So February has been a slow month for me pokerwise. In looking at my HEM stats I have played about 1k hands and I am running right about breakeven (down 20BB to be exact).

The good news is that unlike my other recent step away from the tables I have actually been able to stay more connected with poker. Coaching as well as watching a whole slew of videos that I have had dl'd for weeks has helped with this. I have also been thinking a lot about retooling my game in a few key areas that I think I have become a bit too complacent in:

Blind Stealing
I constantly fluctuate between being too aggressive and too passive with blind stealing. The issue typically stems from playing too robotically and being a stat junkie as opposed to taking solid reads on individual villains in relationship to how they react to certain bet sizes (just how much makes them fold their blinds vs what will they call with junk?).

Blind Defense
Kind of the opposite problem of what I listed above. Historically these two issues have gone hand in hand with one another. When I become too aggressive or passive with blind steals I also do the same with blind defense. It is driven by broadcasting my current state of mind and/or playstyle onto others (a fairly common flaw that we lower stakes players like to exhibit from time to time).

CBet Sizing as it Relates to Flop Win %
Feeling that those weaker players would just fold if I bet closer to pot on the flop. I often find myself looking for ways to magically push the weaker players off of hands that they just are not willing to fold. It stems from perfectionism (obv) and the thinking that we need to win every hand.

The good news is that none of the above issues are horribly debilitating to my game. I am a bit annoyed that after all of this time I still fall prone to Fancy Play Syndrome from time to time (which is exhibited in all three issues listed above), but I am pleased that these are currently the types of things that I am looking to work on.

My plan is to actually hit the tables hard later this week to get some decent sized sessions in. I have some pretty full days tomorrow and Wednesday with coaching obligations as well as video work. Also, my wife just let me know that she is calling for another snow weekend, so we will hit Bear Valley again this Saturday & Sunday, which means that hitting the tables hard on Thursday and Friday will be key in helping keep the rust off.