When I first ventured into the world of poker, I admit I was complacent.
I really knew nothing about how the industry worked, what it meant to be a professional player, or even how to play the game itself. Yet, all of a sudden, I found myself as a PokerStars Ambassador.
I played 50c Sit & Gos on weekday evenings and microstakes tournaments on the weekends, streamed everything on Twitch, and still worked a 9-to-5 job. I had no idea what I was doing, but I was offered the opportunity to represent a brand without doing any more work than I already was. How could I say no?
I didn’t study poker. I simply played, chatted with folks on the internet, had fun, and waddled my way through. I think I developed a lot of bad poker habits as a result—habits that I’m sure still affect me to this day.
Of course, things have changed. At some point, you realize how mindless and ignorant your past self was, and you try to course-correct. Now, more than ever, I can’t afford to fall behind.
Complacency is not a path to success, so if you want to improve at poker, it’s important to stay present and examine your game—whether you’re playing at small stakes or on the big stage, and whether anyone’s watching or not.
So, my ‘new normal’ is going to include more study, as well as play and travel. To reduce some of the pressure, I’ll be working another job, part-time, within the poker industry.
There’s maybe a bit of stigma around getting a ‘proper’ job after playing poker full-time, but I’m grateful for the opportunity to stay involved in the space, earn a small income, and maybe pick up new skills along the way.
And speaking of new skills…
Don’t tell my friends, but I think I like PLO
In a surprising turn of events, I’m actually enjoying playing more Pot-Limit Omaha (PLO)! I can’t stress enough how much of a turnaround this is for me. I’m usually the player who folds my way through the PLO rounds in an 8-game unless I have aces, in which case I just say “Pot” and hope for the best!
I followed my own advice and watched those short, succinct YouTube videos I mentioned before. They’ve been especially helpful, as I can watch a couple every day and focus on key elements without feeling overwhelmed by information.
I also got a couple of hours of coaching from a friend who went through some of my PLO hands from a tournament. We looked at pre- and post-flop basics. It was great because I had someone I could ask questions to directly and who could show me my blunders and explain the corrections I could make.
Discussing your game in this way forces you to articulate your decisions and justify your choices, which is an invaluable method to really dig into the way you think about certain spots.
I’ve been playing small stakes while finding my feet, and whether through luck or skill, I’ve had some decent results—albeit from a small sample size. I would consider this first real foray a success.
Focus and Multi-Tabling
Despite the PLO going reasonably well, I’m still struggling with putting in volume and multi-tabling. It’s something I’ve always struggled with, even to the point where I decided during my last series of WCOOP streams that I would only aim to play two tables at a time, with an absolute maximum of three.
Multi-tabling is an acquired skill—even if your name is Viktor Blom.
I think cutting down the number of tables really helped my focus and allowed me to execute my game better. However, capping myself this way also has its drawbacks.
I thought streaming always hindered my ability to play more because managing the stream and chat often distracted me. I found myself playing badly because I was easily sidetracked.
As it happens, I simply struggle with multi-tabling, and I may have to work a lot harder to increase my playing capacity. I’m making sure to stay focused by avoiding passive watching of other streams, keeping social media closed, and leaving my phone away from my desk. I don’t need the additional distractions.
I’ve always been genuinely bewildered by some players’ ability to play 20+ tables at once. While I don’t expect to reach that level myself, a couple more tables would be nice.
That will be my next hurdle to overcome. I’ll let you know how I get on.
