Today I was playing an opponent at HU 25/50 who was just crushing me. I was very tired while playing and I felt as though he was running red hot vs me. He probably was getting very lucky but I was getting out played and on zombie tilt. Its very easy to play mindless poker and think you are doing fine when in all actuality you are playing very poorly. I have become very good over the years stopping whenever I find myself not playing my best. Usually it happens after playing a long session or playing when tired/unfocused.

This year I have had an unbelievable year. I have done many things correctly to put myself in situations to succeed. Whenever I have played 200/400 or larger I have been very focused and whenever I feel myself not playing well I instantly quit. I haven't been on zombietilt once while playing that large. I also have had strict stop losses HU so that I quit whenever I get stuck a few buy ins. As much as I would like to think I play amazing when I am stuck I find that my game suffers.

I have also exercised alot of game selection this year. I still play pretty much anyone but instead of just mindlessly sitting and grinding I analyze everything. I write up reports which I review whenever I play someone HU. I find this helps me get in the mind set and really take advantage of my opponents weaknesses. The reports also help me come up with a game plan of how I am going to exploit my opponents.

The point I am trying to make is its the small stuff that sets poker players apart. I would not have the results I have had this year if I hadn't spent as much time working on my game away from the table. My results this year have been amazing. Sadly at the end of the day my poker strategies and my play isn't that much better than any of the top 50 or 100 guys. But what I have done better this year than ever before is to be prepared and put myself in situations to succeed. Also running unbelievably hot when it counts doesn't hurt!