I have been in a rut all Summer

In May my Poker BR (after about 8 months of consistent winning at the $25, $50 and $100 NL tables across Party skins and UB at a rate of 10+PTBB/100) was just under $7000.

Today it's also just under $7000.

If it wasn't for about $500 worth of bonuses I would be down over the past 3 months..

I haven't played much, and when I have it's been hurried and lacking in focus...

To be honest it's since I started playing downstairs in the living room on the laptop (often with my better half watching TV at the other end of the room) rather than locked away in my study as before.

Last night I dropped 3 buy-ins at the $50 tables at UB (where my PTBB/100 was 13 in the 8 months to May).

So today is a new day and a fresh start.

I am going to:
1. Start a new PT database.
2. Anaylse my 5 biggest winning and losing hands from each session and post any that I consider dubious play by me - fear of the derision might help me play better.
3. NOT start to play unless I've datamined the table for 20 minutes first.
4. Be absolutely discipined in rejecting junk hand play and grandstanding bluffs.
5. NOT call a push without spending at least 20 seconds thinking about it out and double-checking my read of the board.
6. NEVER PLAY WHEN TIRED, ANGRY OR ILL
7. Leave any table I lose a 150% of a buy-in at (to protect against tilt and weak table image)

Any other fresh start rules anyone can think of?

8. Get good cards

9. Don't get sucked out on when you get those good cards

ah my 'den' is being turned into my 15 month old daughter's bedroom in anticipation of my new son's arrival in 2 months time...

Ive started a new database a couple times during my career in order to get a fresh start. I like that idea if you are in a rut.

I think you can delete rule #3. I think you...and alot of people rely too much on PT as it is. I dont even use it while Im playing. I do load all my HHs in there and analyze all kinds of things afterwards, but not while Im playing.

I dont need PT to tell me that a guy is raising 11% of his hands. Im watching him raise too much with my own eyes as we play. I make notes when I see what he showed down after raising and how he played the hand. I get better reads that way.

Pt can be too much of a crutch at times.

OT post: On the pokertracker issue-

I've never used this... which even surprises me being a computer programmer by trade. I've always hated the idea of having a computerized aid in playing a people game. Online it works but I think too many people depend on it for info and forget to READ the table as they play. It's this exact reason that I never really play more than 3 tables at a time and mostly only 2. I depend on my reads a lot and like to have the "flow" of the game fresh in my memory. An aid like this would hinder that concentration and process for me, I think. I also like to think that I can get away from a situation most players can't or conversly make a call that others wouldn't. What good is long term statistical data going to do for you when you need a read on the exact situation at hand factoring in the recent events that lead up to it?

When I hear about GT+ and PT etc I get an almost angry feeling (I was an anti-cheat coder for online games and work in computer security now) that people are cheating. It's raw data and it's "public" in a way, yes, but using these aids has always rubbed me wrong.

Anyway, the krux of the arguement is does this really improve your game? I am going to buy it and analyze my play afterwards like Iceman does. You can spot your leaks and look at which hands you are struggling with and why and this is very good for anyone. But outside of that just how much do the enhancements help when playing versus the skills you should be honing by not having that to lean on?

I think it's a great tool for those of use starting out and playing their way up -once you get to Ice's level it can mislead as much as help I suspect.

I agree that you can overuse PT, making your game too rigid. Token, I also don't do more than 2 tables and i rely greatly on feel for how I'm going to play.

However, I think PT has lots of advantages during play to help hone your feel.

For example, I know from doing some statistical analysis on my DB, that 3/4 of all players will bet the the flop less than 22% of the time. Let's say my opponent bets the flop 30% of the time (so he bets an extreme amount of the time). Okay, on this hand my opponent just checks. To me this says there is a real good chance he has nada and i can steal.

For me stuff like this helps me shape my approach. Could you figure it out by just watching the guy? I guess, but I have access to this from hand 1 (assuming he's in my DB) and don't have to spend 100 hands learning (and perhaps losing to learn).

OT continued:

The reason I've never used it is because I started as a SNG and MTT player. I still play a lot of tourneys but there the PT data wouldn't really help so much because blind level and payout structure figures a lot into your play. In a NL game you don't have to worry about stealing once an orbit to maintain or if you figure you have live cards to make a 2:1 allin call with junk in the BB. Cash games are totally different beast and when I started playing NL ring it was a pretty huge adjustment if you ask me.

I think that PT can really help and I've given into the fact that it's hurting my progress to NOT use it to analyze my play. I just don't *want* to say "so&so raised and his FS%$R#AS is 8.3335 so I should raise" and have that info overlaying the player on the table.

Poker is about information and edges. If other players use GT and you don't, you're at a disadvantage, it's clear in my mind. If I see that a player has had a bad run of cards, didn't reraise in 50 hands and now he's raising, am I going to call with AK? Probably not.
It definitely helps you see those 1-2% raising rocks that you have to avoid. You have TPTK and someone raises you on the flop? If their aggr factor is low it's an easy fold, if they are very aggr they might be raising a draw.

Yes, you can take notes and I do that as well, but a lot of times you take notes on plays that are noticeable. GT gives you information on players that you played before, and didn't "notice". I think it's useful. I'm also a computer person but I guess I'm on the other side - since you're playing on a computer and you don't see their faces, at least use the computer to your advantage in any way possible.