PZ 43: Luka Turns to CFP and Nick H

It’s great to be back talking to a TBR member, in this case Luka V. from Episode 2. Luka’s life has changed significantly since we last talked. In the midst of personal and financial upheaval, Luka turned to Poker Detox for a Coaching for Profits opportunity in order to rebuild his roll and continue his poker education. We go over the turns and twists of his semi-pro poker life that led him here; talk about the game online from the perspective of a former live grinder; learn about the Dextox/Nick Howard CFP program; get an update on poker in Portland. Luka also has some strong words on dealing with downswings – that other cat in almost every poker room.

This interview continues a sub-series about CFP players, check out Francois and Kar Yung Tom to hear more.

Here is the link to the Patrick Howard/Mobius/Radiosick blog mentioned, as well as a sample from it:

While downswings can be useful to help a player learn from mistakes and improve, most players take the upgrade mindset way too far. In reality, you should always be questioning your decisions in a healthy and productive way whether you are winning or losing. If you only question your plays when a bunch of them don’t work out in a row, then you will always limit your growth because you will hold yourself to low standards when you win and impossibly high standards when you lose.

In reality, the only way to get through a downswing as quickly as possible is to patiently play more hands. This also happens to be the recipe for success for poker in general. Most people underestimate how strong it is to just play a solid system over a large sample without making any huge mistakes. You can have a good win rate all the way up to high stakes just by steadily working on your game and not self destructing when things get really tough. Of course that’s easier said than done, but what alternative do you have?

As mentioned at the end, check out Greg Porter’s coming webinar on Scientific Poker Strategy If you don’t know what the hell you are doing with the solver, this is the answer.