There might just be wisdom in what you said - the entire market just flipped a few minutes ago, and no one seems to be saying why yet. I just wanted a bunch of stocks do a massive downturn. LOL Somehow, magically, I was positioned to make money off of it, which probably means I was losing before.
A friend of mine was watching my FB updates from playing the ME this year, and mentioned that I might be of assistance here. Figures it'd take poker to get me to post here again. Some of the general advice here (study, read, etc.) is good. Pretty much none of the specific information provided is useful ; some was ok, 10 years ago. the Sklansky hand charts are an excellent example of that. The Theory of Poker is still required reading for sure, but the hand-specific strategies in that book are very out-dated, and in general, too tight for profitable play. Anyway, one of the most important things about learning to improve at poker is a lot like one of the most important things about learning to play golf. The world is full of -25 golfers who are self-proclaimed experts when it comes to improving your swing, just as it's full of people who couldn't consistently beat .25/.50 NLHE on line (which isn't as easy as you think) who are full of advice about how to play poker. The point: make sure you're listening to people who know what they're talking about. These people are _very_ rare. By way of an example, I've played an average of 27 hours/week of live mid-stakes NLHE in and around Nashville for about 10 years, and over all of that time I've met two people who can actually provide real advice or hand analysis. Up until a couple of years ago, starting in 2004 or so, I used to go to Vegas 3-4 times a year for a couple of weeks at a time to play cash games, and in all that time, I've made many friends with people who play full time. I still meet up with them for golf, or dinner, etc. every time I go, and of the 10 or so folks, two of them are truly profitable as full-time players in a way that allows a decent lifestyle. There are a handful of reliably good on-line training sites right now. The most active one is UpswingPoker.com which is a project led by Doug Polk and Ryan Fee. Polk is arguably the best HUNLHE player on the planet, and is certainly in the top 25 cash NLHE players currently using up air. His approach is focused entirely on playing GTO-focused poker (that means 'Game Theory Optimal'), the idea being that there is a 'right way' pretty much all of the time. There is a pretty good collection of free content there that would give you a solid idea of what the guys, and the site, are about. UpSwing also has Pratyush Buddiga as a resource for MTT play. Pratyush is one of the best, most theoretically sound MTT players ever, and is definitely someone to learn from. As for advice I have for you after years of playing for a part-time income, here are a few little nuggets... 1. Track your results. Do some Googling; there are many available tracking aps you can run on your phone, or on your PC if you only play on line. The information you get isn't reliable as far as identifying exactly how profitable or not you are if you pllay live or only a few hours a month, because your sample size will be too small. But, you will get a good general indicator of progress as you go, which can help you make decisions regarding stakes to play, or if you beating the games for as much as you thought, or whatever. 2. If you're focusing on MTTs, free your mind to do the right thing in any given situation. As Doug Polk says, sometimes it's your time to die. If you'd never fold in a million years in a particular spot in a cash game, but you're considering it in a tournament because it's only level 2 and you don't want to bust, that's terrible decision making. That isn't to say that ICM considerations (Google it) won't come up that affect these decisions, but you know what I mean. Make a poker decision, not a fear-based one. 3. Related to #2, if you're cashing in a large % of events you play, but you're always short-stacked, you're playing too tight. This is the single biggest (albeit broadly defined) failure of casual tournament players. This doesn't mean start 3-betting 5 high OOP, it means learn how to properly play more aggressively than you currently do. 4. I apologize if you're past this already, but don't be results-oriented. Make the best play you can given the information you have, let come what may, and do your best not to get in a twist about it. If you're in a MTT and you 4-bet jam 10 10 into a relentlessly 3-betting super LAGgy guy whose range you're crushing, and he calls with A9 suited and draws out on you, that's life. You got him to put it in with the worst hand, and that is victory. Keep doing that, and you will succeed. Don't let the unfortunate result color your future decision making. Now...go forth and study. PS There are many parallels between trading and poker, but poker is _hugely_ easier to beat. In both, you're making decisions based on incomplete information. The missing info when it comes to trading is almost limitless in comparison to that in poker.
Oh, one more thing: time. Play a zillion MTTs at small stakes on line, while you're doing all of this learning. Try out the stuff you're learning about. Experiment, and take notes.
My father retired at 45 and has made a living over the last 25 years strictly trading stocks. These days he's online 2-3 hours a day on average doing research. I wish I had his knowledge, I'll be working until the bitter end.
Holy SHIT Dave Arkle is back in the house!!!!! What are the friggin Odds of that!!!! Hey Dave.... I got 2.5 TLR's and you have none...
Excellent! Thanks for taking the time to post this advice Dave. It's confirmation that I'm on the right path.
