Pattern recognition

In case I didn't mention it before, I'm a computer programmer by trade. I think some of the qualities which make me a good programmer also make me a good poker player. The preeminent skill which applies to both is pattern recognition. You can save so much time and aggravation if you can just simply recognize when you've seen something before. In that case, instead of expending a lot of energy, you can just go straight to the solution / decision. I guarantee the next time I see a flop which has a pair and a third card which matches one of my hole cards, I'll treat it like poison, since I've been led down the garden path and betrayed by it one too many times.

Once you get in the habit of recognizing patterns, you tend to recognize more of them; it's self-reinforcing and self-perpetuating. For example, I've noticed a new pattern in my sessions and another one in my blogging. The new pattern in my sessions is that I lose my full starting stack, $40K, at the first table I join, then generally win it all back (plus sometimes much more) at the second table. The new pattern in my blogging is that I blog about a session the next night, instead of the same night.

At my second table last night, there was one super aggressive player. Such players are just begging to be taken out. I eventually did just that, when I achieved a full house and went all in. I raked in a monster pot of $129,400. That put me up over the $500K mark again to end the month of March. Time for a new goal: $800K by the end of this month. Might as well stay super ambitious!

delta: $49,200
balance: $527,583