas Hold 'Em down to the nitty gritty and found myself occassionally losing sight of the ultimate measure of a successful poker game... Profit.

While I'm sure there are players out there who are truly good enough to play a dazzling poker game full of complexity, access every trick from their repetoire without hesitation or flaw, and constantly maintain focus... That's not me. And it probably isn't you either.

So, while you're reading the various blogs and learning finer points, remember this also... Relax. Work these things into your game slowly. Especially when you're on an emotional or mental edge for some reason, sometimes it's best to keep the tricks and traps in a bag and simply play solid, tight poker.

Eschew Egregious Obfuscation.