Poker is all about pattern recognition. However, pattern recognition is much bigger than poker; it applies to many other endeavors. Chess is one example. Software engineering is another. That's great news for me, as poker, chess, and software engineering are three of my favorite activities :-) The power of pattern recognition is that it provides you with shortcuts. If you can remember a strategy that worked for you before, you don't need to think it all through again. You can just go with it, knowing its fundamental soundness. That leaves you with more time to think through the things which don't fit any pattern you've seen before. The more experience you get, the less actual thinking you have to do :-)
I don't have a balance update to report, since I haven't played any poker since my last post. I was playing chess instead.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hey Neo,
ReplyDeleteYou are absolutely correct that a large portion of exploitative poker is pattern recognition. Does a certain player always overbet as a bluff? Maybe they only raise rivers with the nuts? Or perhaps they like to trap trips? To get the most value out of a particular player, you need to notice tendencies that lead that player to being exploited. Good post as always. Good luck.
Thanks,
Al