Saturday, January 30, 2010

Thinking of Moving in a New Direction

As enjoying as it has been playing the part of the villain for greater part of the past year, it might be time to move on and wear the shell of a new identity.  No, it was not due to Full Tilt's move to raise the minimum buy in, which I am in fact quite pleased about for reasons that will be explained in an upcoming blogpost.  The move is more about the desire to not dilute the quality of the writing by visibly wearing such a divisive uniform.  As stated previously, this blog has never been to endorse short stacking or any other poker form or strategy.  When it all comes down to the wire, there are really only two kinds of play that I truly endorse- the fun kind and the profitable kind.  As it were, both Travis and I have been very grateful for the ongoing support of our dedicated readers and their openmindedness to strategies that they might not even necessarily agree with, yet can still respect as just another aspect to a complex and ever-changing game.

Incidentally however, this move is actually inspired by Full Tilt's introduction of Rush Poker.  Though considered by some to be a mockery of purist poker, I actually embrace it as a very innovative and profitable move on their part that fills a gap in an area that was lacking in both online and brick and mortar play- instant action and gratification for both enthusiasts and recreational players alike.  How does this tie in to the move to change the direction of our blog?  Due to my most recent strategy construct improvements in short stacking, I have gleaned some super insights on how to exploit a strategy glitch that this new type of play allows.  And no, I am not referring to short stacking these games.  Even if it were possible, I would not choose to do this.  I have been full stacking these games a bit this month to some good win rates and massive profits and I am eager to share these insights in the hope that our current and future readers will be able to explore them without bias in ways that they will find to be both enjoyable and profitable.  Too many people have been quick to judge my knowledge of the game based on the way in which I choose to express my skills within the game and I do want short stacking to hide the fact that I have been making a living purely off this game in one form or another for close to 5 years now- a feat that I am truly proud of.

This blog has always been and will continue to be about managing the professional lifestyle, thinking outside the box and challenging conventional and outdated poker dogma.  My ultimate personal goal is not to be the best short stacker in the world, nor full stacker, or even the best player.  I would prefer to leave a legacy as one of the great poker writers and thinkers about the game, and I feel that the identity of "The Short Stack Hero" will only burden this ultimate goal.  For this I would personally like to request a favor from our regular readers to let us know in which ways they feel they have benefited most from the content on this site so that we can pave the path to future.

In any case, here are the articles that I have been meticulously mulling over in my mind to post over the course of the last month, not in any particular order:


  • January and December results
  • Full Tilt's move to raise the minimum buy in
  • Game Theory, Short Stacking, and "what's best for the game"
  • Rush Poker review and strategy concepts
  • Insights gained from looking back on a year of short stacking.  This will be truly epic!
  • Bankroll Theory, part III (I was wrong)

As always, thank you for reading and your support!


Lorin

9 comments:

It'sAllAboutCalories said...

I would love to hear some of your insights about rush poker. Of course, you have nothing to gain by giving the secrets away for free. However..can you just give us a few hints?

Regarding shortstacking-I firmly believe than any clever shortstacker who has spend the time and effort coming up with tricky ranges and tricky plays that work at midstakes cash games will be successful at anything he puts his mind to, not just in poker, but in life. If shortstacking were banned on Stars we would find a way, no doubt.

As far as making a living off of this game for 5 years, that is truly impressive.

I've enjoyed this blog ever since I discovered it and will continue to read it as long as it exists!

James P McAteer said...

Like... the fact that you made a living from short stacking and the often thoughtful posts. GL

Memphis MOJO said...

Of the six you listed, #3, 4 and 5 appeal to me most.

Lorin Yelle said...

@ Memphis

You can expect to read all of these in February. I pretty much intend on coming out with 2 per week, as I have them all completely planned and just need to put them to paper.

@ SS Prodigy

Actually, what I have to gain is the knowledge of having helped other players, and therefore I fully intend to give them away for free. Unlike short stacking, giving away knowledge of Rush Poker will not directly hurt me in any way, whereas with shortstacking, having just another winning one sitting in all my 2/4 and 3/6 6-max games not only takes away my profits, but also has the ability to take some of my money as well. Also, too many short stackers did have the effect of invoking a major intervention by Full Tilt, which has almost certainly caused a gigantic spillover into other sites by now. Being that you can not use a HUD at the Cake network means that my trade is safe there at the moment (and that a strictly by-the-numbers approach won't work and you actually need to know how to play). Though I had really wanted to give away the secrets of SSing, I did not feel that it would be in my longterm interest.

Part of what separates Rush Poker from other types of games is that you will rarely be in conflict with the same player twice which allows for a certain type of exploitation that is very easy to teach and garners instant profits.

Unknown said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Hey lorin,
I'd like to hear more about all of those topics. If I had to choose, rush poker and BR management posts would top my list.

ZachSellsMagic said...

Just based on context clues, I'm thinking you and I share an opinion of how to exploit rush play. Absent a Vulcan mind meld, I'll just have to wait and read the column for myself.

Good read.

Anonymous said...

I've been a regular reader of your blog for a while now. I gotta say I really enjoy reading your posts. It's refreshing to see someone who can approach the game creatively and write about it as well.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on all the topics you mentioned. It's a bit unfortunate that you're giving up the shortstack game, but it's probably a good time to change things up. It's all about constantly finding new edges anyway, right?

Keep on crushing those games. I'm sure you'll be fine in that area for a long time to come.

Lorin Yelle said...

@Zach

I imagine that you do in fact, know of which I am referring, as it took me about 15 minutes to figure out and there are many other far superior poker minds to myself working it out as well. I can offer a formulaic approach and I am also working on a counter-counter strategy as well.

@ Donkshove

Pardon the misunderstanding, but I am not giving up shortstacking as the money is just too good and I still enjoy it. Rather, I am looking to change the direction of the blog because I prefer to be viewed as a professional poker player who chooses to short stack, rather than a short stacker who chooses to play poker.