Renseru

Hello Renseru,

Welcome to the Course! Hopefully you will enjoy around here.

If you have any questions don't hesitate to ask, we will be around for you. Meanwhile good luck on tables, we will be waiting for your homework.

Best Regards.

Homework for Week 1.
Question 1: What is your motivation for playing poker? (Be as vague or specific as you want with this one, but try to think of all the reasons and elaborate on them.)

My motivations largely come from two major drives: The drive to learn, and the drive to acquire. Obviously I want/need some money and that is an awesome benefit from any hobby. However, the major driving force in my play/study of poker rests on the need to learn. While technical strategy is a large part of this learning process it also affords me the ability to learn many other life lessons (IE: always putting my self in a +EV situation).

Question 2: What are your weaknesses when playing poker? (What are the mistakes you know you are making during your games? Are you playing while you're tired? Are you tilting easily? Want to see the showdown too much? Write down as many as you think are affecting you.)

Not paying total attention to the game or my opponents. Overestimating the skill of my opponents. Not doing all of the mental math I should be at the table. Playing under rolled (Not by choice but there aren't any games smaller than live $1/2). When I was playing online: I was told that I was defending too widely in the blinds (I still think that is arguable). I also had a fairly large leak on the river by becoming a bit of a calling station in pots > 50BBs. I have little to no evidence but i'm sure i'm making mistakes in 3bet/4bet pots. I could continue and will but for all intents and purposes this is probably enough for here and now.

Question 3: What does it mean to play tight aggressive? (Describe in your own words what playing tight aggressive is and why does it work.)

Playing tag to me means playing a tighter range than your opponents are (card advantage), Playing your cards aggressively (skill advantage), while using position (positional advantage). This is the basis of all winning players because your cards will be better at showdown, you will have extra information on your opponents by being in position, and you will be able to use those advantages to push your skill edge even further because your actually thinking about a strategic approach to the game! I don't think this is the highest +EV approach to the game but it is +EV and a basic that must be mastered.

Best of Luck in the Course. Good job! Homework #1 Done!

Most of the weakness you wrote can easily be fixed by posting hands (analyzing your session). We will start writing feedback to your play. Usually negative feedback will put you into thinking phase and trying to fix all those leaks. It's almost the same as you lose money, you will remember it more than winning part. By this situation it's gonna be that negative feedback you gonna remember and try to avoid them next time.

Also why should you defend the blinds very loosely on smaller stakes? Even if you don't then it's totally fine which would even be fine. The more confident and the better your skill becomes the more you can adjust your game-play to it.

Overestimating the skills of the opponents is somewhat a leak I'd say. Usually you will either Call him down too loose or either try to just bluff a wrong opponents. Try to find out the opponent, for example don't bluff loose opponents, don't try to play aggressive opponents and just wait for a hand.

Other part of the game like adjusting to the opponents, mental math and stuff will be teach to you with time and experience and of course into that you also have to spend your time for example reading articles, watching videos, attending on coachings, posting hands, overviewing your sessions.

Tight style is usually called playing selected hands. Like following the Starting Hand Chart. Aggressive should be also pretty clear that already the word says how you should be playing. But the problem playing aggressively is that you have to watch that you don't play too aggressive. Find good spots, find good targets. About The tight-aggressive strategy you can read in this article: "What is the Big Stack Strategy?"

Hopefully you will enjoy the Course. Some points earned.